BPOM Discovers More Pork In 3 ‘Halal’ Beef Jerky Brands


The
Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has discovered more samples of
dendeng , or beef jerky, that contain pork despite being labeled
suitable for consumption by Muslims.

Husniah Rubiana Thamrin,
the BPOM head, said her agency conducted a second test on 34 products
collected randomly from supermarkets and found that four contained pig
DNA.

Dua Daun Cabe Kwalitet Istimewa, Dua Dinar and Brenggalo beef jerky, as well as the latter’s dried ground meat, all had pork.

While
it is not in its jurisdiction to take the suspected companies to court,
the BPOM has issued an order to all its offices nationwide to raid
establishments that sold the tainted beef products and confiscate them.

“What’s more upsetting is that the products have been labeled halal [allowed for Muslims consumers],” Husniah said.

According
to the BPOM, the tainte d dendeng products were registered with health
agencies. But a check with the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), which
certifies halal products, found that the tainted products’ halal labels
were fake and had not been issued by t he council.

The pork-laced samples were produced in Malang, East Java, and in Bandung, West Java.

Husniah
said the products could be easily found in common wet markets and
supermarkets. She added that manufacturers mixed pork with beef because
pork was cheap.

In a country that has the world’s largest
Muslim population, Husniah said selling pork-laced halal-labeled
products was a serious crime. Municipalities could charge businesses
with violating the Consumer Protection Law, which carries a jail term
of up to five years and a Rp 2 billion ($186,000) fine.

Last month, the BPOM found meat samples from Kepala Sapi, Limas, ACC, Beef Jerky Lezaaat and 999 to have contained pork.

Husniah said members of the public should be careful when choosing food at the market.

Dendeng
made from pig, she said, tended to be more pale in color because it
contained more fat, and the grain of the meat was smoother than beef.