Halal Industry and Exports: Managing Material Supply at Critical Points

Halal certification is often seen as a final document. In industrial and export practice, certification is more appropriately positioned as the result of an ongoing system. The decisive question is not merely whether a product is certified, but whether its material supply can be accounted for over time.

The legal framework is already in place. Law Number 33 of 2014 on Halal Product Assurance serves as the parent regulation for the mandatory halal certification, the establishment of BPJPH (Halal Product Assurance Agency), the role of LPH (Halal Inspection Agency), and the authority of MUI (Indonesian Ulema Council) in determining product halalness. Law Number 6 of 2023 simplifies the certification process, introduces a halal statement scheme for UMK (micro and small enterprises), and opens the way for the Halal Product Fatwa Committee. On the operational side, Government Regulation Number 42 of 2024 regulates the procedures for the establishment, accreditation, scope of activities, and revocation of LPH approval, including the appointment and dismissal of Halal Auditors.

For export-oriented industries, the layer that most often creates homework is materials. That is where critical points emerge.

Why material critical points matter

A critical point is a material or process that potentially originates from a source whose halalness cannot be ascertained. It does not always appear in the ingredient name on the label. Some appear as generic names, others as functional ingredients used in small but consistent proportions.

Some commonly discussed examples:

• Carmine or cochineal (E120). A natural red dye from the cochineal insect. Its status is classified as syubhat (doubtful) because scholars differ in opinion. Alternatives are plant-based red dyes such as beet, anthocyanin, or lycopene. This ingredient is widely used in red-colored beverages, candy, lipstick, fruit yogurt, and processed meat products.
• Perfume and fragrance ingredients. Cosmetic fragrances generally have a high alcohol solvent and may contain animal musk. Alternatives are non-alcohol perfume or halal-certified synthetic musk. Their uses include perfume, spray deodorant, and scented body care products.
• Mechanically separated meat (MSM). Meat remnants extracted from bones by machine, at risk of being mixed from various animal species. Alternatives are processed meat products with guaranteed dedicated halal production lines and certificates from certified slaughterhouses. This ingredient is common in sausages, nuggets, meatballs, and economically priced processed meat products.
• Albumin from egg white. Generally halal, but still needs verification of being free from non-halal mixtures. Usually no substitute is needed, as long as the label explicitly states "egg albumin" or "albumen". Its uses include bakery products such as meringue and macaron, processed meat processing, and certain pharmaceutical products.

Those four examples show the same pattern. The risk lies not in the type of final product, but in the origin of the material and the consistency of its supplier.

Five SJPH criteria as a work tool

The Head of BPJPH Decision Number 57 of 2021 on the Criteria for the Halal Product Assurance System serves as the main reference for implementing SJPH (Halal Product Assurance System) on the business actor side. The five criteria are commitment and responsibility, materials, halal product processes, products, and monitoring and evaluation. This decision has been amended by Kepka 20/2023.

For industries, the material criteria and monitoring criteria are the two most demanding of discipline. The material criteria require a neat registry: material name, manufacturer, supporting documents, and halal status. The monitoring criteria require evidence that the registry is updated when there is a change in supplier or formulation.

In the export context, these two criteria work like a foundation. Buyers in destination markets generally do not only ask for a certificate, but also ask about the origin of materials and the company's ability to trace them.

What needs to be improved on the supply side

1. Map materials by risk level. Prioritize animal-derived materials, alcohol derivatives, and dyes. Materials with generic names need to be traced to their original manufacturer, not stopped at the distributor.
2. Lock supplier documents. Keep specifications, halal certificates for materials, and statements of material origin. Update when the validity period expires or when the supplier changes.
3. Separate production lines if necessary. For materials like MSM, the guarantee of a dedicated line and certified slaughterhouse origin is decisive.
4. Test consistency through internal audits. Internal audits help ensure the system is still feasible before being examined by external parties.
5. Prepare an export narrative. Overseas buyers assess traceability capability as part of quality, not just compliance.

Closing

Managing material supply is not a one-time job. It demands living records and periodic evaluation. To help with that part, IndoHalal.id provides an SJPH platform that enables business actors to manage halal policies, material registries, critical points, and internal audits in one application. It should be noted that the determination of halalness is the authority of the MUI Fatwa Commission or the Halal Product Fatwa Committee, while the certificate is only issued by BPJPH.