B

uyer beware — when you buy products, any product, there is a chance that they do not meet the standards set by the government.

In spite of Indonesia National Standards (SNI) certification, there is still little enforcement against violations, leaving consumers vulnerable.

Elizabeth Achen from Serpong, west of Jakarta, used to buy rice from the brand Maknyuss, which carries the SNI label, for her catering business because of its claims of premium quality.

“Initially, the rice was tender and fragrant. But later on, I found it to be mushy, and it looked like it had been mixed with rice of different quality. Then, the news broke in July that it did not meet the quality stated by the SNI,” she said.

PT Indo Beras Unggul (PT IBU), which distributed Maknyuss, is currently under investigation by the National Police for allegedly selling substandard rice. The company has repeatedly denied the allegation.

While there was no report of illnesses from Maknyuss consumers, other products that fail to live up to the standards could potentially harm the health or threaten the safety of consumers.

A study by the Trade Ministry, which monitored 582 SNI-mandatory labeled products this year, including imports, found that 171 of them, or nearly 30 percent, did not meet the standards promised by the certification.

The study, announced on Monday by the Directorate General for Consumers Protection and Trade Order, selected products at random from open markets. Those found to be faulty included electronics, household and food items, and automotive products.

The findings include four brands of wheat flour that had nutritional content and measurements different from the packaging, TV sets, DVD players and vacuum cleaners without an adequate warranty, imported items that did not have instruction manuals written in Indonesian, and cookware, including saucepans and knives, with unclear countries of origin.

The Agency for National Standardization, which sets the SNIs, lists 544 product categories for certification. Of these, 105 categories are mandated to carry the SNI label, while the rest are on a voluntary basis.

However, SNI certification aims to reassure consumers. The standards are set jointly by the government, the business sector and consumer advocacy groups.

In spite of the findings, there has been little or almost no legal action taken against SNI violators.

The director general for consumer protection and trade order, Syahrul Mamma, said his office had sent warning letters to the perpetrators. Some were told to recall their products, and some imports were stopped.

“If we still find any violations in the next inspection, we will start legal prosecutions,” Syahrul said, invoking the 1999 Consumer Protection Law.

Under the law, producers that misrepresent their goods are liable to a maximum five-year imprisonment and Rp 2 billion (US$140,000) in penalties. The newer 2013 Industrial Law is more specific about SNI violations, and carries a maximum prison term of five years and Rp 3 billion in fines.

Few cases of SNI fraud have been brought before the court. The Maknyuss rice case in July was one of the few widely known to the public.

The business community welcomed the tighter monitoring of products as well legal prosecution of violators, but more importantly, the campaign for greater public awareness of the issue.

The Indonesian Consumer Association Foundation was not available for comment, but an article on its website questioned the effectiveness of the SNI. “The standards could play a role in protecting consumers if there was effective monitoring,” wrote Huzna G. Zahir, the author of the article. (sha)