KPAI and Forum Warga Urge BPOM to Revise Nutritional Value Information Rules

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the civil society group Forum Warga Kota (Fakta) Indonesia are urging the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to revise its Regulation No. 10 of 2026 on Nutritional Value Information, as it is deemed not yet optimal in protecting the rights of children and consumers. “This BPOM regulation has not taken up the mandate from the Health Law and also Government Regulation No. 28 regarding nutritional value information,” said KPAI Commissioner Jasra Putra during a working group coordination meeting on the protection of children’s rights to healthy food at the KPAI office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to him, a KPAI study indicates that the regulation is still confusing because it uses classifications A, B, C, and D. Previously published BPOM research actually shows that warning labels such as “high in sugar”, “high in salt”, and “high in fat” are more easily understood by the public compared to the nutri-level letter classification system. These findings are also reinforced by several studies from civil society organisations, including Fakta Indonesia, which show that warning labels are more effectively understood by the public. “We will provide input to BPOM so that this regulation can be improved to be more effective in its implementation,” Jasra said.

KPAI also sees a potential lack of synchronisation between the BPOM regulation and Ministry of Health regulations regarding nutritional value information. He stated that clear nutritional value information is very important for children so they can understand the content of the food they consume and choose products that are healthier for their growth and development. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Child Protection Law guarantee every child’s right to obtain correct, appropriate, and understandable information, including about food. “We hope that through this advocacy, the regulation can be improved. Industry also has an obligation to participate in providing protection to children,” he said.

Fakta Indonesia Chairperson Ari Subagio Wibowo assessed that the issuance of the BPOM regulation has not yet fulfilled the mandate of the Health Law in suppressing non-communicable disease rates. According to him, the increasing cases of obesity and chronic diseases in children are a crucial reason for the need for regulations that provide clearer information to the public. He questioned BPOM’s decision to choose the nutri-level system, when BPOM’s own internal survey reportedly shows that the public finds front-of-pack warning labels easier to understand.

Meanwhile, Fakta Indonesia Vice Chairperson Azas Tigor Nainggolan argued that the BPOM regulation has the potential to create legal uncertainty because it contains too many exceptions to the obligation to include nutritional value information. All food products should provide clear nutritional information so that children and consumers can know the quality of the products they will consume. “If a legal rule has too many exceptions, then there is no legal certainty. This has the potential to violate the rights of children and consumers to obtain correct information about food products,” he said, referring to the provisions in the Consumer Protection Law which guarantee consumers’ rights to obtain correct, clear, and honest information about goods or services consumed. He encouraged that BPOM Regulation No. 10 of 2026 be immediately evaluated and improved to align with the mandate of the Health Law, the Child Protection Law, and the principles of consumer rights protection. “Access to information is part of human rights that must be guaranteed by the state, including for children,” Azas concluded.