Consumer protection needed

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's livestock policy will shift from animal breeding to consumer protection because of the city's dependence on supply from outside areas, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture said.

The dependence means checks to ensure health requirements were being met were needed, Erwin Soetirto, Director General of Cattle Breeding said yesterday.

He was opening a three-day training program for 180 civil servants from 16 provinces, assigned to investigate and monitor beef products. The training, held for the fifth time, opened late Thursday and ends today.

The training would cover law enforcement for consumer protection, based on 1967 law no. 6 on animal husbandry and veterinary health, Erwin said.

The civilian investigators would be authorized to check slaughter houses, milk and animal husbandry firms, and check the quality of beef, milk and eggs, and rabies elimination.

Clause 25 of the law says state authorities can set up special forces which can call for assistance from police and the attorney general's office in investigating cases pertaining to violations.

Maskup Ustianto, the city's assistant on administrative affairs, said Jakarta needed around 470 tons of beef a day.

Most of this was supplied from areas outside the city in Java and Bali, Maskup said.

Erwin said the 750 cows slaughtered a day for the city came from West, Central, East Java, Yogyakarta and Bali. Jakarta needs 400,000 chickens per day and 400 tons of eggs, almost all come from West Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. (11)