YLKI urges consumers to be wary of illegal food imports from China

The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) urges the public to be wary of illegal food and beverage products from China as they can jeopardize people's health.The YLKI researcher said people must be more careful when buying food and one way to avoid buying illegal food is to check the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) distribution license. He urged consumers not to buy food or beverages without a BPOM distribution license. He emphasized the large number of cases of health problems caused by illegal food from China in recent decades due to frequent problems with the quality and safety of illegal food from China. For example, in May 2024, six students in Sukabumi experienced dizziness, nausea, and vomiting after purchasing spicy snacks from Chinese brands. A similar situation occurred in South Sumatra province, where 18 students suffered headaches and bloating after eating soft candy snacks from China.

In the latest case, cooking oil from China was found to be mixed with fuel, which happened because tankers did not remove the fuel when transporting cooking oil to cut costs. He advised people to consume more local products, the quality of local food and beverage products is better than foreign products such as those from China, and in fact local food and beverage products are safer. The Singapore Food Authority (SFA) halted the sale of peanut products imported from China in May 2024 in 500g and 1kg pack sizes, with the recalled products containing high levels of the artificial sweeteners sweetener sweetener and acesulfame that exceeded safety limits. The biggest food scandal to cause an uproar in China was the 2008 milk scandal, when several Chinese milk producers were found to contain the chemical melamine. The case involved 300,000 victims, 54,000 of whom were hospitalized and six infants died of kidney failure, and led to a low level of trust in dairy products in the country.