Parents hooked on kids food supplements
Parents hooked on kids food supplements
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Food supplements for children are selling like hot cakes in most
drugstores here as many parents are convinced they are the key to
guaranteeing good health for their children.
"I need them to keep my children in good health," said
Sulistyawati, 32, a customer, here last Saturday.
She was buying some jamu (traditional medicinal drink) for her
children at a jamu kiosk in Pasar Pramuka, East Jakarta.
Sulistyawati paid Rp 5,000 (US cents 55) for a packet of the
jamu, which contains 10 sachets.
"This jamu is good for my children as it gives them a good
appetite. It also stops them getting worms," she said
confidently, adding that her children were eight and four years
old.
The junior high school graduate has been giving the jamu to
her children regularly since last year after she saw it
advertised on television.
On the box of the jamu that Sulistyawati bought, it is stated
that it prevents colds and intestinal problems, an improves one's
appetite and the quality of one's sleep.
Most producers of food supplements for children claim that the
products keep children healthy and enhance their appetites. Some
even claim to make children cleverer.
Several vendors in Pramuka market, East Jakarta, and Tanah
Abang market, Central Jakarta --- both known as black markets for
medicine here -- told The Jakarta Post separately that
their sales of food supplements continued to increase.
"I can sell 20 to 50 packs of food supplements for children
everyday. Before they were advertised on television, I could only
sell 30 at the most," said Yanti, a medicine vendor in Tanah
Abang market.
According to Yanti, most of her customers bought the jamu
after their children asked for it.
However, Dr. Marius Widjajarta of the Indonesian Health
Consumers' Empowerment Foundation, warned parents not to give
food supplements to their children without consulting with their
doctors.
"Most parents think that such food supplements are good for
children. But, frankly speaking, they are not always so good,"
he told the Post.
Marius warned that parents must be alert for food supplements
that claim to be universal panaceas or to be able to increase
children's cleverness.
"It's nonsense. No food supplement or medicine can do that.
It's actually a common business trick to get customers," he
pointed out.
Instead of giving food supplements, Marius suggested that
parents feed their children with healthy food containing natural
ingredients capable of providing complete nourishment for the
children.
Marius criticized the Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM) as
most of the food supplements for children had been registered
with the agency even though some of them contained substances
that children should not consume.
"Some products contain artificial sweeteners, such as
cyclamate, and preservatives that can harm the children's
health," he warned.
The BPOM, however, could not be reached for comment.