Religion, science and markets

In 2001, a food scandal raged throughout Indonesia. The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI; Jakarta, Indonesia) accused a Japanese company of using pork products in the production of the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG), and demanded that the Indonesian government take appropriate action. It was a serious accusation: if true, the company would have violated halal rules, which forbid Muslims from eating—among other things—any pork or pork‐derived products. As a consequence of the scandal, several employees of the company were arrested and a public apology was issued.It is most likely that the flavour enhancer did not contain any pork products; instead, the company conceded to having replaced a beef derivative with the pork derivative bactosoytone in the production process, for economic reasons. Bactosoytone was used as a medium to cultivate bacteria that produce the enzymes necessary to make MSG. As the products of the company had previously been certified as halal by the MUI, the scandal seemed to undermine or question the legitimacy of these religious scholars in the eyes of millions of Muslim consumers.> …even multinational companies can come into conflict with the rising number of Muslim consumers and organizations if they overlook or disregard religiously inspired customsThe scandal also made it clear that even multinational companies can come into conflict with the rising number of Muslim consumers and organizations if they overlook or disregard religiously inspired customs. Indeed, the Indonesian scandal triggered similar enquiries at other companies worldwide. Novozymes (Bagsvaerd, Denmark)—a company that specializes in producing enzymes for a wide range of applications, including scientific research and food processing—was one of these. Customers of Novozymes became more aware of the validity of halal certifications, and the company eventually chose to have its products certified by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA; Chicago, IL, USA). …