South Jakarta Administration Forms Team to Monitor Siomay Vendors Using Catfish

The South Jakarta Administrative City Government is taking supervisory measures against the circulation of siomay suspected of using catfish ingredients. This effort is being carried out through the formation of an integrated team to ensure food safety for the public. “We must bring in a team from the Food Security, Maritime, and Agriculture Office (KPKP) and the Drug and Food Supervisory Agency (BBPOM) who truly understand whether this food contains catfish or not,” said South Jakarta Mayor Muhammad Anwar during the City and Journalists Discussion (Berkawan) event in Jakarta on Wednesday. The South Jakarta City Government emphasises that the approach taken is not sudden or repressive. Inspections will be conducted in a measured manner to avoid harming small vendors. “We shouldn’t just do sudden raids, or it will be pitiful for the vendors,” he said. In addition to supervision, the government will also prioritise education for vendors on the importance of using safe and suitable food ingredients. Meanwhile, the South Jakarta KPKP Sub-Directorate has begun mapping areas that will be the focus of supervision for siomay vendors using fishery product processing. “Regarding inspections of fishery product processors, we have started mapping first. Currently, we will also ensure that we inform colleagues when we have movements,” said Arief. Not only targeting food supervision, the South Jakarta City Government is also intensifying the handling of catfish in water environments. Fishing equipment assistance has been distributed to all sub-districts to support these activities. “We have started distributing assistance for fishing equipment to all Sub-Districts. Because colleagues from the sub-districts are also enthusiastic about participating in catfish capture operations in their respective areas,” said Dua. In the future, catfish capture operations will be held again at the beginning of May. The destruction process is carried out according to MUI recommendations, namely by killing the fish first before burying them at designated locations such as BBI and the Ciganjur Seed Garden. In addition to being destroyed, the government is also studying the utilisation of catfish as livestock feed and organic fertiliser to provide further value.