From 18 October 2026 imported food must be halal certified in Indonesia before it can be distributed - and the new rules reach slaughter practice, labelling and pre-shipment verification.
Indonesia's halal authority, BPJPH, has confirmed that the mandatory halal deadline of 18 October 2026 will not be extended. Under Law No. 33/2014 on Halal Product Assurance and Government Regulation No. 42/2024, food and beverage products, their raw materials and additives and slaughtering services must be halal certified. Meat and dairy products have been covered for years, but the deadline widens the requirement to most imported food categories. According to USDA's Jakarta post (GAIN report ID2026-0034, 14 September 2026), BPJPH has verbally confirmed that consignments with a bill of lading dated before the deadline still have to comply, and that no written extension or relaxation is planned.
For exporters of frozen meat and poultry the practical changes cluster in five places:
- Halal recognition: a certificate from a foreign halal body is not enough on its own. The issuing body must be recognised by BPJPH, and the certificate must be registered with BPJPH before the product can be distributed - a foreign certificate outside that system carries no weight in the market.
- Slaughter standard: BPJPH Decree No. 160/2026 (signed 19 May 2026) replaced the 2023 rules. Machine slaughter now requires a Muslim operator of legal age who is certified, who recites the basmalah when the machine starts and re-recites it after any restart, and the machine must sever all four channels - the respiratory channel (hulqum), the digestive channel (mari') and both blood vessels (wadajain). For poultry only head-only water-bath electrical stunning is permitted, and stunned birds must be slaughtered within 10 seconds. Slaughterhouses must keep halal and non-halal zones separate.
- Labelling: packaged halal products need the Indonesian halal logo and the import-specific halal registration number. Stickering after arrival remains allowed, and bulk, non-retail packs must be certified but do not need a halal label. Non-halal products fall under a separate labelling rule (BPJPH Regulation No. 3/2026) with a one-year grace period running to 23 July 2027.
- Pre-shipment verification: BPJPH Regulation No. 4/2026 (signed 7 August 2026, effective 10 September 2026) creates pre-shipment inspections carried out by BPJPH-appointed inspection bodies in the country of origin, with the resulting report used as a customs-clearance document exchanged electronically with Indonesia's National Single Window. Inspection bodies have not been appointed and fees are not yet set, so inspections are not being enforced today - but exporters should plan for shipment-level documentation.
- Supervisors and enforcement: a draft notified to the WTO on 28 August 2026 (G/TBT/N/IDN/193) would require each establishment seeking halal certification to employ a halal supervisor - one company per supervisor, Muslim and qualified - with comments due 27 October 2026. Separately, BPJPH Regulation No. 2/2026, in force since 5 June 2026, allows BPJPH to revoke the registration numbers of foreign halal certificates and the accreditation of foreign certifying bodies, with public announcements.
The direction of travel is the same across the Gulf, North Africa and South-East Asia: halal is moving from a commercial claim to a documentary pre-condition. Sellers should check that their certifier is still recognised by the importing authority, that the certificate's scope matches product names, plant addresses and ingredient lists exactly, that labelling is ready before the goods are ordered, and that the slaughter method used at the plant matches the importing standard. Documents - not price alone - decide who can deliver.
Nau International Food Group supplies frozen halal chicken - boneless skinless breast and leg quarters - and frozen mackerel from China to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. Every consignment ships with a halal certificate, an HACCP certificate (No. 115HACCP2500478), documents for a GACC-registered plant (No. 0900/03003), veterinary and health certificates and a certificate of origin. Product is blast-frozen and held at −18 °C with a 365-day shelf life; packing is 2 kg x 6 for breast and 10 kg x 1 for leg quarters; the minimum order is one 40 ft reefer container (28.008 tonnes); payment is 100% T/T or L/C; shipment is within 30 days of payment receipt. We can arrange customs clearance into Dubai and quote FOB, CIF or DDP Jebel Ali - write to info@naufoodgroup.com.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN report ID2026-0034, “Indonesia Issues New Halal Regulations with Trade Implications” (FAS Jakarta, 14 September 2026); BPJPH regulations and public statements, May-September 2026.
