Energy drink maker rejects recall order
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)