LEAD: Ajinomoto recalls flavoring in Indonesia over pork scare

Asian Economic News, Jan 8, 2001

JAKARTA, Jan. 3 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES WITH GOV'T PRESS CONFERENCE)

The Indonesian government gave three weeks Wednesday to an Indonesian venture of Ajinomoto Co., a Japanese foodstuff maker, to withdraw certain food-flavoring products following findings they contain pork fat, which is forbidden under Islamic Law.

The order was issued after a meeting between officials of the Directorate General of Drugs and Food Supervision, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and the management of P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia.

''We ordered P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia to withdraw its monosodium glutamate products within three weeks,'' Director General of Drugs and Food Supervision Sampurno told a press conference when announcing the results of the earlier meeting.

''Regarding the case, P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia has agreed to do it,'' he added.

At least three tons of the products will be affected, but Sampurno said the withdrawn products can be exported ''so basically, there will be no financial loss for the company with the withdrawal.''

Earlier Wednesday, local media reported the company has started to withdraw the products following the controversy.

Tjokorda Bagus Sudarta, general affairs and personnel manager of P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia, was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying the products in question have already been withdrawn from major outlets.

''We will withdraw the rest soon,'' he added.

Last weekend, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) wrote to the Directorate General of Drugs and Food Supervision and the Ministry of Religious Affairs warning that monosodium glutamate products ''may have been contaminated with enzymes originated from pork fat,'' according to a copy of the letter made available to Kyodo News.

They found the pork fat when making an audit of the products made by P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia in October.

The organization urged the government to withdraw certain Ajinomoto products produced and distributed before Nov. 23.

Sudarta admitted the company had used bactosoytone, extracted from pork, in place of polypeptide, which is extracted from beef, as a medium to cultivate bacteria that produces enzymes needed in the production of the taste enhancer.

''The reason was because it was more economical, but we used it only as a medium, so it's not included in the final product,'' he was quoted as saying by the Post.

Aisyah Girindra, head of the MUI Food and Drug Analysis Body, said that while the final product is ''halal,'' or permissible for consumption by Muslims, it is forbidden to use pork products in the manufacturing process.

Sampurno shared a similar view, saying, ''Basically, from the points of view of safety and quality, the final products are okay and do not contain pork anymore because the pork extracts were only used in the process of production.''

According to Sampurno, P.T. Ajinomoto Indonesia, which promised to issue a progress report within two weeks, has agreed to replace bactosoytone with mamenotone, extracted from soybeans in the production process.

''We have also ordered the company to put a new identifying mark on the packages of the products,'' he said.

Under a 1997 government decree, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has the authority to examine food and issue halal labels for food products.

Since the early 1990s, Muslims in Indonesia, who account for 90% of the country's population, have become more aware of the need to determine whether processed food products are halal or ''haram,'' forbidden under Islamic Law.

In late 1988, rumors circulated that some food products contained pork fat. Illegal leaflets listed products ranging from instant noodles to soaps as haram.

The leaflets were based on research done by an East Java university lecturer. But it turned out that the people distributing the leaflets had added items to the list.