Indonesia to Advance Food and Health Supplement Oversight with BPOM’s 2025–2029 Strategic Plan

The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) released a draft document of its comprehensive Strategic Plan for 2025-2029, detailing key policy directions and strategies aimed at bolstering the safety, quality, and competitiveness of the nation's food and health supplement industries.

The strategy is a direct response to the dynamic market landscape, which includes the rapid growth of e-commerce, the emergence of innovative products, and the persistent threat of illegal or substandard goods. The plan outlines the key policy directions and strategic priority activities that BPOM will undertake to achieve these goals.

1. Standardization of Health Supplements 

BPOM is focused on revitalizing regulations in the areas of natural ingredients, health supplements, and cosmetics to boost industrial competitiveness while ensuring optimal consumer protection. Key activities include:

• Regulatory preparation and review: BPOM will prepare and review regulations to enhance effectiveness and adaptability. For instance, the agency is streamlining the licensing process to facilitate easier entry for innovative products.

• Encouraging industry compliance: BPOM is committed to increasing awareness among industry participants regarding applicable laws. This includes promoting good manufacturing practices through workshops and training sessions, ensuring that stakeholders understand necessary technical requirements.

• Research and evaluation: Comprehensive studies on product safety, quality, and efficacy will be conducted. For example, BPOM will evaluate innovations in herbal medicines to ensure they provide measurable community benefits.

2. Registration of Health Supplements 

BPOM is committed to strengthening pre-market surveillance and transforming public services to promote the competitiveness of traditional medicines, health supplements, and cosmetics. This includes:

• Support for local products: BPOM encourages the use of traditional medicines in national health insurance plans (JKN), ensuring communities have access to locally sourced treatments. This initiative aims to expand public access to remedies based on local wisdom.

• Accelerated research outcomes: The agency will facilitate the transition of research findings into practical applications, such as promoting plant-based medicines through support for clinical trials.

3. Standardization in Processed Foods 

BPOM will implement robust policies and standards within the processed food sector, focusing on:

• Developing safety and quality standards: This initiative involves the development and implementation of policies, regulations, standards, procedures, and guidelines in the field of processed food standardization. It also includes the provision of public services such as safety, quality, and nutritional assessments, along with consultation services related to processed foods. It also aims to provide policy recommendations for processed food categories not yet covered by existing regulations.

• Promoting innovation and commercialization: BPOM aims to support the downstream commercialization of innovative processed food products. For example, initiatives will encourage the use of healthier ingredients and methods, as well as the introduction of eco-friendly packaging options.

• Encouraging healthy and sustainable food systems: Policies that promote healthier food consumption patterns—such as front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPNL)—will be developed. At the same time, regulations will be introduced to manage processed foods with negative health impacts, alongside packaging policies that support sustainable production and consumption.

4. Registration of Processed Foods 

In the coming five years, BPOM will focus on optimizing AI-based registration systems to streamline the pre-market regulatory process for processed foods. This involves:

• Enhancing efficiency: Implementing AI will improve the speed and accuracy of meeting safety, quality, and nutritional standards. This will minimize data entry errors and reduce the workload on BPOM assessors.

• Supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs): BPOM will assist MSEs by providing resources and training to help them understand and comply with registration requirements. This support aims to enable MSEs to quickly enter the market with compliant products.

5. Supervision of Processed Food Production 

The plan is designed to promote compliance and self-reliance among business operators. During the period of the strategic plan, BPOM aims for 100% of processed food production facilities to be inspected and obtain the Good Processed Food Production Method Implementation Permit (IP CPPOB). Key activities include:

• Expansion of the Risk Management Program (PMR): BPOM will enhance risk management initiatives to boost the independence and quality assurance of the processed food sector.

• Collaboration with academia and industry: BPOM will work with academic institutions and industry stakeholders to improve compliance and competitiveness among MSEs.

• Foreign Establishment Verification Programme (FEVP): BPOM will enhance food quality and safety assurance and ensure equal treatment for foreign business operators within the framework of fair trade.

6. Supervision of Processed Food Distribution 

The main tasks of the processed food distribution supervision agency will include:

• Developing AI-based risk management systems: These systems will analyze various risk factors to prioritize regulatory actions effectively. For instance, AI can automatically assign risk scores based on real-time data, allowing BPOM to focus on high-risk products.

• Improving regulatory compliance: BPOM will ensure that products meet international safety standards through comprehensive monitoring and reporting systems.

Through these strategic priorities, BPOM aims to create a robust regulatory framework that not only protects public health but also fosters a competitive environment for food and health supplement industries in Indonesia.