Expired food still on sale

Expired food still on sale

SEMARANG: Many shops in Central Java's capital city of 1,400,000 people still sell expired canned food and drinks. In a market observation conducted by Antara last week, the news agency over the weekend determined that many shops here are in violation of the laws governing sale date of canned goods. According to the news agency, the outdated goods include chocolate, cooking oil, canned sardines, instant noodles, canned vegetables and biscuits. Canned goods are often sold damaged and not pulled from the shelves as mandated by law.

Djaka Handaja, the head of the Central Java Food and Drug Supervision Office, told Antara on Saturday that all of the outdated food and drinks should be handed over to his office. He said that those found guilty of selling expired food and drinks are subject to a maximum 15-year jail term or Rp 300 million (US$148,500) in fines.

Djaka also called on the public to be careful when buying food and drinks from shops, especially at Idul Fitri when shops offer food and drink parcels.(tis)