Indonesia: Indonesia Updates Regulations on Genetically Engineered Processed Products

On November 18, 2024, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) issued Regulation No. 19/2024 on the Supervision of Genetically Engineered Food which updates the labeling requirements for genetically engineered (GE) products, and regulates microbial biotechnology, genome editing, and the food safety assessment of products with stacked genes. Specifically, the GOI plans to enforce an existing requirement for processed food products containing at least five percent GE material to be labeled accordingly. This may have little impact on U.S. GE product exports to Indonesia, currently valued at over $2.1 billion, since fresh GE products (e.g., soybeans) and those which have been refined and no longer contain GE DNA/proteins are exempt. To date, no processed food products containing five percent GE materials have been registered with the GOI, and so FAS Jakarta is not aware of any products in commerce in Indonesia that are required to be labeled in accordance with this new regulation.