Bareskrim Polri and the National Food Agency (Bapanas) have exposed\nfraudulent practices by fortified rice producers that claimed their\nproducts were highly nutritious, when in fact the claims were bogus. The\nspeciality rice was sold at exorbitant prices to generate substantial\nprofits.<\/p>\n
Bapanas Deputy for Food Availability and Stabilisation Hermawan made\nthe remarks at a press conference at Bareskrim Polri headquarters in\nSouth Jakarta on Wednesday (21 October 2026). He said laboratory tests\nshowed that 90% of the nutritional claims made for fortified rice sold\non the market did not match the facts or were fictitious.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter laboratory testing, it turned out that all the nutritional\ncontent claims were untrue; 90% of them were incorrect,\u201d Hermawan said\nin his presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome products did not contain any vitamins at all, while others had\nlevels far below what the public expected, such as zinc and vitamin B,\u201d\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Hermawan said producers had not only manipulated vitamin content but\nhad also misled consumers about the quality of the rice used. In 90% of\ncases, fortified rice advertised as premium grade was found to be made\nfrom medium-grade rice.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the products examined by the Bapanas and Bareskrim teams, 90%\nwere claimed to be premium fortified rice, but in fact they were\nmedium-grade rice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that, based on production costs, medium-grade rice\npriced at Rp 13,500 per kilogram would require only about Rp 1,000 in\nadditional costs for 1% vitamin kernels to make it into fortified rice.\nThis means a reasonable selling price should be around Rp 14,500 per\nkilogram.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, what we found in the field was an average price of Rp\n23,000 to Rp 57,000. The profits are therefore enormous. This is what\nhas left consumers feeling they have been cheated,\u201d Hermawan said.<\/p>\n
In response to the findings, Bapanas has instructed the Regional Food\nSafety Competent Authorities (OKKPD) to take firm action against\nproducers found to have committed fraud.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the central competent authority for food safety, Bapanas has\ninstructed OKKPD to revoke licences. We have also ordered products to be\nwithdrawn from circulation and production to be halted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hermawan said the withdrawals were one reason stocks of rice had\ntemporarily run out at some modern retail outlets recently. He\nnevertheless assured the public that rice remained available at\ntraditional markets at normal prices.<\/p>\n
Bareskrim Polri\u2019s Director of Special Economic Crimes, Senior\nCommissioner Suhasto, said producers had deliberately exploited the\nabsence of a government-set retail price ceiling (HET) for fortified\nrice to maximise profits. As it is classified as speciality rice,\nproducers are free to set their own prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that fortified rice currently has no retail price\nceiling. Producers can raise prices as much as they want, according to\ntheir respective profit targets. You can imagine the profits they make,\u201d\nSuhasto said.<\/p>\n
He said some producers were suspected of deliberately using rice\nsupplies available on the market to make fortified rice, relying on\nnutritional claims on the packaging despite laboratory results showing\nthat the contents did not match those claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we examine it and find that the information on the packaging is\ninaccurate, it is the public who ultimately suffer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Bareskrim Polri\u2019s Sub-directorate I chief, Senior Commissioner Dery\nAgung Wijaya, added that the lack of price controls had sent the price\nof packaged fortified rice soaring.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 5-kilogram bag costs between Rp 63,000 and Rp 138,000. Premium\nrice is Rp 14,900 per kilogram and medium-grade rice Rp 13,500 per\nkilogram. That means each bag can generate a profit of between Rp 23,000\nand Rp 37,500,\u201d Dery said.<\/p>\n
The enforcement action follows up on President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s\nAsta Cita programme and National Police Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto\u2019s\ninstructions under the \u2018Police Care for Food\u2019 Quick Wins programme.<\/p>\n
Bareskrim Polri and the Food Task Force are continuing their\ninvestigation and gathering evidence to identify those responsible for\nthe alleged fraud.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fortified-rice-producers-falsely-claim-nutritional-benefits-authorities-say-1792587184", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }