Amran details violations found in 25 fortified rice brands
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), who also serves as the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, has detailed the types of violations found in 25 problematic fortified rice brands discovered by the government through official monitoring and laboratory testing.
“Based on the results of monitoring and laboratory tests conducted by Bapanas, there are three types of violations occurring, including administrative discrepancies, nutritional value inconsistencies, and rice quality issues,” Amran confirmed in Jakarta on Saturday.
He explained that the first violation involves administrative discrepancies, such as the falsutification of distribution permits, where permits are no longer valid, and inconsistencies between distribution certificates and the labels currently in circulation. Furthermore, there are instances of ‘overclaiming’ or exaggerated claims on the packaging labels.
The second violation refers to nutritional value inconsistencies. Laboratory results indicated that all 25 brands of fortified rice failed to contain the nutritional content claimed on their packaging, with vitamin and mineral levels being inaccurate.
Bapanas collaborated with four laboratories to conduct these sample tests, including Saraswanti Indo Genetech, Eurofins Angler Biochemlab, the Integrated Laboratory of IPB Bogor, and the Agricultural Research and Development Agency (BRMP) of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The final violation concerns quality discrepancies, where the claimed quality of the rice does not match the label. Laboratory findings revealed that some producers claimed to sell premium rice, when in fact the quality was medium or even sub-medium.
Amran noted that the 25 problematic fortified rice brands were being sold at prices ranging from Rp19,270 to Rp57,600 per kilogram (kg), offering additional claims of vitamins and minerals that were proven false by laboratory testing.
“Do not seek maximum profit at the expense of the people’s suffering. For example, recently there was fortified rice where a profit of Rp40,000 per kilo was taken. This is wrong, and it is not even fortified. It is fake and sold at a high price,” Amran stated firmly.
As a serious commitment, Amran stated that he has communicated these findings directly to the Chief of the Indonesian National Police, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, because rice issues affect almost the entire Indonesian population.
“We have called the National Police Chief. Strict action must be taken immediately. There should be no mercy. If necessary, the heaviest penalties should be imposed. This concerns the livelihoods of many people, not just one individual. This is for 286 million people; we must protect them,” he asserted.
The 25 problematic fortified rice brands are owned by 11 different business entities. All have been issued warning letters by the Regional Competent Food Safety Authority (OKKPD) in coordination with Bapanas.
The OKKPD involved by Bapanas includes regions such as DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, D.I. Yogyakarta, and North Sumatra.
As of the first week of September, all problematic fortified rice brands have been observed to have ceased production. Additionally, 12 of the deceptive brands have begun withdrawing stock from circulation, while the remainder are currently in the process of being withdrawn.
It is known that the government, alongside the National Police Food Task Force, announced findings regarding 2<0xA0>25 brands of rice marketed as fortified rice that allegedly do not meet the standards and contents listed on their labels.
The 25 brands failed to meet the nutritional and quality requirements of SNI 9314:2024 for fortified rice kernels and SNI 9372:2025 for fortified rice. The brands suspected of violations include WFO, TKS, IMF, NUR, TKL, HOK, BRV, IMR, IHJ, IAK, PBK, GNB, DTR, TKR, WJK, PLK, MKY, IMC, PTK, ARP, ARN, SKM, GNM, TAR, and CMS.
Based on monitoring and sample testing, the potential loss to consumers due to the price difference is estimated to reach Rp89 trillion.
Bapanas stated that this calculation of potential loss is based on a government estimate of the difference between the average selling price of Rp23,385 per kilogram and the fair average price of Rp13,689 per kg, resulting in a difference of Rp9,695 per kg. This was then multiplied by an assumption of 30 percent of the annual rice consumption requirement of 9.2 million tonnes.