Jakarta, Feb. 23 -- Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya dismissed claims that US products can enter Indonesia without halal certification, saying the reports are false and misleading.

In a statement issued Sunday through the Cabinet Secretariat in Jakarta, Teddy said all goods required to be halal-certified must display an official halal label, whether issued by US-based institutions or Indonesian authorities.

"Products that are required to be certified must carry a halal label, either from a halal body in the US or from a halal authority in Indonesia," he said.

He stressed that halal certification is mandatory for food and beverage products sold in Indonesia, with no exemptions granted to imports from the US.

In the US, halal certif...