Pizza Hut Dituding Gunakan Bahan Makanan Kadaluwarsa Disorot Media Asing
Pizza Hut Accused over Expired Ingredients in Indonesia
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
JARINGAN restoran waralaba AS di Indonesia, Pizza Hut pada Selasa menyatakan dengan tegas bahwa restoran mereka aman setelah dituding menggunakan bahan-bahan kadaluwarsa hingga enam bulan dari batas akhir pemakaian.
Tuduhan terhadap Pizza Hut dan Pizza Hut Delivery di Indonesia, yang dikelola oleh pemegang hak waralaba, PT Sarimelati Kencana, terungkap dari hasil penyelidikan bersama majalah Tempo dan BBC Indonesia.
Jaringan restoran, yang memiliki lebih dari 300 outlet di seluruh Indonesia, dituduh menggunakan bahan-bahan termasuk puff pastry, sosis sayuran dan saus carbonara ketika mengetahui melewati tanggal kadaluwarsa.
Tanggal kadaluwarsa diperpanjang antara satu dan enam bulan, dugaan penyelidikan, mengutip dokumen perusahaan. Praktik ini diduga sudah berlangsung selama bertahun-tahun atas sepengetahuan pucuk pimpinan, katanya.
Investigasi juga menuding jaringan restoran Jepang, Marugame Udon menggunakan bahan-bahan makanan yang melewati tanggal kadaluwarsa pada beberapa restorannya di Indonesia.
Baik Pizza Hut dan Marugame Udon membantah tudingan tersebut.
Pizza Hut mengatakan pada Selasa bahwa beberapa restoran di Pulau Jawa telah diperiksa secara menyeluruh dan otoritas kesehatan menyatakan bahwa mereka memenuhi standar kebersihan dan sanitasi.
Stephen J McCarthy, Presiden Direktur Sarimelati Kencana, juga membela Pizza Hut, mengatakan ia bangga pada dapur restoran.
"Pizza Hut Indonesia terbersih di dunia. Jika ada yang ingin mengunjungi dapur kami, Anda cukup menelepon, saya secara pribadi akan mengantar Anda," katanya akhir pekan lalu.
"Kami memiliki reputasi bagus di Indonesia, kami berharap bahwa hal itu tidak berubah dan berkomitmen untuk memberikan yang terbaik."
Tidak ada yang dilaporkan jatuh sakit lantaran makan bahan kedaluwarsa baik di Pizza Hut atau Marugame.
Pizza Hut telah beroperasi selama 32 tahun di Indonesia dan mempekerjakan lebih dari 13.000 pekerja.
Restoran waralaba Pizza Hut dan Marugame Udon di Indonesia dimiliki oleh perusahaan makanan dan minuman Sriboga Raturaya, seperti dikutip AFP yang dilansir MailOnline.
US CHAIN Pizza Hut's Indonesian operation on Tuesday insisted its restaurants were safe after it was accused of using ingredients up to six months past their expiry date.
The allegations about Pizza Hut and Pizza Hut Delivery in the country, which are run by local company Sarimelati Kencana, were made in a joint investigation by a magazine and the BBC's Indonesia service.
The restaurant chain, which has more than 300 outlets in the archipelago, was accused of using ingredients including puff pastry, vegetable sausage and carbonara sauce when it knew they were past their expiry date.
Expiry dates were extended for between one and six months, the investigation alleged, citing company documents. The practice had been going on for years with the knowledge of top management, it said.
The investigation also accused Japanese noodle chain Marugame Udon of using ingredients past their expiry date at its handful of outlets in Indonesia.
Both Pizza Hut and Marugame Udon have denied the allegations.
Pizza Hut said Tuesday that some of its restaurants on Indonesia's most populous island of Java had been inspected thoroughly and health authorities found that they met hygiene and sanitation standards.
Stephen J. McCarthy, president director of Sarimelati Kencana, also defended Pizza Hut, saying he was proud of the outlets' kitchens.
"They're the cleanest Pizza Hut in the world. If somebody wants to visit our kitchens, you give me a call, I will personally take you," he said at the weekend.
"We have a great reputation in Indonesia, we expect that not to change and only to get better."
No one is reported to have fallen ill due to eating the expired ingredients at either Pizza Hut or Marugame.
Pizza Hut has been operating for 32 years in Indonesia and employs more than 13,000 workers.
The Pizza Hut and Marugame Udon franchises in the country are ultimately owned by Indonesian food and beverage giant Sriboga Raturaya.
