House Commission VII Urges Stronger Oversight of Bottled Drinking Water

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of House Commission VII Chusnunia has urged the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to strengthen oversight of bottled drinking water (AMDK) circulation to provide a sense of safety for the public and encourage competitiveness. According to her, it is important to ensure AMDK products, without exception, and other packaged products hold BPOM permits as a form of consumer protection. “I do not yet know precisely how often BPOM conducts supervision of existing AMDK circulation, therefore we encourage the government to carry out oversight of water with the aim of protecting the public interest whilst simultaneously boosting product competitiveness,” Chusnunia said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday. She explained that supervision of AMDK is crucial because the product is a primary human need used for daily necessities. Moreover, she said, the public largely relies on BPOM to ensure that these products already have distribution permits from the agency. Chusnunia stated that the increasingly massive production of AMDK makes this product fall into the high-risk food category. “These risks include exposure to microplastics from bottles, the release of chemicals such as BPA or antimony due to hot temperatures, as well as the presence of bromate which is carcinogenic if levels are excessive,” she said. Therefore, her side is pushing BPOM to be more active and routine in conducting inspections of AMDK production and distribution facilities. “This is important to do as an effort to protect the public and improve product competitiveness,” she stressed.