RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Health has issued a regulation requiring nutrition labels, specifically Nutri Levels, on ready-to-eat foods, particularly sweetened beverages. This will be implemented by large-scale businesses as an effort to encourage healthier public consumption patterns.

In a the press statement received by RRI VOI from the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, 15 April 2026, Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, stated that this policy was implemented as an educational effort to prevent excessive consumption of sugar, salt, and fat (GGL), which can lead to various risks of non-communicable diseases, including obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

As an illustration, the four diseases that cause the largest financial burden on the National Health Insurance (BPJS) are related to excessive GGL consumption. For example, the cost burden for kidney failure will increase by more than 400% to IDR 13.38 trillion in 2025 from only IDR 2.32 trillion in 2019.

"Therefore, efforts are needed to provide information and education so that the public can more easily choose the right and healthy ready-to-eat foods according to their needs," said the Minister of Health.

The Minister of Health added that this policy is also part of the mandate of the Health Law, ensuring that all cross-sectoral disease prevention policies are aligned.

"The Health Law mandates that cross-sectoral policies be aligned. The Ministry of Health is responsible for regulating ready-to-eat food, while processed food or manufactured products fall under the purview of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM)," he said.

Ready-to-drink sweetened beverages, such as boba, teh tarik (pulled tea), palm sugar coffee, and juice, produced by large businesses are required to include nutrition labels and health messages in the form of Nutri Levels, which are displayed in information media as an educational effort to educate the public, particularly to reduce excessive consumption of sweetened beverages.