BPOM, E-Commerce Giants Partner Up to Monitor Food, Drug Sales

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has officially signed a partnership deal with six established e-commerce platforms joined in the Indonesia E-Commerce Association (idEA) to further monitor food and drug products sold online.

The six e-commerce platforms are Go-Jek, Grab, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Klikdokter, and Halodoc. This partnership is effective for the next two years, with an optional contract extension by the end of it. 

“In its principle, the six of them must comply with the standards for products sold offline,” said BPOM Chairman Penny Lukito in the signing of the deal held in his office in Jakarta.

The monitoring agency’s supervision on troublesome drug and food products sold online was only limited to the issuance of a letter of notice to marketplace owners. That would be followed by the marketplace dropping the product in question.

This new partnership allows the monitoring agency and the six e-commerce platforms to significantly improve their collective monitoring abilities. They will focus on monitoring online food and drug sales, data information exchange, up to informing the public and educating them about this partnership. 

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency's move follows the massive market of illegal food and drug products sold online that are seen to not meet its health and safety standards. Head of idEA’s consumers’ protection, Agnes Susanto says that the aforementioned e-commerce will certainly comply with the rules. 

FAJAR PEBRIANTO