Indonesia’s new President, Prabowo Subianto's emotional address to the People’s Consultative Assembly on 20 October within hours of taking charge, presented an expectant nation with his administration's top priorities – national unity and food security.

This from the President who campaigned on a free meal initiative to provide nutritious food to 15 million students across Indonesia from January next year and extend the program to 82.9 million by 2029.

Add to this, the recent signing of Government Regulation 28/2024 on Health that showcases the Government’s desire to improve the health and nutrition of this fast-growing nation of 270 million, and the Prabowo administration’s direction and ambition around food is simply undeniable.

While new policies can be one avenue, successfully changing the trajectory of the country’s health and wellness can be accelerated through an environment that supports innovation and reformulation of food products. This is an approach that can create a step change to drive better health outcomes.

Today, the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable disease is burgeoning. The 2018 Basic Health Survey indicates that obesity among Indonesian adults has more than doubled in recent years. Furthermore, based on Indonesia’s 2023 Health Survey, there has been a significant rise in the prevalence of diabetes – from 10.9 percent in 2018 to 11.7 percent in 2023. 

Parallel to this, malnutrition remains a problem, particularly in rural areas, with the same 2023 survey showing that 21.5 percent -- one in five -– of Indonesian children suffer from stunted growth. This is a tragedy.

There are no easy fixes to these complex issues, in a vast, developing nation, but they are most definitely best tackled through a collaborative effort encompassing the Government and the food and beverage industry.

The good news is that through reformulation many of these issues can be tackled –- by improving the nutritional profile of food and beverages, reducing sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, as well as enhancing shelf life, all while ensuring food safety. Reformulation is a crucial part of a multi-pronged approach to tackle public health and nutrition priorities and something the food industry in Indonesia and beyond has proactively focused on in recent years, without the need for regulation. 

Regulatory change can have pronounced, unintended consequences for micro, small and medium-sized producers –- many tiny family businesses that are the backbone of the nation –- which often lack the financial resources and technical know-how to undertake product reformulation. They have very little capacity to respond to large or costly changes. 

Take, for example, reducing the salt content of a product. Salt cannot simply be removed. It does not just enhance flavor; it has multiple uses, such as retaining moisture and acting as a preservative. 

Reformulating products to contain lower levels of it not only impacts taste but can impact food safety and shelf-life. This adds further complexity to reformulation, alongside the fact that currently available lower sodium alternatives can cost up to 10 times more than regular salt. Some of these costs may need to be passed on to the consumer, which will make many people less likely to switch to lower sodium alternatives therefore undermining the intended health benefits and negatively impacting businesses.

Stringent measures can deter manufacturers from doing precisely the kind of innovative work on developing healthier products and ingredients that would help deliver on the Government’s public health goals.

Despite the challenges, Indonesia’s food industry has been a willing trailblazer. Royco Chicken and Beef has used iodized salt since 2020 to help Indonesian families get more micronutrients. Popular bottled tea, Teh Botol Sosro, has introduced reduced-sugar versions. Nutrisari has reformulated a number of its drink mixes to be lower in sugar. Leading soy sauce brand, Kecap ABC, has introduced low-sodium variants, and instant cereal drink, Energen, has added vitamins and minerals, as well as reduced sugar.

A recent survey, in fact, found that 94 percent of food and drink companies surveyed in Indonesia have embarked on, or plan to, drive reformulation efforts. 

Yet, despite 71 percent of Indonesians surveyed saying they would like to change their lifestyle a ‘great deal’ to be healthier, physically and mentally2, the prospect of food reformulation concerns some consumers because of the use of alternative ingredients. 

Ingredients permitted for use in food and drinks on the market have, however, undergone rigorous testing and safety assessments by numerous, highly regarded international health and regulatory agencies such as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). 

One example is non-sugar sweeteners, which food manufacturers often use to reduce the sugar content of products. They are some of the world’s most well-studied ingredients and have safely been used for decades.

Therefore, a critical part of driving change across Indonesia will be continued education from the Government and the food and beverage sector, which will be another opportunity to work together for the common good.

While the goal of building a healthier nation may feel daunting from where we sit today, if collaboration between the private and public sectors is fostered, I have no doubt we can accelerate the impact we are having because it is a goal that both the Indonesian Government and the food and beverage sector are determined to achieve. 

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Matt Kovac is a Senior Advisor and Board Member of the ASEAN Food & Beverage Alliance (AFBA).