TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - For a long time, the notion of consumers' protection or consumers' rights was non-existent. We often hear of food contamination from dangerous elements like dye or bleach, sold in markets or by vendors near school entrances. Yet, how those cases are resolved remain unclear, even though Law No. 8/1999 ensures that consumers have the right to comfort, security, and safety in the consumption of goods and services. Additionally, consumers have the right to obtain correct, clear and honest information on the quality and condition of the goods and services they ingest.

One recent case of food containing questionable quality and constituting a health threat involves international restaurant franchises. A joint investigation by Tempo and the BBC found indications of negligence on the safety of food produced and sold by fast food eateries Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut Delivery (PHD) and Marugame Udon.

It all began with a tip from someone on the inside. Our investigation team found evidence that there could have been a regular practice of extending the expiration dates of raw materials. Copies of documents and emails by some of the franchise officials in Indonesia show that extensions of food expiration dates were in fact ‘ordered’ from above.

Their method was relatively simple, and that was to replace the expiration date labels. This finding is now being investigated by the National Police crime investigation unit. Having obtained the necessary evidence following a number of raids, the police should not hesitate in publicly announcing this blatant violation of the law. This is not to ensure the guilt of the perpetrator, but more to protect the consumers from low-quality and possibly unhealthy food.

There are seven ingredients whose expiration dates were extended by Pizza Hut. They are puff pastries, veggie chicken sausage, XO sauce, brownies mix, carbonara sauce mix, sweet relish and citrus marinade. Meanwhile at the Pizza Hut Delivery, illicit use was made of expired products like veggie chicken sausages, puff pastry, carbonara sauce mix and satay sauce. In the documents, the shelf life or expiration dates of all those items were known to have been extended by one month.

At Marugame Udon, it extended the expiration dates of six ingredients: bonito powder, the hondashi instant broth to make the soup and sauce, chicken skin, prawn tempura, and sukiyaki tare sauce. Consumption of the bonito powder was extended from three to six months, while the hondashi, chicken skin, prawn tempura, sukiyaki tare and the tempura sauce were extended for one more month.

The use of expired food stuff cannot be tolerated. Law No. 18/2013 on Food clearly bans the distribution of expired food for any reason whatsoever. Article 90 (1) of the Law lists all the foods with expiration dates that can be contaminated. Moreover, Article 62 of the Law on Consumers' Protection stresses that the manipulation of food expiration date is liable for a maximum penalty of five years or a maximum fine of Rp 2 billion.

Law enforcement authorities should have acted rapidly on violations occurring in a franchise that has 326 branches in Indonesia alone. In fact, our law enforcement officers could learn a thing or two from their Chinese counterparts when they raided the OSI Group, suppler of expired meat to franchise restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut in Shanghai, in July 2014.

Legal action against such violations should not stop, despite indications that the franchise company had stopped its illegal activities since last April. What began with an investigation of a television station by the police led to the arrest of OSI Group's senior officials and the eventual closure of the companies.

Resolute steps must be taken to secure public safety. More than the taxes consumers pay for each portion of food they purchase, protection must be provided so they do not incur harm as a result of consuming tainted products. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) should also act. The problem of contamination in fast-food eateries should be used as a momentum to look into similar practices by other food producers. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine