Withdrawal of Ajinomoto's products closely watched

Withdrawal of Ajinomoto's products closely watched

JAKARTA (JP): The government said it is closely monitoring PT
Ajinomoto Indonesia's recall of its monosodium glutamate (MSG)
products, which the company has promised to withdraw from store
shelves within three weeks.

PT Ajinomoto Indonesia general affairs manager Bagus Sudarta
claimed the company began withdrawing its products from stores on
Wednesday by repurchasing them at market price.

He declined to estimate how much the product recall would cost
the company, but said that one kilogram of MSG cost Rp 15,000
(about US$1.50).

"We will not shy away from our responsibility ... the sooner
we recall the products the better," Bagus said after a meeting
with senior government officials and representatives of the
Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI).

Bagus said Ajinomoto would concentrate its product recall in
major cities, but insisted that all stores would be free of the
controversial products within three weeks.

He said the company plans to export the recalled items to non-
Muslim markets.

PT Ajinomoto came under fire after MUI announced the company
used pig enzymes in its MSG production process. Islam bans pork
and pork by-products. At present, Ajinomoto has begun producing
MSG products without pig enzymes.

"We have plans to sell the same products again, after they
meet all requirements, of course," Bagus explained adding that
the packaging itself would be redesigned due to the products' now
tarnished image.

Supervise

The director general for domestic trade, Teddy Setiadi, said
he had sent instructions to the provincial offices of the
Ministry of Industry and Trade to supervise the recall process.

"I have asked the chiefs of the provincial offices to work
together with all related parties, including Ajinomoto, to
jointly supervise the withdrawal of the products," he told The
Jakarta Post.

Although Ajinomoto will oversee the recall of their products,
the government will monitor its progress by visiting stores that
sell Ajinomoto's products, he said.

In Bandung, many consumers were already returning Ajinomoto
products to the stalls and shops where they purchased them.

The product manager of Sukarno-Hatta Makro, Agus Wijaya, said
the store had received a box full of returned Ajinomoto products.

"But compensation for the consumers has yet to be made
available by the producer. We're just keeping the stuff in our
store and offering consumers the opportunity to take another
product of equal price as compensation."

Meanwhile in Surabaya, East Java Governor Imam Utomo tried to
calm emotions by urging people not to take the law into their own
hands adding that he had asked police to guard the Ajinomoto
factory in Mojokerto.

Earlier, the head of the East Java office of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade, Fachrul Abdul Rahman, said plans to supervise
and control the withdrawal of Ajinomoto products from East Java
markets had already been made.

In Makassar, Ajinomoto's South Sulawesi depot is said to be
allocating billions of rupiah to buy back Ajinomoto products from
stalls and kiosks in the area.

The head of the South Sulawesi depot, Iskandar, told the Post
his office would open counters to serve shop owners and traders
seeking compensation.

Hadi Basalamah, the head of the Ministry of Industry and
Trade's supervisory team in the province, said Ajinomoto had been
too slow in withdrawing its products.

"We assume that between 210 and 270 tons of Ajinomoto taste
enhancers have been distributed in the province since October,"
he said.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI)
encouraged the public on Friday to file a class action lawsuit
against Ajinomoto for deceiving consumers.

"YLKI can help consumers who want to sue the company," the
foundation's spokeswoman, Diah Indriati, said.

She said the taste enhancer producer violated Law No. 8 on
consumer protection, particularly Article 8 (H) which stipulates
a product must follow halal procedures in its production if it is
labeled halal, or allowable under Islamic law.
(bkm/nur/27/25/sur/jun)