TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Businesses fret over planned excise on fats and salt in processed foods
This provision will apply to all businesses, including food served in catering services, hotels, restaurants, canteens, street food stalls and vendors as well as importers.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Laboratory officers from the Banda Aceh Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BBPOM) check Ramadan takjil (snacks to break the fast), sold by seasonal food vendors at the Ramadan Culinary Market in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on March 14, 2024. (Antara/Khalis Surry)
B
usinesses have called the government to rethink a plan to introduce a cap and impose a tax on certain ingredients used in processed foods, fearing the measures will be burdensome for the food industry, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Article 194 of Government Regulation No.28/2024, which serves as the implementing regulation of the 2023 Health Law, stipulates that the government will set a cap for sugar, fat and salt content in processed and fast food in the country, hoping to curb the increasing trend of obesity and diabetes, among other non-communicable diseases.
The same article also paves the way for an introduction of excise on the three ingredients. The Finance Ministry had planned to introduce a tax on sweetened beverages last year, but it was delayed amid pushback from businesses in the sector.
This provision will apply to all businesses, including food served in catering services, hotels, restaurants, canteens, street food stalls and vendors, as well as importers.
Ronald Walla, chair of SMEs at the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), anticipated that the rule would burden SMEs with additional costs and red tape.
Meanwhile, he expects the rule will present challenges as many businesses have no idea how to calculate the salt, sugar and fat content in the food they sell.
“We also need to effectively supervise the implementation [of the rule] and to ensure fairness,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
