Oh No! 9 Out of 10 Packaged Foods in Indonesia Are Unhealthy, Here Are the Findings
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The majority of packaged food and beverage products circulating in Indonesia fail to meet health standards. A recent study reveals that nearly all products contain excessive levels of sugar, salt, or fat.
These findings come from research by the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) in collaboration with CHeNECE at Universitas Airlangga, which analysed 8,077 packaged food products in four major cities: Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Makassar.
The results show that approximately 90-95% of products are deemed unhealthy based on an internationally recognised evidence-based Nutrient Profile Model. These products contain excessive sugar, salt, or fat, and some include non-sugar sweeteners that pose risks with long-term consumption.
Muhammad Zulfiqar Firdaus, Health Economics Research Associate at CISDI, stated that this situation indicates that food consumption issues in Indonesia are not merely a matter of individual choice but are influenced by an environment filled with unhealthy products.
“These findings confirm that Indonesians live in a food environment dominated by products high in sugar, salt, and fat. This is no longer just about individual education, but about redesigning the system that needs improvement,” he said during a discussion yesterday, Tuesday (28/4/2026).
The study also compares various Nutrient Profile Models (NPM) from international organisations such as WHO SEARO and PAHO. The results indicate that global standards tend to be stricter in identifying unhealthy products compared to the approach currently being developed in Indonesia.
For comparison, using the government’s Nutri-Level system under preparation, only about 73% of products would be categorised as unhealthy. Trias Mahmudiono, Director of CHeNECE and Professor at the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, assessed that this difference arises because the thresholds used are still relatively loose.
“This difference shows that the accuracy of thresholds greatly determines the effectiveness of a policy. If too loose, many unhealthy food products go unidentified,” said Trias Mahmudiono.
Not only regarding limits, the Nutri-Level label design is also under scrutiny. Tiered categories with certain colours, such as yellow for category C, are seen as potentially creating a perception that the product is still safe, even though it has exceeded limits for sugar, salt, or fat content.
In contrast, international practices tend to use simple warning labels on the front of the packaging. This system is considered more assertive as it directly indicates whether a product exceeds thresholds or not, making it easier for consumers to understand.
Amid the implementation of new nutrition labelling regulations, researchers view this as an important opportunity to improve policies to more effectively protect public health.
CISDI has proposed several recommendations, from adopting evidence-based nutrient profile standards as a national reference, tightening thresholds, to considering the use of simpler and mandatory warning labels on all packaged food products.
Additionally, policies need to be expanded to other aspects such as restricting the marketing of unhealthy products and implementing excise taxes on foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. Such steps are deemed essential to curb the risk of non-communicable diseases like obesity, which continues to rise with the prevalence of processed food consumption in Indonesia.