Raids give public food for thought

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 10/18/2006 10:33 AM  |  Jakarta

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A joint team from the Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Industry and Trade Agency raided Monday night supermarkets in the capital, removing a number of food and beverage products from their shelves.

The team of 47 personnel, consisting of 20 members of the Jakarta Police and 20 agency officials, confiscated food products at three hypermarkets, in Kembangan, West Jakarta; Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, and Pluit, North Jakarta.

The team also seized food products and faulty scales from an upscale supermarket in South Jakarta and dairy products from an East Jakarta supermarket.

Ade Suharsono, the head of the Jakarta Industry and Trade Agency, said at Jakarta Police Headquarters on Tuesday the raid was primarily aimed at protecting the public because people purchased more groceries ahead of Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year's.

""We're aiming to protect the public from food products that are unfit for consumption.""

Ade said selling expired food was a violation of food safety laws, which carry a maximum penalty of five years' jail or a Rp 2 billion fine.

He said his office had sent letters to retailers warning them against selling expired goods.

""If they continue to violate the regulations, we won't hesitate to take away their business permits,"" Ade said.

During the raid, in a Kembangan hypermarket in West Jakarta, the team confiscated two ""two-kilogram"" and 11 ""one-kg"" bags of peanuts.

According to inspectors, the bags weighed about 125 grams lighter than the packaging stated.

From a Lebak Bulus hypermarket in South Jakarta, the team confiscated expired pork sausages and a selection of jams, while in another hypermarket in Pluit, North Jakarta, they seized five bottles of Orang Tua wine, the alcohol content of which exceeds the limit for beverages sold in stores.

""We confiscated the wine because its alcohol content is above 14 percent,"" he said.

The team also confiscated an electronic scale with a capacity of 15 kg, also believed to be faulty.

They took away eight large packets of noodles and five small ones and three bottles of soft drink, which did carry labels stating their ingredients in Bahasa Indonesia.

The products were only labeled in Japanese and had no expiry dates.

From a supermarket in East Jakarta the team confiscated 21 cans of expired Young Heart skim milk and expired Calpico milk.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman said the sale of food products that could endanger human health was against the law and serious action would be taken to stop it.

Dangerous bacteria or fungi can grow on expired food products.

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