Jakarta Tightens Food Safety Oversight in Independent Markets
Jakarta — The Jakarta Provincial Government has tightened oversight of fresh food circulation in several markets, particularly independent markets which are considered still prone to lapses in supervision.
“The focus locations that sometimes escape our oversight are independent markets or neighbourhood markets, where supervision is more difficult to implement,” said Hasudungan Sidabalok, Head of the Jakarta Provincial Food Security, Maritime, and Agriculture Service (KPKP), after conducting direct food inspections at Lotte Grosir Pasar Rebo, Ciracas, East Jakarta, on Monday.
This follows the continued discovery of food products containing harmful substances, such as formaldehyde in salted fish.
Hasudungan stated that food inspections continue to be conducted routinely at various sales locations, both traditional markets and supermarkets. Throughout 2025, the authority has conducted fresh food inspections at more than 200 locations with approximately 30,000 samples examined.
“The Jakarta Provincial Government has implemented food product supervision, particularly fresh food. In 2025 we have already conducted fresh food inspections at more than 200 traditional market and supermarket locations with 30,000 samples,” Hasudungan explained.
Inspections are also carried out through three government-owned laboratories, namely fishery, livestock, and agriculture laboratories.
“From the inspection results, approximately 99 per cent of fresh food products circulating in Jakarta are declared safe for consumption,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Hasudungan acknowledged that violations have still been found in several product types, particularly from the fishery sector. One of the most frequently discovered violations is salted fish containing formaldehyde.
“The findings that still occur are usually in fishery products. We have found many instances of salted fish containing formaldehyde mixtures,” he said.
The use of formaldehyde in salted fish, he explained, is generally done to make the product more durable and appear fresher. However, this chemical substance is not permitted for use in food because it is harmful to human health.
During the occasion, Hasudungan revealed that inspections still face obstacles at several sales locations that are not under the management of the local government. Independent markets or neighbourhood markets have been identified as one of the points that are more difficult to oversee routinely. Nevertheless, he assured that markets under the management of Perumda Pasar Jaya have undergone strict inspections.
“Markets at PD Pasar Jaya are all safe from formaldehyde,” he said.
The Jakarta Provincial Government is committed to continuing to expand the scope of food safety inspections to ensure the safety of products circulating in society. This step is taken as an effort to protect consumers from potential dangers of harmful chemicals in food.