Check food baskets, consumer warned

Check food baskets, consumer warned

JAKARTA (JP): If you receive food and drink products in finely
decorated baskets this coming Idul Fitri, be sure to check the
expiration dates on the cover of every item, the Indonesian
Consumers Organization (YLKI) warns.

Whether imported or locally produced, there is a distinct
possibility that items are unfit for consumption, either because
they have passed the expiration dates, or even worse, they do not
even have expiration dates in the first place.

Should anything happen to a person after consuming unfit
products, he or she would not have any legal recourse, YLKI
researcher Retno Widiastuti said yesterday.

Retno said her organization conducted a study on the contents
of food and beverages included in Idul Fitri food parcels in 1995
and found that there was great ignorance about acceptable
standards among distributors as well as consumers.

Among defective items found in the 1995 report were dairy
products, jams, chocolates, candies, cookies, dried vegetables,
canned cereals, canned fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, tea and
soft drinks.

The tradition of sending food baskets during Idul Fitri or
Christmas, usually between business relations, in Indonesia has
been used by food distributors to unload products they could not
sell in supermarkets.

This is because in all likelihood, the person who places the
order would not take the trouble to check the content of the
baskets. Meanwhile, recipients consider it impolite to complain
to the sender if they find bad items among the products in the
basket.

Retno said many food and beverages included in 1995 food
baskets had been smuggled into the country and therefore were
never subjected to the government's health scrutiny.

All imported food and beverages must carry the label Makanan
Luar Negeri (imported food) and a registration code number from
the Ministry of Health and a customs sticker from the Ministry of
Finance. By regulation, imported food and beverages must pass the
quality standard test from the Ministry of Health and a
certificate stating authorized distribution from the country of
origin.

Retno said some of the products that were included in the gift
baskets carried labels that were barely legible or even forged.

Locally products do not necessarily fare better because many
of them do not even state expiration dates, she said.

Retno said her organization encourages people to file
complaints if they find defective products in their baskets.

The Ministry of Health could not be reached yesterday for
comment on the issue.

Sudaryatmo, a member of YLKI's consumer complaints division,
said Indonesian laws currently do not afford legal protection for
consumers against abuses by producers, importers or distributors.

Given the weak legal protection, Sudaryatmo advised consumers
to be highly critical when looking at advertising and labeling.
(01)