Dangerous food preservatives

Dangerous food preservatives

From Kontan

In an attachment to Ministry of Health Regulation No. 722 on food additives, it says nine preservatives are banned here. They include boric acid and formaldehyde.

It has been widely reported in the media that some foods like tofu, wet noodles, fish, salted fish, etc. are preserved with formaldehyde, an item normally used for preserving human corpses.

An excessive amount of formaldehyde (more than 30 mg/liter) can cause failure of blood circulation and ultimately result in death. Also dangerous is the use of boric acid in tofu, fish, meatballs, etc. to make the foods dry and tough.

We know the health ministry and the Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency have prohibited the use of the above preservatives. But when the supervision is relaxed the producers will no longer abide by the ban.

So, it is time the government introduced stricter measures and sanctions against those producers who violate the regulation.

LIDWINA M. GOMULJA Jakarta