South Korean instant noodle brand Samyang was at the center of a swine-related ramen scandal in Indonesia earlier this year, but they now claim their noodles are certified halal and safe for consumption by Muslims.
Samyang Foods, the producer of the popular Samyang noodles, today announced that they have secured halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s highest Islamic clerical body, for three of its instant noodle variants: buldak bokkeum myeon, cheese buldak bokkeum myeon, and kkul buldak bokkeum myeon. All three are chicken-based flavors.
“This MUI certification is the first step in our aggressive expansion into halal markets, which accounts for more than 20% of the global food market,” said a representative of Samyang Foods, as quoted by Herald Corp and translated by Kumparan today.
Previously, Samyang Foods had acquired halal certifications for 23 of its products from the South Korean Islamic board. However, Indonesian law required halal food imports to receive certification from MUI as well, which Samyang had disregarded up until that point.
It all came to a head in June this year when Indonesia’s Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) pulled four Korean instant noodle brands, including Samyang, after finding traces of pork DNA in their products.
Pork is not actually illegal for sale or consumption in Indonesia, but all products that contain pork must have a clear label on them notifying customers of that fact. In the case of the four instant noodles, BPOM said that they didn’t slap a ‘contains pork’ sticker on the packaging.