BGN asks SPPG to include price and nutrition labels for transparency

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) requires all Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) to list the price label and nutritional content on each Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) menu to increase transparency of information to the public.

"Our order to all SPPG is to apply nutrition content labels and prices on every food provided," said Deputy Head of BGN Sony Sonjaya at the MBG Talks event in Jakarta, Friday, February 27, reported by ANTARA.

This step is expected to encourage openness and responsibility of food suppliers and prevent practices of reducing the quality of food ingredients.

With the inclusion of prices openly, each component of the materials used must be written according to the actual price in the market. Operational costs should not be charged to the price of materials, because the average operational support of Rp3,000 per portion has been allocated separately.

Thus, if there is an attempt to lower the quality of the material but still list a certain price, Sony says it will be easy to detect.

This transparency is expected to foster a sense of responsibility and a sense of malubagi partners not to reduce the quality of materials, so that the quality of food received by the community is maintained and continues to improve.

When asked by reporters whether there were sanctions given to SPPG that did not include a price label, Sony said this policy would be carried out gradually.

"Of course gradually. Only three days ago I just ordered (to SPPG). And this is to improve quality. So at least for those who intend to cheat, for example, reduce quality, then the community will control. The price of eggs, the price of bananas, it must be written, it must be labeled," said Sony.

On the same occasion, the Indonesian Nutritional Food Entrepreneur Association (Gapembi) dismissed allegations that SPPG partners received various facilities from the state or engaged in practices that were detrimental.

Gapembi Alven Stony's General Chairman explained that the investment in the construction of the kitchen and SPPG infrastructure came from partners, not financed by the state. The state only provides incentives, while the business risk remains the responsibility of the partners.

Therefore, he said, partners also actually want the zero accident to ensure operational activities can run smoothly and the investment that has been invested is maintained.

"SPPG was built with the investment of MSMEs. Most of us are from MSMEs. So please understand our condition as partners of BGN, we have to invest first, not from the state budget, starting from land procurement, building infrastructure, equipment, IPAL, and all sorts," said Alven.

He stated that his party also always carried out instructions in accordance with technical instructions from BGN. Coordination with BGN is said to be intensive, including encouraging menu innovation when there is an increase or scarcity of food without reducing nutritional value.

Alven also explained that the price determination could not be carried out unilaterally because the kitchen operations were under the supervision of the head of the SPPG, nutrition supervisor, and accounting supervisor. The determination of costs is said to refer to actual costs as well as established quality standards.

Therefore, he emphasized that there was no practice of inflating or reducing the quality of SPPG partners who were members of Gapembi, and assessed that the differences in perceptions that emerged in the community were likely due to information that had not been communicated in full.