GACC Audit Finds Violations of Export Standards, Sinar Mas is One of the Companies Spotlighted

JAKARTA - The results of the audit of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) still found a number of violations of food safety standards and supervision systems at Indonesian exporting companies.

One of the companies mentioned in the findings is Sinar Mas, along with a number of other companies in the plant, fisheries, and swallow's nest sectors.

Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin) Abdul Kadir Karding said that the findings covered various aspects, ranging from food safety, traceability systems, to the feasibility of company facilities and infrastructure that have not met international standards.

"There are many companies, not just one. There is Sinar Mas, then there are several other companies, both in the plant, moth, and fish sectors," said Karding in an electronic message received in Jakarta, Monday, July 27.

According to Karding, the GACC auditor found a number of problems that needed to be immediately corrected.

Among them are the content of aluminum in certain products that exceeds the threshold of 100 ppm, export capacity that is not proportional to the company's production capacity, and the weak implementation of food safety systems.

In addition, the auditor also highlighted the condition of production facilities which were considered not to meet international standards. Several companies were assessed to have layouts and infrastructure that could potentially pose a risk of contamination to export products.

"The audit results show that there are still deficiencies in facilities and infrastructure, business environment, to potential pollution that must be immediately corrected to meet international standards," said Karding.

He emphasized that all of these records will be the basis for Barantin to strengthen supervision of exporters who supply commodities to the Chinese market.

According to Karding, compliance with the standards of the export destination country is an important factor in maintaining the competitiveness of Indonesian products while maintaining international market access.

Barantin will also ask all companies that are the findings of the audit to immediately prepare improvement measures so that all requirements set by the GACC can be met.