Public Warned Of ‘Expired’ Chinese New Year Goods

Jakarta Globe, February 12, 2010

Many Chinese New Year's treats are out of date, the government says.
[SP Photo/Ignatius Liliek]

More than three quarters of the food and drink products being sold in Chinese speciality stores ahead of the Chinese New Year on Sunday had passed their expiration dates, the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said on Friday.

Kustantinah, head of the agency, also known as the BPOM, said the discovery was “shocking.”

“From February 5 to 11 we raided 556 stores throughout the country that usually sell Chinese New Year foodstuffs and the results were quite shocking, because 76.4 percent of their products had expired,” Kustantinah said.

She said the stores raided included a number in Glodok and Gajah Mada in West Jakarta, both areas with high concentrations of Indonesians of Chinese descent. Other raids were conducted in the provinces of Riau, South and North Sumatra, East Java and Yogyakarta.

Kustantinah said that many operators of the small stores catering to the Tionghoa (ethnic Chinese) considered Chinese New Year the perfect opportunity to boost their sales.

However, it now seems that many saw selling expired or damaged goods as another way to increase their profits.

She added that 3,252 items of expired food and drinks had been confiscated and would be destroyed immediately.

Dewi Prawitasari, the director of inspection and certification at the agency, said most items confiscated were canned cocktails, milk, chocolate, biscuits, candy and soft drinks. Most of the products are from little-known brands imported from China.

Dewi said that all store owners had been reprimanded and if they get more than two warning letters from the agency, they could be brought to court for violating the Consumer Protection Law, which carries a jail term of up to five years and a Rp 2 billion ($186,000) fine.

BPOM also found 251 items of damaged goods and dozens of food and drinks that lacked the official permits issued by the agency for both local and imported products.

“Following this discovery, we hope consumers become more aware and always check expiration dates and package condition before buying a product,” she said. Dessy Sagita