BBPOM Urges Public to Monitor Distribution of Herbal Medicines Containing Chemicals

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BBPOM) in Jakarta urges the public to actively participate in monitoring the circulation of natural medicines (OBA) containing chemical medicinal ingredients (BKO).

The use of BKO in OBA has the potential to trigger a decline in public health

This argument was conveyed by Jakarta BBPOM Head, Sofiani Chandrawati Anwar, during the socialization of drug and food empowerment at Grand Mercure Harmoni Hotel, Jalan Hayam Wuruk, Kebon Kelapa Urban Village, Gambir, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (11/6).

According to her, the use of MEDICINE by the community has increased since COVID-19. Simultaneously, the existence of BKO content was found in several products circulating on the market.

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"The use of BKO in OBA has the potential to trigger a decline in public health. Potential effects can result in kidney failure and heart disease," she expressed.

Her party continues to increase public understanding and literacy about the risks of using OBA containing BKO whose safety is not guaranteed. It aims to make them stay away from OBA containing BKO.

Besides targeting the public, her party urged entrepreneurs not to mix BKO in their OBA products. Thus, the products produced were guaranteed to be safe and beneficial.

In 2023, her party conducted supervision and testing on 426 samples of OBA products on the market. As a result, eight products or around 1.73 percent were detected to contain BKO.

In the same period, his party also monitored herbal medicine depots in 32 locations. The results showed that 268 items with a total of 2,743 pieces of OBA herbal medicine products contained BKO.

Then this year, supervision and testing were conducted on 229 OBA product samples and the results showed that two products, or around 0.87 percent still contained BKO. Meanwhile, from monitoring 24 herbal medicine depot facilities, 176 items containing a total of 2,071 pieces of product were found.

As for the results of the action, this year was one case with a total of 2,271 packages found with an economic value of Rp 90 million.

"Hopefully, the role of all parties in preventing and supervising. The results of this discussion can produce a comprehensive strategy as a joint solution so that supervision is effective and efficient," he asserted.

Jakarta BBPOM's Information and Communication Coordinator, Evi Citraprianti added that regulatoryly, OBA is divided into three groups, namely herbal medicine, standardized herbal medicine, and phytopharmaceuticals.

He hoped that this discussion could maximize the role of all related stakeholders, the community, professional practitioners, academics, and business actors in supervising the circulation of OBA containing BKO.

"The public must ensure that OBA products comply with the rules before consuming them. To ensure this, you can check the distribution permit number via the BPOM public warning mobile application," he hoped.

As for the information, the activity, which carries the theme 'Strengthening Pentahelix Synergy in Preventing and Supervising the Distribution of Natural Medicines Containing BKO', was held online and offline.

It was attended by 50 participants from government elements, entrepreneurs, professional associations, academics, community representatives, related stakeholders, and the media.

Then, the online activity was attended by all urban village apparatuses and food security cadres throughout Jakarta.