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.
Police probe underfilled bottles of Minyakita cooking oil
“While the label indicates 1 liter [of cooking oil], our tests showed volumes ranging between 700 and 900 milliliters,” said the head of the police's Food Task Force.
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!
In this file photo taken on March 3, 2025 at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port, a port officer prepares to deliver crates full of bottled Minyakita cooking oil to eastern Indonesia. The National Police launched a probe on March 9, 2025, into three producers of the state-subsidized cooking oil following reports that quantities being sold on retail shelves fell short of the amounts stated on product labels. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
A
National Police task force has launched an investigation into reports of underfilled containers of state-promoted cooking oil brand Minyakita being sold during Ramadan, with actual volumes falling short of the amounts stated on product labels.
Brig. Gen. Helfi Assegaf, head of the police’s Food Task Force, confirmed on Sunday that the probe followed an inspection at Lenteng Agung Market in South Jakarta, where irregularities were found in several MinyaKita products on store shelves.
“Measurements were conducted on three different MinyaKita brands produced by three separate manufacturers, and we found discrepancies between the stated and actual volume,” Helfi told reporters, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
“While the label indicates 1 liter [of oil in the container], our tests showed volumes ranging between 700 and 900 milliliters.”
Minyakita is the Trade Ministry’s subsidized cooking oil brand, launched in 2022 by then-minister Zulkifli Hasan and meant to be sold to low-income households in response to soaring cooking oil prices at the time.
Three producers of Minyakita products are currently under police scrutiny: Depok-based PT Artha Eka Global Asia, Koperasi Terpadu Nusantara (KTN), a co-op of micro-entrepreneurs from Kudus, Central Java and PT Tunas Agro Indolestari from Tangerang, Banten.
Samples taken from PT Artha Eka Global Asia and KTN were 1-liter bottled MinyaKita, while samples from PT Tunas Agro Indolestari were 2-liter pouches.
“Following these findings, the Food Task Force has confiscated evidence and is conducting further investigations and legal proceedings,” Helfi said.
Legal action
The police investigation was triggered by an impromptu inspection on Saturday by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, who visited Lenteng Agung Market to verify reports of underfilled MinyaKita products being sold above the government’s official price cap (HET).
Upon discovering the violations, Amran denounced the practice as “unacceptable” and harmful to consumers.
“I have coordinated with Bareskrim [the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency] and the Food Task Force. If these companies are proven guilty, they must be shut down and have their licenses revoked,” he declared.
“There is no place for businesses that exploit consumers for profit.”
The minister also emphasized the need for stricter monitoring of cooking oil distribution to prevent similar violations in the future.
The Minyakita scandal comes in the midst of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which household consumer spending traditionally rises ahead of the Idul Fitri celebration.
The probe also comes off the back of shattered consumer confidence in state oil and gas firm Pertamina’s non-subsidized fuel product Pertamax.
The Attorney General’s Office is currently investigating graft charges against figures from several Pertamina subsidiaries, who stand accused of inflated import fees and the blending of Pertamax fuel with the lower-octane Pertalite brand to be sold at a premium. (tjs)
