Social Construct on Legal Awareness among Business Operators and the Consumers Regarding the Assurance of Halal Local Food in Banten Province

Article 4 of Law Number 33 of 2014 about Halal Product Assurance mandates that all products circulated in public must be halal-certified. Despite this regulation, there are significant number of local food products that lack such certification. The problem lies in the awareness of legal obligations among business operators and consumers about the assurance of local halal food products in the Banten Province, as well as the efforts made by stakeholders to enhance the legal awareness of business operators and consumers regarding the same issue. The research employed an empirical juridical research method with an abductive approach, while qualitative data analysis methods were conducted using both primary and secondary data. Primary data consisted of in-depth interviews with producers and consumers of local food in the Banten Province, while secondary data was obtained from primary and secondary legal literature and documents. The result showed that there were four indicators indicating a deficiency in legal awareness among business operators and consumers regarding halal product assurance: legal knowledge, legal understanding, legal attitudes, and legal behaviors. Efforts to address this gap include formal and non-formal education. Non-formal education includes legal seminars on halal certification for the community (business operators and consumers) comprehensively and continuously, as well as aiding business operators in the halal certification process and legal consumer protection campaigns.