Food Safety Logo and Recycle Code Inclusion on Plastic Food Packaging

To better maintain a clean environment, and to protect citizen’s health from the risks often associated with food packaging materials, the Minister of Industry issued Regulation No. 24/M-IND/PER/2/2010 on the Inclusion of Food Safety Logos and Recycle Codes on Plastic Food Packaging. The regulation requires that food packaging display a food safety logo and recycle code, and elaborates what must be included in those displays, along with how the process will be supervised and sanctions for those violating the regulation.

Food packaging safety logos must include signs and/or a statement that such packaging is safe, while recycle codes must include a plastic material sign and indication that the material can be recycled - and they must be in Indonesian language.

The Director General of Industrial Development will be responsible for supervising the technical implementation of the regulation, and socializing the requirements to relevant stakeholders.

Although the regulation provides that sanctions may be imposed on businesspersons who violate the regulation, it does not provide any substantive details on what sorts of sanctions could be assessed.

The regulation will take force on 16 August 2010. For re-useable food packaging that has already been on the market, the regulation will be applicable as of 16 February 2012 so as to allow re-circulated packaging time to comply with the regulation.