Beware of contaminated and expired drinks<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Standing on an economy class train from Bandung to Surabaya
\nfor five and a half hours and driving a car for another 20 hours
\ndid not make Sony Samdani, 40, feel sleepy nor lose his
\nconcentration. He remained alert behind the steering wheel
\nalthough he had not slept for 26 hours!<\/p>\n
"I just rely on this magical formula. It keeps my eyes bright
\nand boosts my stamina. I do not feel aches all over my body," he
\nsaid, showing three bottles of energy drink that he had just
\nconsumed. Sonny has relied on energy drinks to help him in his
\njob as a driver for a rental car company since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
With the tremendous surge of energy they can give, energy
\ndrinks have become more and more popular among men and women.
\nMany energy drinks can be found easily, even in small food kiosks
\nor gas stations.<\/p>\n
"All my colleagues like to drink it but from the various
\nbrands in the market, I only like two brands since they don't
\ntaste too sour. Besides, they are relatively affordable," Sonny
\nsaid. One bottle cost around Rp 3,500.<\/p>\n
He added that he never consumes more than three bottles a day
\nsince most of his colleagues complained of weakness in the legs
\nafter consuming energy drinks excessively.<\/p>\n
Ruslan Aspan, deputy for the control on traditional medicine,
\ncosmetics, and complementary products at the Food and Drug
\nMonitoring Agency (BPOM), said that consumers should check
\nwhether the products were registered with BPOM.<\/p>\n
Beverages in cartons and energy drinks must have a
\nregistration number from BPOM on their label. Consumers should
\nread and study the composition, the side effects and the warnings
\non the label and brochures or other information that is usually
\nattached to the packet.<\/p>\n
In 2001, BPOM withdrew three brands of energy drinks because
\ntheir caffeine level had exceeded the permitted level.<\/p>\n
"Customers should comply with the suggested consumption, and
\nnot consume products that are past the expiry date. They should
\nalso not be too easily lured by energy drink commercials that
\nexaggerate the benefits of their products," he said.<\/p>\n
BPOM routinely takes samples of carton drinks and energy
\ndrinks and examines them at its laboratory and its 26 branches in
\nprovincial capital cities. As of last year, it had examined 169
\nsamples of energy drinks and all of them met the standard health
\nrequirements.<\/p>\n
M. Ma'roef, director of food inspection and certification at
\nBPOM, said that it was the obligation of the government,
\nconsumers, and producers to monitor the quality of carton drinks
\nand energy drinks.<\/p>\n
He said that the composition, registration number, expiry
\ndate, warnings and instructions on the usage and storage of the
\nproducts were important to note.<\/p>\n
"Consumers should pay attention to the physical condition of
\nthe packaging whether it is damaged, bloated, leaking, rusty, and
\nit is advisable not to buy products that do not have clear
\nidentification," he said.<\/p>\n
The government has formulated some regulations to protect the
\npublic from food products, including the carton drinks and energy
\ndrinks that are unregistered, contaminated, past the expiry date
\nand poisonous.<\/p>\n
All soft drink or energy drinks, either locally produced or
\nimported must be registered with BPOM and meet the standard
\nrequirements and health standards before they are released on the
\nmarket. The products should have a certificate from an accredited
\nlaboratory, a health certificate or certificate of free sale from
\nthe country of origin.<\/p>\n
The products are examined based on aspects of safety, quality
\nand efficacy like source of water, raw materials, additional
\nsubstances, primary packaging (that is in direct contact with the
\nproduct) and secondary packaging, level of metal\/microbes,
\nmanufacturing process, including production facilities.<\/p>\n
The products will be given a registration number if they meet
\nall the standards. The institution also gives certification on
\nthe production and distribution facilities. BPOM inspects the
\nproduction and distribution facilities, and confirms that they
\nare in compliance with existing rulings, including compliance
\nwith good manufacturing processes.<\/p>\n
BPOM then investigates and enforces the law and issues
\nwarnings to the public. It also monitors side effects or unwanted
\neffects that the beverages and energy drinks can bring, does pre
\naudit and post audit on the products commercials and promotion.<\/p>\n
Ma'roef said that BPOM will impose administrative as well as
\nlegal sanctions on producers, importers, or distributors if their
\nproducts are proven to be below standards.<\/p>\n
"The products that do not meet the requirements will be
\nwithdrawn from the market and destroyed. If the producer or
\ndistributor does not remedy the problem, then the registration
\nnumber will be withdrawn or the production suspended temporarily.
\nWe also take legal action against producers who still distribute
\nexpired products," he said.<\/p>\n
For producers who do not put the expiry date on their product
\nlabel, BPOM will take gradual measures, beginning with a warning
\nletter, then withdrawing the products from the market, and
\nfinally revoking the registration number.<\/p>\n
"The expired products found in the market are destroyed. In
\naddition, sellers can also be taken to court," Ma'roef said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) said that BPOM had
\nsent a distributor of expired packed beverages in Yogyakarta to
\nprison for three months and hundreds of contaminated beverages in
\nSurabaya were withdrawn from the market.<\/p>\n
"Those measures can be taken because of consumers' complaints.
\nAlthough the cases reported are still low, they reflect the huge
\nactual incidence in the field. Consumers have the right to
\nget correct information about the product and also to sue if they
\nconsume products that have endangered their health," said Sularsi
\nof YLKI's consumer complaint division.<\/p>\n
Most of the complaints received by YLKI are related to
\ncontaminated and expired packaged beverages.<\/p>",
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