Expired food items seized in Lampung, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N. and Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post,
\nBandarlampung\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday, provincial administrations are
\nbeginning the annual campaign to safeguard consumers against
\nharmful food items.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, 1,075 packages of various food items were
\nseized by the provincial Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM)
\nfor fear they posed a danger to consumers. Zulaimah of the agency
\nsaid on Thursday the food items were either expired, contained
\nharmful substances or were not registered with the agency.<\/p>\n
Of the packages, 68 were damaged, 20 were expired, five had
\nalready been withdrawn from the market and six contained harmful
\nsubstances.<\/p>\n
Separately, the head of the provincial agricultural and animal
\nhusbandry agency, Ngadiyono, warned the public to be cautious
\nwhen buying meat.<\/p>\n
Demand for beef and poultry usually increases ahead of the
\nIdul Fitri holiday and people are eager to find the best
\nbargains.<\/p>\n
\"We have set up a team to prevent (the sale of bad meat) but
\nthe public must still exercise caution,\" he said.<\/p>\n
People should refrain from buying meat that is overly dark and
\nhas a stronger than usual odor, he said.<\/p>\n
Pale looking beef also should not be purchased, Ngadiyono
\nsaid. \"It has a high water content because before being killed,
\nthe cows are flushed with water so the meat swells and the
\nmerchant gets more profit.\"<\/p>\n
Ngadiyono also warned people against buying chicken which was
\nbluish in color.<\/p>\n
Also on Thursday, the Lampung BPOM seized 1.4 tons of noodles
\nsuspected of containing formaldehyde and borax from several
\ntraditional markets in the province.<\/p>\n
The noodles were packaged in 280 plastic bags, each containing
\nfive kilograms of noodles. The agency also seized 420 kilograms
\nof formaldehyde, 510 kilograms of borax and five kilograms of
\ndye.<\/p>\n
BPOM investigators failed to locate the suspected producer of
\nthe noodles, which they traced back to the village of Haduyang in
\nNatar, South Lampung. However, they did identify the suspect as
\nErwin Tanjung.<\/p>\n
Employees at the factory where the suspect noodles were
\nproduced said they did not know who owned the factory. One of the
\nemployees said the noodles were distributed across Lampung and a
\nnumber of cities in other provinces in Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The noodles are usually sold directly to traditional markets,
\nwhere they are purchased mainly by noodle and meatball vendors,
\nthe employee said.<\/p>\n
The head of the Lampung BPOM, Tri Suyarto, said the company,
\nPT Abadi Jaya, should immediately withdraw all of its products
\nand destroy the noodles in its warehouse.<\/p>\n
Formaldehyde is used as a preserve and borax helps shape the
\nnoodles and prevent them from easily breaking apart, Suyarto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Borax is usually used in the production of glass, while
\nformaldehyde is used to preserve corpses.<\/p>\n
The BPOM identified the suspected factory, located behind an
\nauto workshop, by tracing the origins of the noodles.<\/p>\n
\"We had been told by people about noodles that could last for
\na week,\" said Suyarto of the initial tip that led the agency to
\nthe noodles.<\/p>\n
Hardadi, the lead investigator at the agency, said the use of
\nborax and formaldehyde violated the 1992 health law and the 1996
\nlaw on food. The violations carry a maximum prison term of five
\nyears.<\/p>\n
The head of the Lampung branch of the Indonesian Consumers
\nFoundation, Subadrayani Moersalin, said similar cases had been
\nfound in Lampung but the suspects were always released.<\/p>\n
\"I fear there will be more victims without proper law
\nenforcement,\" Subadrayani said.<\/p>",
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