BPOM Ready To Eradicate The Circulation Of Illegal Cosmetics And Herbal Medicine

Head of BPOM RI Penny K. Lukito/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) seeks to suppress the circulation of cosmetic and herbal products that are produced not according to quality and safety standards through the role of ambassadors recruited from the community. misused by unscrupulous persons by producing and distributing products that do not meet safety, quality and benefit standards," said the Head of BPOM RI Penny K. Lukito when opening a virtual opening for the establishment of the Herbal Medicine Ambassador and Safe Cosmetics Ambassador which was followed by Zoom in Jakarta, Tuesday. According to Penny, crime These include the addition of medicinal chemicals (BKO) to traditional medicines, the use of hazardous/prohibited materials, such as Mercury and Rhodamine B in cosmetics, as well as promotion and inclusion of misleading claims. , coughs or colds and male stamina and can treat various diseases t including curing COVID-19. Penny said, the results of BPOM supervision in 2021 found an increasing trend of violations of cosmetics and traditional medicine advertisements compared to 2020. Violations of cosmetics advertisements were 27.85 percent or an increase of 19.89 percent compared to 2020. Traditional Medicines advertisements that did not meet the provisions of 51.68 percent or an increase of 41.08 percent compared to 2020.

In order to increase public awareness, BPOM cooperates with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Higher Education as well as the Education Office in the regions to carry out the "BPOM Goes to School and BPOM Goes to Campus Program". which acts as an extension of BPOM on how to select and use traditional medicines, health supplements and cosmetics that are safe, useful and of good quality. According to Penny, the Public Awareness Index (IKM) based on a BPOM survey in 2021 on traditional medicinal commodities is 75.51, supplements health 76.30 and cosmetics 76.88. This index is lower than the IKM for medicinal commodities (79.26) and food (78.99). "The ambassadors have carried out 116 IEC activities which were attended by 11,060 participants. The Ambassador for Safe Herbal and Safe Cosmetics is a form of community empowerment that plays a role in influencing the community or as a pilot model in increasing consumer understanding. In addition, said Penny, BPOM is intensifying supervision to online circulation routes with cyber patrols, providing clarification against fake news or hoaxes, community empowerment such as communication, information and education both offline and online, as well as increasing collaboration with cross-sectoral government and private sectors.