Police Expose 'Deadly Recipe' of Formaldehyde-Laced Noodle Factory in Boyolali

Central Java Regional Police have exposed illegal production of formaldehyde-contaminated noodles in Boyolali. Police revealed the “deadly recipe” concocted by suspect WH in manufacturing formaldehyde-laced noodles.

“The suspect ordered two employees to produce noodles, then process and mix the dough at 100 kg of noodle material using 1 litre of formaldehyde that the suspect had prepared,” said Kombes Djoko Julianto, Director of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Central Java Regional Police, as reported by detikJateng on Thursday (12 March 2026).

Djoko stated that the noodles produced at WH’s factory consisted of a mixture of wheat flour, rock salt, water, food colouring, soda Q (a noodle elasticiser), and formaldehyde. Suspect WH was assisted by two individuals in operating the formaldehyde-contaminated noodle business in Boyolali. The suspect had distributed the noodles to various districts in Central Java.

“The noodles were sold at IDR 12,000 per kilogramme by the suspect. (To which cities?) We are still conducting further investigations with the suspect,” he said.

The suspect had been producing formaldehyde-laced noodles since 2019. WH’s noodle factory had an average daily production capacity of 1-1.5 tonnes.

“Production of approximately 1-1.5 tonnes per day, then sold at IDR 12,000 per kilogramme,” he added.