Energy drink maker rejects recall order
JAKARTA (JP): A company ordered by the authorities to take their popular energy drink products off the shelves have refused to do so, saying they were manufactured according to regulations.
PT Asia Sejahtera Perdana Pharmaceutical, producer of Kratingdaeng, Kratingdaeng S and Galin Bugar, has yet to order its distributors and agents to withdraw its products from the market, claiming that there was nothing wrong with them.
The Food and Drugs Control Agency (BPOM) had ordered the company, who produce three tonic drinks and are the importer of M 150 drinks, to withdraw products from the market within two months as from Aug.16.
The agency's head, Sampurno, said in a press release on Monday, that their tests found that the energy drinks contained up to 80 mg of caffeine per bottle, far higher than the 50 mg per bottle written on the label.
PT Asia's manager for advertising and promotion Herlili Sumampouw said her company had sent its response to the agency asking it to undergo further tests on the caffeine content of the company's products.
Herlili argued that right now there were two different Kratingdaeng products in circulation in the market. The first kind are local products containing 50 mg of caffeine, while the other ones are imported goods containing 80 mg of caffeine per bottle.
She also denied that Galin Bugar drinks contained caffeine, saying they were real fruit juice.
She explained the company had initially imported Kratingdaeng and Kratingdaeng S from Thailand, but had begun producing them locally since 1997.
In other countries, the Kratingdaeng energy drink is known under the name, Red Bull.
Herlili asserted the order for retraction is confusing as Sampurno had often told the media, following the incident related with energy drink consumption abroad, that energy drinks sold in this country are safe to consume.
"So, how come our products are all of a sudden declared improper and unsafe for consumption. I think it's only part of a trick played on us by our competitors," she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Sampurno could not be reached on Tuesday for comment.
Three Swedish nationals died recently after consuming Red Bull mixed with vodka.
Last month, the Malaysian government banned imported energy drink products because they had yet to be registered with the country's ministry of health.
The agency in its release on Monday didn't specify whether the products to be recalled are imported or local products.
Despite the absence of a report or scientific findings about the side effects of such a high concentration of caffeine in the products, BPOM insists that the products be recalled immediately for the safety of consumers.
Enricus Hendry, an executive at PT Arta Boga Cemerlang, the distributor of PT Asia's products, admitted that the producer had stressed that there was no need to recall the company products. (bby)