Pengendalian Tikus di Dapur Restoran: Aturan dan Metode

Restaurants that find rat droppings on their ingredient shelves usually rush to one solution: buying poison. This reaction is understandable, and it is precisely at this point that food safety regulations ask you to pause. Poison is not the first step, and in the food area, it often creates new problems that are harder to clean up than the issues you want to resolve.

The legal basis has changed twice in three years

Many sanitation checklists still circulating refer to Kepmenkes 1098/2003 regarding hygiene and sanitation requirements for restaurants. That document is no longer valid. Permenkes Number 2 of 2023, which came into effect on January 12, 2023, revoked it while also revoking Permenkes 1096/2011 regarding hygiene and sanitation guidelines for catering services and Permenkes 50/2017 regarding environmental health quality standards for vectors and disease-carrying animals.

The second change occurred on March 11, 2026. Permenkes Number 3 of 2026 regarding Disease Control partially revokes Permenkes 2/2023, leaving only Article 12, Article 21, Article 23, Article 29, Article 32, Article 39, and Article 45 along with the Annex. Article 39 and the Annex contain details on vector control and disease-carrying animals, so the details remain active even though the surrounding articles have changed.

Poison is placed last in the order, and it is written

The Good Manufacturing Practices guidelines in Permenperin 75/M-IND/PER/7/2010 outline a pest control program based on three pillars: good sanitation practices, monitoring incoming materials, and reducing the use of pesticides, insecticides, and rodenticides that can contaminate products. Note the verbs used. Rodenticides are mentioned as something to be reduced, not as a primary tool.

The same guidelines conclude the extermination section with a sentence that serves as a test: pest extermination using chemicals, biological materials, or physically should be carried out without affecting the quality and safety of the products. Poison bait in processing areas often fails this test. Rats that consume the bait often die in inaccessible cavities, and their carcasses invite odors and subsequent pests right in the room where food is prepared. Mechanical traps are not perfect, but they leave carcasses at a point you designate and can be checked every morning.

What is required first, and can be checked tonight

Most of the pest control program's content is actually maintenance work and closing tasks, not chemical work:

Holes and channels that allow pests to enter are sealed.
Windows, doors, and ventilation are covered with wire mesh.
The ceiling is intact and uncracked, with a minimum height of 3 meters from the floor.
Food is stored without direct contact with the floor, and away from walls and ceilings.
Trash bins are closed and made of pest-resistant materials.
Pest nests are destroyed immediately upon discovery.
Dogs and cats do not roam in the environment and within the production area. Keeping kitchen cats is not an accepted shortcut by these guidelines.

If using a vendor, here’s what you have the right to ask

Until that section was revoked in March 2026, Permenkes 2/2023 detailed the requirements for vector control service providers, and the details remain valid through the Annex that continues to apply. Three things are worth asking before signing. First, the service provider must be a legal entity and have a permit for vector control and disease-carrying animals. Second, the pesticides used must be licensed, and the equipment must meet Indonesian National Standards or receive recommendations from the Ministry of Health. Third, the personnel must be health entomologists or environmental health workers trained in health entomology.

One thing cannot be delegated to the vendor. Internal pest density monitoring remains the responsibility of the facility manager, the results must be documented, and the recommendations must be followed up. This documentation is also useful when the Environmental Health Inspection of Food Processing Places arrives, as their assessment covers the exterior area, consumer service area, employee facilities and raw materials, up to the kitchen area. Meeting all these variables is a requirement for issuing the Hygiene Sanitation Eligibility Certificate.

The topic of rat control in restaurants and cafes is also discussed by Mohamad Awaludin in the Hygiene Class: Restaurant & Cafe Sanitation. If you prefer to see his explanation directly, there is a short clip.

Why Restaurants Should Not Rely on Rat Poison

The legal basis has changed twice in three years

Poison is placed last in the order, and it is written

What is required first, and can be checked tonight

If using a vendor, here’s what you have the right to ask

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