Annual government food market inspections in 31 provinces have found that the majority of confiscated food products lacked import permits from the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
The team, comprising BPOM, the Health Ministry and regional industry and trade agencies, found more than half of confiscated products had no permits.
Kustantinah, the director of BPOM, said almost all those that did not have BPOM approval were imported products. She said that the illegally imported products came from various countries, including China and Malaysia.
“Mostly those that are cheaper, because that’s what the public wants,” she said.
The raids were conducted simultaneously on Tuesday in 31 provinces at 348 distribution outlets such as traditional markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as storage facilities, she added. Of the total, 187 outlets were found to sell goods that did not meet standards, including expired products.
The release from the agency revealed that the team confiscated 621,361 items, including biscuits, chocolate bars and syrups, Kustantinah said.
“Demand for food products always increase near the holidays, because people want to serve their guests,” she added.
Data from the agency revealed that inspections conducted from January to July this year discovered 625 illegal items, while the pre-Idul Fitri inspection saw 872 items lacking permits.
Indonesia, a country with a Muslim majority, is scheduled to celebrate Idul Fitri — an Islamic holiday — this Friday. The usual custom is to visit relatives and acquaintances in their houses or to celebrate the festival with families.
Aside from products lacking permits, the raid also discovered 36.5 percent of the confiscated items were past their expiry dates, and 14 of the items contained substances that might be harmful, such as coloring and preservatives.
The agency also discovered several goods that showed signs of decreased quality, including damaged packaging or a change of color in the contents.
Last year, the Jakarta Police and the agency raided three warehouses in Tangerang, Muara Baru and Kayu Besar. The raid discovered 40,000 boxes of expired candies meant to be sold during Idul Fitri.
In 2008, the provincial BPOM in Banda Aceh found over 6,500 food and beverage items that were below consumption standards. Almost 5,000 of those products had not been registered with the BPOM.
Kustantinah said that the illegally imported products usually reached Indonesia through small ports.
“We do have a system that can prevent illegal importation of goods but Indonesia is a big country. There are many small ports, and in some cases, as with Malaysia, you can just step over the border,” she said.
According to the agency, the findings might lead to administrative or criminal sanction. The 1999 Law on Consumer Protection stipulates that offenders selling expired food items may face five years in prison or Rp 2 billion (US$222,000) in fines.
The statement said that in 2010 the BPOM has taken 18 cases related to food to court. As many as 11 involved food items that were past their expiry dates or lacking distribution permits. Violations could carry fines of up to Rp 1.5 million.
Kustantinah said that the amount of food discovered to be illegal or substandard had increased from last year’s pre-Idul Fitri period.
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