CONCERN OVER SAFETY OF ONLINE FOOD

A study in Indonesia found that 35pc of processed food sold online did not have permit, required label

STUDIES found that food products sold online may not comply with health and safety regulations, a cause for concern as more consumers shift to online purchasing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Jakarta Post quoted Felippa Amanta, head researcher of the Centre of Indonesian Policy Studies, who said one study found that 35 per cent of processed foods on e-commerce platforms did not have a permit for sale or the required food labelling.

“This causes concern because if the food is not registered, it tends to have a higher risk related to food safety,” he said on Tuesday.

Weak monitoring of the online market and lack of traceability are some challenges in ensuring the safety of online food products.

Quoting last year’s statistics from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Felippa said half of unregistered food products failed to meet food safety standards out of more than 23,000 samples consisting of both registered and unregistered items. Of the registered products, only 14 per cent did not meet standards.

Felippa said the complicated procedure to obtain permits hindered food sellers from registering, especially small businesses.

BPOM director of high risk and new technology food Ema Setyawati said the agency found 1,152 illegal food products in an investigation last year, with most of the items sold online.

A Global Consumer Insights Survey 2020 by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 69 per cent of Indonesian respondents said they were purchasing more groceries online following restrictions to contain the virus outbreak.

Rosel Lavina, vice-president of corporate affairs for the food segment in ride-hailing firm Gojek, said the company’s food delivery service, GoFood, saw a 20 per cent increase since March.

During the pandemic, 94 per cent of new merchants partnering with Gojek were micro-enterprises, according to a recent study by the Demography Institute at the University of Indonesia. Of the new partner merchants, 43 per cent were new entrepreneurs.

Rosel said Gojek had prepared 130 posts across cities where the company operates to provide its partner drivers with safety kits and disinfectant sprays for their motorcycles to minimise the risk of virus transmission.

In July, the company’s new regulations required merchants to improve food packaging, including ensuring products had a food label that include ingredients, net weight, names and addresses of producers or importers.