The Roles of BPJPH and LPPOM MUI in Indonesia's Halal Certification

The roles of BPJPH and LPPOM MUI in Indonesia's Halal certification

As early as October 17, 2019, the Indonesian government established the official Halal certification agency BPJPH (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal), bringing Indonesian Halal certification matters under government management. Therefore, in Indonesia today, only the Indonesian Halal certification agency BPJPH is the legal and official issuing body. Before this, Indonesian Halal certification was managed by the credible religious association LPPOM MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, the Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars). However, after the Indonesian president promulgated the Halal Product Certification Law (Law No. 33) in 2014, the government formally legislated to bring Halal certification matters under government management and established the official Halal certification agency BPJPH to handle the issuance of certificates. Beginning October 1, 2019, Indonesia's LPPOM MUI no longer had the qualification to issue Halal certification certificates.

What role does BPJPH play in Indonesia's Halal certification?

BPJPH plays an important role in Indonesia's Halal certification system, as it bears several responsibilities within it:

1. Issuing Halal regulations and providing opinions on regulations issued by ministers, the president, and parliament.

2. Issuing Halal fatwa certificates based on the MUI Halal Fatwa Committee or the Halal Product Fatwa Committee. However, this fatwa-issuing authority is also shared with the government-established Halal Product Fatwa Committee, which mainly handles the self-declaration program. In this self-declaration program, low-risk products can self-declare as Halal through fast access - visited not by an auditor, but by a mentor with at least a high-school education and short-term training.

3. Although the audit is completed by Lembaga Pemeriksa Halal (LPH, the Halal Inspection Body), the LPH must be accredited by BPJPH.

4. Recognizing foreign Halal bodies so that their certificates can be accepted in Indonesia.

5. Controlling how Halal regulations are implemented.

What roles do LPPOM MUI and MUI play in Indonesia's Halal certification?

MUI is the umbrella organization for Indonesian Muslim organizations. Part of MUI is the Fatwa Committee that issues Halal fatwas, which also includes fatwas unrelated to food, drugs, and cosmetics.

LPPOM MUI (the organization originally established by MUI to handle Halal certificates) has been re-designated as a Halal inspection body, among others. In the BPJPH Halal certification program, LPPOM MUI acts as a Halal inspection body. Companies applying for BPJPH Halal certification can choose LPPOM MUI as their Halal inspection body, or choose another BPJPH-accredited testing body.

How can products be exported to Indonesia and claimed as Halal?

For business-to-business (B2B) products (non-retail), they can hold a BPJPH Halal certificate or a Halal certificate issued by a BPJPH-recognized Lembaga Halal Luar Negeri (LHLN, a foreign Halal body). Each Halal certificate issued by a foreign Halal body should be registered with BPJPH.

For retail products, the company must apply to the Halal Product Assurance Agency (Badan Penyelenggara Produk Halal - BPJPH) via Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority (Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan); BPJPH is the management agency under the Ministry of Religious Affairs responsible for implementing Halal product assurance. The application is carried out through its website https://ptsp.halal.go.id/ (the website and BPJPH's customer service are only available in Indonesian). The requirement is to have a trained Halal product supervisor, certified for professional competence by a certification training institution and Halal supervisor certification. LPPOM MUI can assist companies with BPJPH registration and in meeting these two requirements. Once completed, under the Sistem Jaminan Produk Halal (Halal Product Assurance System), the applicant can select a Halal inspection body to conduct a Halal audit, which must take place within 15 days of registration. Enterprises need to ensure proper training, adequate implementation, and readiness for inspection.

We recommend that companies coordinate with LPPOM MUI before the BPJPH application to ensure the schedule is met, including but not limited to visa preparation. After the audit, the LPH will submit the results to the Indonesian Council of Ulama (Majelis Ulama Indonesia - MUI), which will determine through a Halal decree whether the relevant product or service is considered Halal.

After the ruling is issued, BPJPH will issue the Halal certificate within one working day. The Halal certificate is valid for four years, but as amended by Law No. 6 of 2023, it is valid for life if the product's composition and/or the Halal production process (PPH) do not change.