Halal Certification will continue despite obstacles from COVID-19

Although Indonesia is the hardest hit country in ASEAN from the COVID-19 outbreak, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has asserted that the Halal certification process will continue to be enforced and carried out.
“We do not want Halal certification to stop business in Indonesia,” said Muti Arintawati, Director of Halal Audit of the Indonesian Ulema Council Food and Drug Analysis Agency (LPPOM MUI).
Arintawati highlighted that her department has taken proper risk mitigation at the beginning of this year, with the process of countermeasures taken on a number of foreign audits related to Halal products.
LPPOM MUI has taken an additional step of forming a separate task force in reaction to COVID-19 and set up the Coronavirus Crisis Center for public safety, particularly for auditors, employees and visitors.
Arintawati also added that staffs were asked to work from home while the Halal certification process was still ongoing with the Cerol-SS23000 system still active that allows public/businesses to directly monitor developments pertaining to the Halal certification process.
On 19 March, LPPOM MUI had also implemented Modified Onsite Audit (MOsA), an audit system that aligns with the current pandemic situation. The audit meets the standards of the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) used for the Halal Assurance System (SJH).
However, not all categories such as slaughter of livestocks and gelatin products can be audited by MOsA. Arintawati however explained, “In general, the audit can be conducted by MOsA. We will test it in stages. Initially, MOsA can only be applied to products for development and extension. After obtaining the right formula, MOsA is tested for new companies.”