Paper short abstract:

Securing halalness of food is one of major social challenge in contemporary Indonesia and numbers of commercial food products and restaurants are now being certified halal. However, Indonesian Muslim consumers' recognition of halalness is multifaceted and not always same as the written standard.

Paper long abstract:

Halal is an Arabic word that means lawful in Islamic law. The globalization of the world economy and improvements in food processing technologies have made the issue of food halalness so complex that even Muslims have difficulty in distinguishing what is halal and what is not. There have occurred various problems concerning interfusion/adulteration of non-halal material in so-called 'halal' products, both intentionally and unintentionally.

In order to prevent such problems, there are many halal certification bodies in the world that check and certify halalness of commercial products. Each body has its own standard, but established bodies recognize each other internationally. Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia are taking leadership in the world. MUI (Halal certifying body in Indonesia) published a detailed criteria for halal certification in 2012. Most halal certifying bodies in Japan also comply with strict standards of Malaysian/Indonesian certifying bodies (JAKIM and MUI).

However, Indonesian Muslim consumers' understandings on food halalness are often different from halal certification standard.

In this presentation, I will discuss multifaceted aspects of food halalness in Indonesian Muslim consumers' recognition and eating behavior.

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