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| apt. Elva Asmiati, Elva Asmiati, a Pharmacy lecturer at the FHS UMM (Photo: Special). |
A mother in Pekanbaru went viral on social media a while ago when she confronted a minimarket clerk who sold an expired product in December 2023. The mother was angry because her child became sick because of this.
Learning from the occurrence, apt. Elva Asmiati, Elva Asmiati, a Pharmacy lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), said it is important to pay attention to the food expiration date. When food exceeds its expiration date, the manufacturer does not guarantee the feasibility of the product.
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All parties play an important role within the sales context of any store. Sellers need to cross-check all their products. The buyer should be careful when choosing a product to buy, as it could be that the seller is not detailed enough to check the expiration date. If all parties are conscientious, then there will not be anything like this.
"Please note that information stated by BPOM Indonesia, the types of preservatives that are safe and allowed to be used in food are Benzoic Acid (C₇H₆O₂,). The food industry in Indonesia widely uses this component, and preservatives are also related to determining expiration dates in each food product manufacturer," she explained.
Furthermore, Elva said there are two ways to determine the expiration date in the industry. The first is ongoing or periodic checking, while the second is accelerated by making the product degrade quickly. "From there, producers can estimate how many years the product can last," Elva added.
When a person accidentally consumes food that has exceeded the expiration date, the impact can disrupt the digestive system. It is because certain bacteria thrive on these products. Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and dizziness. It can also cause death if you become dehydrated due to a lack of fluids.
In the end, Elva reminded the public about BPOM's slogan, "Cek KLIK", which stands for Check Packaging, Label, Edar License, Expiration, both for drugs and processed food that will be consumed. "If every consumer follows the slogan above, incidents such as food poisoning due to expired products will no longer occur," she concluded. (dit/wil/put)
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