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Wahid says he backs Ajinomoto production to save investment

Asian Economic News, Jan 15, 2001

JAKARTA, Jan. 10 Kyodo

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said Wednesday his earlier statement that Muslims can eat food flavored with Ajinomoto products, allegedly containing pork-based ingredients banned by Islam, was ''for the sake of investment'' that could affect the fate of the whole nation.

He stressed, however, that people could decide by themselves whether it is ''sinful'' to eat the products.

According to the president, his statement was made to ''avoid difficulties in the future.''

''We will lose $1.3 billion of (Japanese food maker Ajinomoto Co.'s) investment in Indonesia (if production ends) and it will create a huge number of unemployed,'' Wahid told reporters in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung.

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Wahid said Tuesday the powdered cooking flavorings of P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia, the local subsidiary of Ajinomoto Co., were ''halal'' and can be used by Muslims, after receiving input from researchers at the Indonesian Science Institute, the Technology Application and Study Board (BPPT) and three local universities.

He also suggested certain groups opposed to his administration might be behind the public outcry over the Ajinomoto products.

Wahid quoted an Islamic teaching as saying, ''Avoiding difficulties should be a priority rather than creating goodness.'' Therefore, he said, the government will allow P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia to continue its production.

Wahid said the controversy over the Ajinomoto flavorings surfaced because of lack of scientific information.

Meanwhile, Umar Jenni, a professor at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, told reporters that enzymes originating from pork fat are used only to cut the chain of soyprotein, protein from soybeans, into several peptones or proteins with shorter chains.

Bactosoytone, the medium that is used to cultivate bacteria in the process of making monosodium glutamate, is one of the peptones.

But after cutting the chain, Umar said, the pork enzymes are taken out, concluding there is no pork element in the process of making the taste enhancer and even in the bactosoytone.

Sampoerno, director general for the food and drug monitoring agency of the Health Ministry, however, told the same press conference that Umar's explanation was merely a scientific one.

''We don't have the authority to touch on religious matters, deciding whether it is halal or haram (halal's opposite),'' he said.

''People are confused and we have a scientific responsibility to make contributions through our research,'' he added.

Syahrial, an expert at BPPT, said that based on research by his office on several samples of the Ajinomoto monosodium glutamate, ''We didn't find any signs that there is still porcine (pork enzyme) in the food products.''

As of Wednesday, police were still detaining eight executives, including two Japanese nationals, of P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia over the use of pork fat in the flavorings.

On Tuesday, the police released Vice President Yasushi Oda after they found no evidence of his involvement in the Ajinomoto scandal.

The two other Japanese are Mitsuo Arakawa, president of P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia, and Yosuke Oyama, a technical director.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said eight suspects were arrested on suspicion of violating the 1999 law by ''giving misleading information on its products.''

Under the law, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a 2 billion rupiah ($210,000) fine.

The police have also seized two Jakarta warehouses belonging to the subsidiary where 11,008 tons of monosodium glutamate products are stored. Investigators are also looking for other warehouses owned by the unit.

The police said it could be shut down if found guilty of violating the consumer law.

In late December, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), a powerful bloc of Muslim leaders under the Suharto regime, said Ajinomoto flavorings may have been contaminated by pork enzymes and urged the government to issue a recall for products made and distributed before Nov. 23.

Ajinomoto produces one of the most widely used flavor enhancers in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country.

The subsidiary has admitted to using bactosoytone, extracted from pork, instead of polypeptide, which is derived from beef, as a medium to cultivate bacteria that produce enzymes needed to make the taste enhancer, saying that it did so for economic reasons.

The government granted the subsidiary a three-week grace period starting Jan. 3 to recall the flavorings.

The company, which has been doing business in Indonesia since 1969, has agreed to replace bactosoytone with mamenotone, which is extracted from soybeans, and apologized to Indonesian consumers.

Ajinomoto has insisted that the final monosodium glutamate products did not contain pork fat, as it was used only during the production process.

Under a 1997 government decree, the Religious Affairs Ministry has the authority to examine food and issue labels of ''halal'' or ''haram,'' following recommendations by the MUI.

Wahid says he backs Ajinomoto production to save investment

Asian Economic News, Jan 15, 2001

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