BPOM Label Requirements for Processed Food in Indonesia
BPOM requirements are more specific than most brands realise — until a shipment is held. A guide to designing them in from the start.
There's a version of a packaging launch that goes perfectly until the shipment reaches distribution — and gets held because the label doesn't meet BPOM requirements. In Indonesia, label compliance isn't a finishing step; it's a design constraint that shapes layout from the start. Here's what the regulations actually demand, and how we build around them.
Why BPOM Shapes the Design, Not Just the Copy
BPOM (Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, Indonesia's food and drug authority) sets the labelling rules. For processed food the rule is BPOM Regulation 31 of 2018 on processed food labels, amended by Regulation 20 of 2021 and Regulation 6 of 2024 (31/2018, 20/2021, 6/2024). Cosmetics and supplements follow separate BPOM rules. The required information isn't optional fine print you squeeze in later — it occupies real estate, demands minimum legibility, and dictates what must appear on the primary display panel. Treat it as an afterthought and you'll redesign; treat it as a brief input and you won't.
Plan for it early: mandatory information typically claims a meaningful share of a panel. Designing the brand side first and "finding room" later is how layouts break.
What Generally Must Appear
Article 5 of the regulation lists nine elements every processed food label must carry, in Bahasa Indonesia:
- Product name
- List of ingredients
- Net weight or volume
- Name and address of the producer or importer
- Halal statement, for products that must carry one
- Production date and production code
- Expiry date
- Registration number
- Origin of certain ingredients
The product name, net content, producer or importer, halal statement, expiry date and registration number must sit on the main display panel, the part shoppers see first. Some categories add more, such as nutrition information or storage and warning text for bottled water.
Language and Legibility
Mandatory text must be written in Bahasa Indonesia; a foreign language may be added only after the Indonesian. It also has a minimum size: at least the height of a lowercase "o" set in Arial at 1 mm (about 6 pt), and 2 mm for the product name and warnings. Labels of 10 cm² or less may go down to 0.75 mm. Size is not enough on its own: the text needs clear type and real contrast against its background. A regulator doesn't grade your aesthetic; they check whether a consumer can actually read what they're entitled to read. Tiny grey-on-grey legal text isn't just bad design here — it's a compliance risk.
The Registration Number Is Not Decoration
The BPOM registration number proves the product is registered and legal for sale. For locally made processed food it starts with "BPOM RI MD", for imports with "BPOM RI ML", followed by digits that must match the marketing authorisation. Home-industry food uses a P-IRT number instead. Distribution partners and retailers check for it, and its absence — or a wrong format — is a fast way to have a shipment refused at exactly the wrong moment.
How We Build Compliance In
- Map every mandatory element for the specific product category before layout begins.
- Reserve a defined 'information panel' so legal content never fights the brand front.
- Set minimum type sizes for regulatory text above the legal floor and hold them across every SKU.
- Verify the final artwork against the requirements before release — not after.
"Compliance and good design aren't opponents. The constraint just tells you, earlier and more honestly, what the layout has to solve."
Halal Certification and the Halal Label
Halal certification is now mandatory for food and drink sold in Indonesia: since 18 October 2024 for medium and large businesses, and by 17 October 2026 for micro and small businesses (BPJPH). Certified products carry the national "Label Halal Indonesia" logo introduced in 2022, so plan a place for it on the main panel.
Build the requirements in from the first sketch and BPOM stops being a risk at the border and becomes what it should be: a fixed, knowable part of the brief.
This guide summarises the regulations as of November 2026 for processed food. It is not legal advice; check the current text on BPOM's website or with your registration consultant before printing.
Designing packaging for Indonesia or exporting from it? Our packaging design projects plan the information panel from the first sketch.
Sources
Questions founders ask
What is BPOM?
Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, Indonesia's National Agency of Drug and Food Control. It registers processed food, drugs, cosmetics and supplements and sets their labelling rules.
What must be on a processed food label in Indonesia?
Nine elements: product name, ingredients, net weight or volume, producer or importer name and address, halal statement where required, production date and code, expiry date, registration number and the origin of certain ingredients, all in Bahasa Indonesia.
What is the difference between BPOM MD and ML?
MD numbers are for processed food made in Indonesia; ML numbers are for imported processed food. Home-industry food uses a P-IRT number instead.
What is the minimum font size on a BPOM label?
Text must be at least as tall as a lowercase "o" in Arial at 1 mm, about 6 pt. The product name and warnings need 2 mm, and very small labels (10 cm² or less) may use 0.75 mm.
Is halal certification mandatory in Indonesia?
For food and drink, yes: for medium and large businesses since 18 October 2024, and for micro and small businesses by 17 October 2026.
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