FOOD FACT ! Why does a food product need Halal certification?

Maybe some of us ask, Why does a food product need halal certification? Then, why should bottled drinking water be labeled halal? Isn’t it just water? And maybe a series of other whys.

We all know that Allah SWT created everything that is lawful, with far more quantities than that which is unlawful. In the holy book of the Qur’an it is mentioned specifically for Muslims such as carrion, blood, pork, animals slaughtered without mentioning the name of Allah, wild animals with sharp claws and fangs, are a group of foods that are prohibited for consumption. Meanwhile, from the group of drinks, what is prohibited is khamr and the like which are intoxicating.

In this era of globalization, it has an impact with increasing industrial technology. The fault of food technology. Various food products are created with the help of technology so that they are easily available and consumed everywhere. these products are produced with various ingredients so we do not know exactly, what is in them and how the manufacturing process. Likewise with the halal-haram status of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the halalness of the product starting from raw materials, processes to the way of presentation. Because maybe the ingredients used come from animal fat, dyes and preservatives which can be made or contaminated with non-halal ingredients. Or it could be, in the manufacturing process used brushes from non-halal animal hair such as pigs. Bottled drinking water (AMDK), in the purification process, may use carbon from pork bones, so it is very risky for Muslims, especially when consumed.
Halal certification actually makes it easy for us to make sure that a product has been tested for quality, and is guaranteed by the Shari’a to be halal. In conditions where it is impossible for us to check the halal status of a product ourselves, there is LPPOM which is an extension of the MUI which carries out this task. So, the existence of a recognized halal logo on the product packaging can be a guarantee for us that the product is guaranteed to be halal. Halal certificate is a written fatwa from MUI which certifies the halalness of a product in accordance with Islamic law, after going through an audit process conducted by LPPOM MUI. That is, a product that has obtained a halal certificate from the MUI, then the product is guaranteed to be halal by MUI for the duration of the certificate, as long as the conditions are in accordance with what is stated in the documents submitted and approved by MUI.