Jakarta: Indonesia will require food and beverage companies to apply colour-graded labels for products high in salt, sugar, and fat in two years in a bid to combat obesity and other health risks, according to a new health ministry decree seen by Reuters. first reported the plan to introduce labelling norms last year.
In a ministerial decree issued on Tuesday, Indonesia officially released a traffic-light “nutri-level” system of red labels for items high in fat, salt and sugar and green for those with low levels.
Companies may independently add a sticker with the corresponding colours on their products based on test results from government laboratories, the decree showed.
The norms will be mandatory in two years, the decree showed, although it did not provide any details on sanctions for companies that do not comply.
Stickers must also be added to menus at stores that sell ready-made products, the decree showed.
More than 40 countries have established similar systems, whether voluntary or mandatory, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development group of nations said in 2023. Singapore also has a similar system.
Health ministry data shows that obesity rates doubled in the decade up to 2023 in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation with 280 million people. Child agency UNICEF has also warned of obesity risks for one in three adults and one in five school-age children.
The decree follows lobbying by the United States and domestic manufacturers, who urged President Prabowo Subianto to reconsider the plan, Reuters reported last year.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by David Stanway)
