Indonesia's HALAL Certification HAS 23000 Standard

Indonesia's Halal certification body BPJPH is regarded as Indonesia's sole statutory Halal certification body. BPJPH is a body under Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs. Indonesia's new Halal Product Law took effect on 17 October 2019. Many retail goods and related services entering and sold in the country must obtain the new version of Halal certification.

For enterprises wishing to export to Indonesia and provide food services or goods in Indonesia, complying with Indonesia's Halal norms is essential. If you want to achieve a good trade volume—as every merchant or exporter wants—selling Halal products in such a predominantly Muslim community is necessary.

HAS 23000 Halal certification standard

Definition

HAS 23000 is a standard containing Halal certification requirements, issued by Indonesia. Enterprises applying for Indonesian Halal certification must comply with the HAS 23000 standard.

The types of business activities that need to use the HAS 23000 standard and meet its requirements are:

Slaughterhouses

Restaurants

Processing industries (food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics)

Catering

Kitchens

Structure of the HAS 23000 standard

The content of the HAS 23000 standard is divided into two parts: the first part concerns the Halal Assurance System standard, and the second part concerns policies and procedures.

The following paragraphs will discuss both in more detail. The Halal Assurance System standard:

1. Halal policy

Decided by the company's top management, it must be disseminated to all stakeholders or company stakeholders. Top management is usually the president, director or CEO. Shareholders refer to the shareholders of a listed company, the company's owner, or board members. Usually the draft policy is formulated by the Quality Management System (QMS) or the Management Representative (MR) according to management's instructions. The result is then checked and approved by top management in the form of a signature.

2. Halal management team

This team is composed of the company's senior management. Team members consist of relevant parties whose key activities are given clear duties, responsibilities and authority related to Halal product management.

3. Training and education

The company must establish a training procedure and implement training. The implementation provisions: internal training once a year, external training at least once every two years.

4. Materials

The ingredient description of the certified product is not allowed to come from unclean or non-halal materials.

5. Production facilities

Production facilities include buildings, workshops, main machinery and equipment, and auxiliary equipment used to produce products.

Food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic manufacturers

a) All factories producing products registered and sold in Indonesia, whether owned or rented from other parties, must be registered.

b) Halal production may be carried out in Halal-dedicated facilities or shared facilities. If Halal production is carried out in shared facilities, then all facilities in direct contact with raw materials or products must be free of pork-derived ingredients.

c) Chillers/refrigerators and freezers used to store materials from the body parts of slaughtered animals and their processed products must be Halal-dedicated.

d) Facilities other than those described in point c) above may be shared facilities. If Halal production is carried out in shared facilities, then all facilities in direct contact with raw materials or products must be free of pork and its derivatives.

e) For the shared facilities in point d) above, the company must ensure that the facility is cleaned before being used to produce Halal-certified products.

Restaurants/catering/kitchens

a) All kitchens, warehouses and points of sale used to produce products, whether owned or rented from other parties, must be registered.

b) The following facilities must be Halal-dedicated:

- The restaurant's outlets.

- Chillers/refrigerators and freezers outside the kitchen or warehouse used to store meat or its processed products.

c) Apart from the facilities mentioned in point b) above, facilities may also be shared. If shared facilities are used, all facilities in direct contact with ingredients or products must be free of pork.

Slaughterhouses/abattoirs

a) Slaughterhouse facilities are used only for producing Halal animal meat (Halal-dedicated facilities) and are not mixed with the slaughter of non-Halal animals (Halal-dedicated facilities).

b) The slaughterhouse's location must be clearly separated from pig slaughterhouses/pig farms; that is, the slaughterhouse is not at the same site as the pig slaughterhouse, is at least 5 km from the pig slaughterhouse, and has no cross-contamination with the pig slaughterhouse/pig farm.

c) If the deboning process is carried out outside the slaughterhouse (e.g. a meat processing unit), it must be ensured that the carcasses come only from Halal slaughterhouses.

d) Slaughter knives must meet the following requirements: (i) sharp; (ii) not derived from nails, teeth/fangs or bone; (iii) sized to the neck of the animal to be cut; (iv) not sharpened in front of the animal to be slaughtered. For mechanical slaughter tools, they must meet the requirements of Halal slaughter.

6. Products

Registered products may be retail or non-retail, finished products or intermediate products. The characteristics/sensory features of the product must not have an odor or taste tendency that leads to an undesirable product. The product shape, packaging and labeling must not contain pornographic, vulgar or erotic features. Especially for retail products, if a product has a specific brand, then all products sold in Indonesia or other products with the same brand must be registered.

7. Written procedures for key activities

Key activities are activities that can affect the Halal status of a product. Generally, key activities include:

Use of new materials for products,

Product formulation and development,

Incoming material inspection,

Production,

Cleaning production facilities,

Storage of materials and products,

Transport of materials and products.

The scope of key activities can vary according to the company's business processes. The written procedure can be an SOP (standard operating procedure), a work instruction or another form of work guide. This written procedure may be combined with other system procedures implemented by the company.

8. Traceability

The company must have a written procedure to ensure the traceability of certified products, able to trace that products originate from BPJPH-approved materials and are produced in facilities meeting the facility standards.

9. Handling products that do not meet Halal standards

The company must have a written procedure for handling non-conforming products, to ensure that products not meeting Halal standards are not reprocessed or downgraded, and must be destroyed or not sold to consumers who require Halal products. If the product has already been sold, it must be recalled.

10. Internal audit

The company must have a written internal audit procedure for HAS implementation. Internal audits must be conducted at least twice a year. If weaknesses (non-conformities) are found in an internal audit, the company must identify the root cause and make improvements. The improvement work must have a clear target date, must be able to resolve the weaknesses and prevent them from recurring in the future.

11. Management review

The company must have a written management review procedure.