Food safety, inspection to be regulated

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Food Ibrahim Hasan announced here yesterday that his office plans to issue regulations on food safety and food inspection to cope with afflictions caused by damaged or contaminated foodstuffs.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, Ibrahim acknowledged that food regulations, prepared in line with the principles of the World Trade Organization, were necessary to boost the competitiveness of Indonesia's products on the world market.

"This is a very urgent matter. It's about time Indonesia had its food safety and inspection laws because our neighboring countries, including India and Bangladesh, have had their own," he said.

Ibrahim said that in the long run, Indonesia is expected to have its own food safety and inspection accreditation agency to ensure that foodstuffs in the country are processed and prepared to meet international standards.

Ibrahim said that the planned regulations were also discussed during his meeting with Glickman.

The United States, as a major importer of Indonesian agricultural commodities, has been providing Indonesia with technical assistance for the regulations, he said.

"Together with Japan, the United States applies strict regulations on agricultural products, so we must hear from them what they expect from us," he said.

The planned regulations, Ibrahim said, would be applied to exports and imports and may carry penalties of up to Rp 1 billion for serious violations.

Indonesia currently has very loose laws, which often enable ill-behaved food producers and distributors, for example, to cover a label of expiration or to imprint a foodstuff with inaccurate ingredients.

The planned food regulation bill, which is currently in the making and is expected to be passed by legislators later this year, will be applied to small and large food producers.

Foreign and local experts, including those from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, are also involved in formulating the legal aspects of the planned law. (pwn)