JAKARTA - The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) said it was ready to ensure the quality and safety of Nusantara Haji Rice exported to Saudi Arabia, as a form of support for an initiative that symbolizes Indonesia's success in maintaining food availability.
"This program is not merely a commercial activity, but a representation of the presence of the state and a showcase of Indonesian food sovereignty to provide the best services, ensure the satisfaction of the tastes and nutritional intake of the hajj pilgrims," said Head of BPOM Taruna Ikrar as quoted by ANTARA.
He explained that Indonesia has close relations with Saudi Arabia, one of which is through the partnership between BPOM and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).
The Memorandum of Understanding between BPOM and SFDA regarding the Quality and Safety Supervision of Medicines and Food which has been running since 2020 has become a strong foundation to facilitate market access for Hajj food products, including rice.
In accordance with the pre and post market supervision mandate, his party is ready to strictly monitor the quality and safety standards in the Nusantara Hajj Rice export program to meet the standards of the destination country and prevent rejection from the Saudi Arabian side.
One of the concerns of BPOM is compliance with technical and administrative requirements which are the key to the acceptance of products in the destination country.
Taruna Ikrar emphasized that BPOM will strictly monitor the obligation to include Arabic labels and expiration dates, both Gregorian and/or Hijri, in accordance with the SFDA standard to prevent the risk of rejection during clearance.
"The success of the export of Nusantara Haji Rice to Saudi Arabia requires cross-sector synergy to build an integrated monitoring system. This is necessary to ensure consistency of quality, so that the potential for rejection in the destination country can be minimized and business actors get export certainty," he said.
With integrated supervision, he continued, it is hoped that the export of Nusantara Haji Rice can run smoothly and become a model of collaboration for Indonesia's strategic food exports to the global market.
The cadet attended a Limited Coordination Meeting (Rakortas) at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Food (Kemenko Pangan). The Rakortas, which was attended by 13 ministry/agency leaders and representatives, discussed the plan to export Nusantara Haji Rice to Saudi Arabia.
This strategic plan is based on efforts to improve services for Indonesian pilgrims. The Indonesian government will supply rice from domestic farmers to meet the consumption needs of more than 200 thousand Hajj participants.
The provision of this rice will be the responsibility of the Public Company for Logistics Management (Perum Bulog).
In his statement after the meeting, Coordinating Minister for Food and Agriculture Zulkifli Hasan said the government plans to send 2,280 tons of rice to Saudi Arabia for the first export.
"Later it will continue to Malaysia and others, but the first to Saudi Arabia," he said. "This 28 [February] will be sent," said Coordinating Minister Zulkifli Hasan.
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