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)