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Expired food for Idul Fitri parcels confiscated in West Jakarta

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)

Jakarta

Fri, June 9, 2017 Published on Jun. 9, 2017 Published on 2017-06-09T11:29:11+07:00

A Jakarta Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM) officer shows an expiry date label from a food package during an impromptu inspection at a storehouse in Asemka, West Jakarta on Thursday. (Warta Kota/Bintang Pradewo)

T

he Jakarta Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has confiscated hundreds of boxes containing suspected expired food, which was to be sold as Idul Fitri foodstuff parcels from a storehouse in Asemka, Pinangsia, West Jakarta on Thursday.

The food was reportedly going to be packaged and sold in the form of parcels ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday, when demand for such items skyrockets.

Jakarta’s BPOM head Dewi Prawitasari said she also suspected the storeowner had manipulated the expiry date labels. “At a glance, we believe these food items have expired although the expiry date shows otherwise,” she said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The expired food contained bacteria, which is dangerous and could lead to death if consumed, Dewi said, urging the public to be cautious as she suspected the case was also pervasive in other areas.

The store owner, Ale, 47, denied that he purposely sought to sell expired food, saying that he did not directly manage the store's activities.

He added that he had ordered his staff to dispose of the food. (fac)