Employers' Legal Liability in the Case of Food Poisoning

PERTANYAAN

If a customer of my catering service gets food poisoning and I am sure the poisoning is not caused by my food, which may be someone who is unhappy and put poison in my catering food, what should I do if interrogated by the police? Thank you.

INTISARI JAWABAN

Cases of food poisoning that occur certainly cause losses to endanger consumers who consume them and harm those who provide food or in this case catering.

So if there is a case of food poisoning, what can be done by the caterer who insists that they did not do it, but maybe someone else deliberately put the poison in the food?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Tanggung Jawab Hukum Pengusaha atas Keracunan Makanan written by Bernadetha Aurelia Oktavira, S.H. and published on Monday, 26 September 2022.

This article below is an update of the article entitled Obligations of Caterers When Consumers are Poisoned, first written by Tri Jata Ayu Pramesti, S.H. and published on Tuesday, 29 April 2014.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Catering Business License

Before answering about the law in the event of food poisoning, you need to know that a catering business is a tourism business that includes the food and beverage service business as stated in Article 5 section (1) letter e Regulation of the Minister of Tourism 10/2018.

The types of business licenses in the tourism sector consist of a business license in the form of a Tourism Business Registration Certificate (Tanda Daftar Usaha Pariwisata/  "TDUP") and a commercial or operational license in the form of a tourism business certificate.[1] Business actors previously registered through the OSS system to obtain a Business Identification Number (Nomor Induk Berusaha/  "NIB").[2] Only then is the TDUP processed which is valid as long as the business actor runs the business.[3] After that, a tourism business certificate is issued after obtaining a Business Identification Number and TDUP, which is valid for three years from the time it is granted and must be renewed.[4]

For example, you can access Dinas PM & PTSP Provinsi DKI Jakarta (Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office DKI Jakarta) page, that is mentioning the requirements for the food and beverage service business sector. If submitted by a legal entity/business entity, it is necessary to attach the deed of establishment and amendments, letter of decision of authorization of establishment and amendments, and Taxpayer Identification Number (Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak/  “NPWP”) of the legal entity/business entity.

Easybiz Consultant Febrina Artineli said in an IG Live with Klinik Hukumonline as reported in Why Does a Catering Business Need a License? This is the Reason, for example in Jakarta, business actors who want to establish a catering business must own a health certificate, environmental management statement letter, business location inspection, food handler certification (chef), and certification for business actors as the person in charge of the business (p. 2).

Throughout our research, we found that the requirements for a Certificate of Food Hygiene for Food Service Businesses include, among others, a certificate of training or sanitation hygiene course for entrepreneurs, results of laboratory tests related to chemical contamination in negative food, germ counts on tableware, absence of carriers of pathogenic germs, and kitchen building plans.

Therefore, you as a catering business actor should indeed maintain the health and quality of the food served to service users or catering customers who are consumers, because they consume the food you serve.

Read also: This Is the Latest Business License for Restaurants!

Legal Liability in the Event of Food Poisoning

A consumer is any person who uses goods and/or services available in the community, either for the interests of themselves, families, other persons, or other living organisms and not for trading. That is what is stated under Article 1 number 2 Law 8/1999.

Your obligations as a business actor are regulated under Article 7 Law 8/1999, namely:

1. to act in good faith in conducting their business activities;
2. to provide correct, clear, and honest information regarding the condition and guarantee of goods and/or services as well as provide an explanation for the usage, repair, and maintenance;
3. to treat and serve consumers properly, honestly, and non-discriminatively;
4. to guarantee the quality of goods and/or services produced and/or traded based on the applicable provisions on goods and/or services quality standards;
5. to provide consumers with an opportunity to test and/or try certain goods and/or services as well as provide a guarantee and/or warranty on the goods produced and/or traded;
6. to provide compensation, indemnity, and/or replacement for losses due to the use, consumption, and utilization of goods and/or services that are traded;
7. to provide compensation, indemnity, and/or replacement if the goods and/or services received are not in accordance with the agreement.

Thus, catering businesses are obliged to guarantee the quality of the food served. In our opinion, this includes ensuring that no one intentionally "poisons" the food you make.

Whether or not you are guilty or if someone else put poison into your catering food will be proven later in the legal process. However, in the event of poisoning of the food you serve, you could potentially have committed an act prohibited by Article 8 section (1) Law 8/1999 or Consumer Protection Law, specifically not meeting or not complying with the required standards.

If you are proven to have committed the prohibited act, you may be subject to a maximum imprisonment of five years or a maximum fine of IDR2 billion.[5]

To answer your question about what you can do when facing a case of food poisoning, you need to refer to Article 6 letter c and d Consumer Protection Law which mentions the rights of business actors. You have the right to conduct appropriate self-defense in the legal settlement of consumer disputes and the right to rehabilitation of good name if it is legally proven that consumer losses were not caused by the goods and/or services traded.

We recommend that you present witnesses who can corroborate that you are not guilty of the food poisoning incident. For example, witnesses who are in charge of cooking, delivering, and/or serving food. In addition, collect evidence such as raw materials, cooking equipment and supplies, and seasonings used for cooking. 

Also read: Disputes, Consumers Are Encouraged to Settle through Non-Litigation Method

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These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection;
2. Regulation of the Minister of Tourism Number 10 of 2018 on the Electronically Integrated Business Licensing Services Within the Tourism Sector.

Reference:

1. Dinas PM & PTSP Provinsi DKI Jakarta (Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office DKI Jakarta), accessed on 22 September 2022, at 18.05 West Indonesian Time (zone);
2. Sertifikat Laik Sehat Penyehatan Makanan Bagi Usaha Jasa Boga (Certificate of Food Hygiene for Food Service Businesses), accessed on 22 September 2022, at 18.20 West Indonesian Time (zone).

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[1] Article 6 section (1) Regulation of the Minister of Tourism Number 10 of 2018 on the Electronically Integrated Business Licensing Services Within the Tourism Sector (“Regulation of the Minister of Tourism 10/2018”).

[2] Article 7 Regulation of the Minister of Tourism 10/2018.

[3] Article 8 section (2) Regulation of the Minister of Tourism 10/2018.

[4] Article 22 jo. Article 29 Regulation of the Minister of Tourism 10/2018.

[5] Article 62 section (1) Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection.