Bandung noodles contain formaldehyde: Survey

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.