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he police are investigating the alleged use of expired ingredients at two popular restaurant chains, insisting that they will rely on expert testimony to verify potential violations.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said on Monday the experts were still inspecting the ingredients used by the restaurants to make their meals. The experts will look to find solid proof of violations to the 2012 Food Law and the 1999 Consumer Protection Law.

“They [the restaurants] can reject the allegations, but it is the expert testimony and the pieces of evidence collected that will strengthen the accusation,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

A joint investigation by Tempo and the BBC, which kicked off in July, found that Pizza Hut and Marugame Udon, both of which are run by the same holding company, PT Sriboga Raturaya, used ingredients that had already passed their shelf-life date.

In April, the police seized ingredients at one of Marugame Udon’s branches in Gandaria City in South Jakarta.

Martinus said Marugame was likely to have violated the law, citing the use of bonito powder as an example. “The company might be guilty because they extended the shelf-life for the powder by one year.”

The operators of Pizza Hut and Marugame Udon, PT Sarimelati Kencana and PT Sriboga Marugame Indonesia, denied the allegations on Sunday, asserting that they only used “high-quality material worthy of consumption”.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) vice chairman Sudrajat said the PHRI did not monitor restaurant practices, but added that every business owner should understand the Food Law. Moreover, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) frequently checks how restaurants apply the law and uphold it. “The BPOM conducts frequent checks, especially during festive seasons like Ramadhan. They also look at the food stock expiry dates. Nobody can use expired ingredients for food,” he said.

Article 90 in the Food Law stipulates that “nobody is allowed to distribute faulty food, including expired ingredients”.

Noel Arbianto, the director of the Menteng branch of the duck-serving restaurant Bebek Bengil, said for a local and non-fast-food restaurant, the handling of ingredients might be easier than for those foreign franchisees that import raw materials in bulk.

Separately, Carl’s Jr. franchise holder Mahadya Group COO Mehdi Zaidi said his chain always abided by the law and by manufacturer guidelines on storage and shelf-life.

“We follow the manufacturer guidelines on storage and shelf-life. The storage of each item is based on the type of raw material,” he said in an e-mail. (adt)