Bandung noodles contain formaldehyde: Survey

Yuli Trisuwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Noodles sold in traditional markets in the West Java capital of Bandung contains formaldehyde, a banned preservative substance for food, a recent study shows.

And in a shocking admission, the West Java Food and Medicine Controlling Board (BPOM) says it has known that two-thirds of noodles sold contain the deadly substance but is powerless to do anything about it.

The survey, conducted by Pasundan University student Mutia Softie as part of her bachelor degree in food engineering, found that 60 samples of wet noodle taken from 31 traditional markets contained between 10.3 parts per million (ppm) and 117.7 ppm of formaldehyde.

Mutia told a media conference on Wednesday that the survey was conducted between November and December. The results of the laboratory tests were verified by her mentor Leni Herliani Afrianti.

Formaldehyde, CH20, is a colorless, pungent, irritating gas used chiefly as a disinfectant, a preservative and to synthesize other compounds and resins.

The BPOM has long banned the use of the substance for food preservative.

Leni, who was present at the conference, said the research was scientifically reliable.

Formaldehyde helps preserve noodles, a staple food for Indonesians, for up to one week, while normal wet noodles will expire after two days.

"Despite its pungent smell, formaldehyde easily dissolves in water, so that people find it difficult to detect the presence of the dangerous substance in the noodles they eat," Leni said.

Persistent intake of formaldehyde harms the liver and red blood cells. In the short term it could lead to stomach aches and vomiting, while in the long run it could devastate nerve system or blood distribution.

Pasundan University had called on BPOM to take action and stop the sale of wet noodles, which could reach dozens of tons per day, she said.

"That's what we have found, not to mention other preservatives and coloring substances," Leni said.

BPOM's official in charge of food control, Euis Megawati, said the agency had detected the use of formaldehyde in 22 of 33 brands of noodle during its latest survey in 2001.

"But what else we can do? The local food and medicine controlling body has no power to close down the noodle producers. Our responsibility is to report our findings to Jakarta or seize the product on sight. But the rest is not our business," Eusi said.