Halal Industry and Exports: Ensuring Ingredient Supply

For industries and exporters, halal certification is not merely a matter of completing documents for the final product. The issue goes deeper: how to ensure that ingredient supply consistently meets halal criteria over time. A product that passes certification today can run into problems if its supplier changes without re-tracing.

Legal basis of the obligation and its role in the supply chain

Law No. 33 of 2014 on Halal Product Assurance is the umbrella law governing the halal certification obligation, the establishment of BPJPH (Halal Product Assurance Agency), the role of LPH (Halal Inspection Agencies), and MUI's authority in determining product halalness. Law No. 6 of 2023 serves as the latest amendment to Law 33/2014. This regulation simplifies the certification process, introduces a halal declaration scheme for UMK (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and opens the way for the Halal Product Fatwa Committee.

It should be noted that the determination of halalness is the authority of the MUI Fatwa Commission or the Halal Product Fatwa Committee. Halal certificates are issued only by BPJPH. Therefore, industries cannot determine the halal status of their own products. What they can do is build a system that ensures their ingredients and processes are traceable.

The most common critical points in industrial supply

Some ingredients have a status that depends on their source. This means their halalness cannot be concluded from the ingredient's name, but from its origin.

• Rennet (milk-clotting enzyme). Animal rennet comes from the abomasum of calves that must be slaughtered according to sharia. Alternatives include microbial rennet from fungi or molds, or fermentation-produced chymosin (FPC) that is halal-certified. This ingredient is commonly used in hard and semi-hard cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, and gouda.
• Gelatin capsule shells. Medicine and supplement shells made from gelatin are a critical point that is often overlooked. Alternatives include vegetable capsules (HPMC) or halal-certified bovine gelatin capsules. Their uses include prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamin supplements, and fish oil in softgel form.
• Stearic acid and magnesium stearate (E470, E572). These anti-caking agents in tablets and powders can come from palm oil or animal fat. Alternatives include halal-certified vegetable stearic acid or magnesium stearate, generally from palm oil. Their uses include medicinal tablets and supplements, instant drink powders, and solid powder cosmetics.
• Mechanically separated meat (MSM). Meat residue extracted from bones by machine carries the risk of being mixed from various types of animals. Alternatives include processed meat products with guaranteed dedicated halal production lines and certificates from certified slaughterhouses (RPH). This ingredient is common in sausages, nuggets, meatballs, and economically priced processed meat products.

Why this matters for exports

In processed meat products, cheese, supplements, and instant food, the critical points above are often located at the supplier layer, not at the final production line. For exporters, the main risk is a supplier change that is not followed by re-tracing. One substitute ingredient with unclear status can undermine the consistency of the halal assurance that has already been built.

Therefore, supply governance is part of the halal product assurance system, not a separate task. Common practices that are built include:

1. Listing all ingredients and marking which ones have source-dependent status.
2. Requesting supporting documents from suppliers for ingredients marked as critical points.
3. Establishing an approval procedure when there is a change in ingredients or suppliers.
4. Conducting regular internal audits so the system remains fit before being inspected by external parties.

Supporting regulations also continue to be completed. BPJPH Head Decree No. 78 of 2025 governs accreditation guidelines for Halal Inspection Agencies, covering requirements, Pratama and Utama qualifications, scope of competence, costs, application flow, surveillance, and witness assessment, with reference to SNI ISO/IEC 17065:2012. Meanwhile, BPJPH Head Decree No. 243 of 2025 establishes 27 types of BPJPH services complete with requirements, timeframes, and tariffs, including LPH accreditation, registration of LP3H and PPH Assistants, issuance of halal certificates, and facilitation codes. This decree revokes Kepka 120/2022.

Organizing supply as part of the system

For industries targeting export markets, advantage is not determined solely by product certificates. What determines it is the ability to maintain consistency of ingredient supply at every critical point. This is routine work: mapping ingredients, tracing origins, and documenting every change.

To manage all SJPH (Halal Product Assurance System) criteria in one application, including halal policy, ingredient registry, critical points, internal audit, and BPJPH certification readiness, IndoHalal.id provides an SJPH platform that can help industries organize this supply side sustainably.