INDONESIA - HALAL - Pilgrims uninformed about disease risk

Many Indonesians who travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the haj pilgrimage are not aware that they are required to be vaccinated against Meningococcal Meningitis prior to their departure, the government says.

The Health Ministry’s head of disease control and environmental health, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said that many Indonesians who traveled to Saudi Arabia on the minor haj pilgrimage, or umrah, or as migrant workers, did not know about the government regulation, due to a lack of information and education about the disease. (source)

HALAL - MUI to set single national halal standard

JAKARTA: The Indonesia Ulema Council (MIU) says it will set a single national standard for certifying halal food to replace 41 world-class institutions promoting different standards in Indonesia.

The MUI’s food, medicine and cosmetics analysis body (LPPOM MUI) head Lukmanul Hakim said that the 41 institutions had different standards, with only eight referring to the MUI.

“The different standards lie, for example, in pork usage. There are countries that see gelatin as halal, while MUI does not. Indonesia has every right to set our own standards for consumer protection,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.

HEALTH - MUI - Smoking and Spirituality: An Uneasy Truce

Outside his room at the Miftahul Huda Islamic boarding school in Malang, East Java, Iskandar played chess with a friend. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter sat next to the board.

FOOD AND DRUGS - Malaysia: Single halal certificate beginning April

PUTRAJAYA: The single halal logo and certification will come into force by April next year, said Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the draft of the amendments to the Trade Description Act 1972 that would allow for a single Malaysian halal logo and certification was finalised at a meeting between the ministry and the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) yesterday.

VIDEO - HALAL - Meningitis Vaccins (3)

Majelis Ulama Indonesia mengumumkan fatwa tentang tiga vaksin meningitis yang di gunakan para jamaah haji dan umrah, Selasa siang.

HALAL - Pig problems in Halal community (meningitis vaccin)

The Indonesian Health Consumers Empowerments Foundation may file a class action lawsuit against the Health Ministry and the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM). It has been claimed that there was a failure in informing the public about pig enzymes in a meningitis vaccine.

The Jakarta Post has reported that the possible lawsuit may take place due to a meningitis vaccine intended for Indonesian muslim pilgrims which contains pig enzymes.