Agency introduces online registration

Food safety: Drug and Food Supervisory Agency (BPOM) head Lucky Oemar Said (left to right), agency deputy Roy Sparringa, Food and Beverage Information Center (PIPIMM) secretary-general Franky Sibarani and Deputy Administrative Reforms Minister Eko Prasojo watch a computer monitor at the launch of the online food registration service in Jakarta on Tuesday. JP/Wendra AjistyatamaTo provide food manufacturers with a quicker and corruption-free registration process, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) on Tuesday launched an online registration system.

BPOM head Lucky Oemar Said said the online system would simplify the registration process through more convenient methods.

“These procedures can reduce the potential for corruption,” Lucky said, referring to the fact that online registration could reduce chances of direct contact between business players and the agency’s officials.

She added that the online system would also help businesspeople save time in registering “low-risk” food products.

“The online registration can take only seven days while business players normally spend about one month to register their products,” she said, adding that users can monitor the progress of their registration.

The online registration was one of three programs introduced on Tuesday by the BPOM. The other two are the Officials Administration Information System (SIAP) and the ISO 9001:2008 certified quality management system.

According to the agency, more than 80 percent of food products distributed in local markets are categorized as low-risk food products, such as candies, biscuits, chocolates, ketchup, syrup and instant noodles. By registering their products, producers can ensure that the products they are selling to their customers are safe.

Lucky said the newly launched electronic registration method was an easy-to-use online service because customers could enter the available website to have their low-risk food products fully registered.

“In the middle of rapid information and communication technology developments, quick and easy business procedures have now become the norm. This online registration offers food manufacturers not only easier, but also a more secure registration process,” she said.

Citing an example, Lucky said that the web-based registration system had no limit to the number of registrations manufacturers could apply for each day. Applicants also could submit application forms from wherever they wanted and monitor the progress of their applications online, resulting in lower transportation costs.

Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI) secretary-general Franky Sibarani said more than 50 food manufacturers had joined in an attempt and none had complained about the new registration procedure. About 200 more manufacturers are expected to conduct the same procedure.

“The main advantages of the new procedure are that they have lowered transportation costs. They do not have to come and directly hand the documents to the agency’s officials, as they can do it electronically,” he told The Jakarta Post.

He said, however, that all applicants should ensure that they had first completed all documents required by the registration process. “With uncompleted documents, I think they will still face problems in registering their products,” he said.

Lucky said the BPOM would conduct the online registration processes in stages until 2014.