Indonesia Asks Taiwan to Clarify Preservatives in Instant Noodles

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian government has asked Taiwanese authorities to clarify nepagin preservatives in soy sauce of Indomie instant noodles circulating in Taiwan, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.

"We have asked the drug and food supervisory board there to clarify that our products are safe and meet international standards and are not dangerous," she said here on Tuesday night.      The clarification was very important since misinformation on one of export products would have an impact on trade in other Indonesian export commodities, she said. She made it clear the nipagin or methyl p-hydroxybenzoate content in the soy sauce of Indomie instant noodles under certain variants had complied with the regulation of the health minister on standard content of food preservatives.

Chief of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) Kustantinah said earlier under the domestic rule the maximum limit of nipagin content in soy sauce was 250 milligram for every kilogram of the product. The rule was based on the globally-accepted guidelines set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), she said.

In fact, CAC itself had set the maximum limit of nipagin content in soy sauce at 1,000 milligrams for every kilogram of the product, he said.  She said Taiwan had indeed adopted different standards in the use of nipagin for soy sauce.

"Although their standards are different from ours both are safe and meet international standards," she said.      The BPOM chief said all registered and licensed instant noodles circulating in the domestic market were safe for consuming.  Taiwanese authorities late last week conducted a raid on   Indonesian-made instant noodles circulating in Taiwan for allegedly containing methyl p-hydroxybenzoate which is commonly used in the manufacture of cosmetics.

The world’s biggest instant noodle producer, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur (ICBP), said on Monday its products exported to Taiwan had met the local food safety requirements.