Indonesia’s Efforts to Address Fake Labels on Food Trays in Free Meals Scheme

Jakarta recently relaxed import regulations for food trays to meet the growing demand for the free meals scheme, sparking concerns about fake labels and regulatory loopholes. Some manufacturers were accused of using Chinese-made food trays that lacked halal certification, raising questions about the authenticity and compliance of the products. Trade Minister Budi Santoso justified the decision to ease import rules by citing the significant gap between domestic production and demand. With only 15 million food trays produced domestically against the required 80 million, imports became necessary to fill the shortfall.