What's Really Wrong with Indonesian Noodles?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - While it is being recalled from Taiwan’s supermarkets and food stores for allegedly containing methyl p-hydroxybenzoate and benzoic acid, Indonesian  "Indomie" instant noodles remain on sale at home as the country’s Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has stated the  fast food is still safe for consumption.       "A product evaluation has been conducted before being sold to the public, the nipagin content in the noodle’s soy sauce is still within the acceptable range ," BPOM head Kustantinah said. The soy sauce only contains 250 milligrams per kilogram of preservatives, which was still normal for consumption.        According to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and risk study on additives, international terms had been used in the Indonesian Health Minister Regulation no 722 of 1988. "In noodle soy sauce, the maximum nipagin is limited to 250 milligrams per kilogram. In other food products  besides meat, fish and poultry it reached 1,000 milligrams per kilogram," she said.       Taiwan authorities late last week recalled all Indomie instant noodles from the market because they allegedly contain methyl  p-hydroxybenzoate and benzoic acid. The two elements should only be used to make cosmetics.       However, the Indonesian food monitoring agency said the instant noodle was safe consumption. Therefore,  Indonesia has asked Taiwan to immediately clarify its allegations that Indonesian  "Indomie" instant noodles were not safe for consumption.       Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu  that all Indomie instant noodle products for domestic and international markets were safe for  consumption.       "With regard to Indomie we hereby again state that it is safe for consumption," she said.  She said Indonesia and Taiwan apply different standards with regard to foods , to instant noodles and ketchup in particular. "The two standards are both internationally accepted. It means Indomie products which are marketed in Taiwan are also safe for consumption," she said.

Producer of Indomie instant noodle, publicly-listed food giant PT Indofood Sukses Makmur (ICBP) said its products exported to Taiwan always meet local food safety standards. ICBP Director Taufik Wiraatmadja said the company believed the  reports carried in  Taiwanese media did not concern its instant noodles intended for the Taiwanese market.       ICBP has been exporting instant noodles to various countries for more than 20 years. The company always tried to ensure that its instant noodles  complied with food safety requirements set by the countries where they were marketed. "ICBP should like to emphasize that its products are wholly compliant with  globally-accepted guidelines set by the CODEX Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards body," he said.       According to Minister Mari Pangestu,  Indomie products withdrawn by the Taiwanese food control authorities were found to be not the ones marketed in that country. "Indeed they had confiscated some Indomie products but they were actually not the ones intended for marketing in that country. So that is what really happened," she said.       In connection with it she said she had communicated with the Taiwanese food and drug control authorities and had asked for their clarification on the matter. "What we wish to avoid is a perception that Indomie products are not safe for consumption while in fact it they are. So we want a clarification, the Taiwanese food and drug control agency should  give  clarification on the matter," she said.       In the meantime,  the deputy head of the Taiwan Trade Office in Jakarta (TETO), Chen Win-Ping, has denied that "dirty competition" was behind Taiwanese authorities’ action in recalling Indonesian-made instant noodles. "It is not true," Chen said. He said personnel from Taiwan’s Health Ministry had found out in May that Indomie contained an excessive amount of preservatives. The finding was also  reported to Indonesia’s Industry Ministry.

Chen added related authorities had also contacted PT Indofood to reduce the content of Methyl P-Hydroxybenzoate in their product to the level meeting Taiwan’s national standards. "However, after an examination of Indomie products sold in several stores in Taiwan last week, we still found the products to be containing an  excessive amount of Methyl P-Hydroxybenzoate. Therefore, we asked all supermarkets and stores in Taiwan to remove Indomie from their shelves," he said.

However, in Indonesia,  the Health Ministry still sees no need to warn Indomie instant noodle consumers in Indonesia after Taiwanese authorities recalled the product from the market on a large scale. Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said the ministry was studying whether the Indomie instant noodles marketed in Taiwan were the same as those circulating in Indonesia.

"We have not issued any call because we do not yet understand whether the same Indomie instant noodles are also sold to us. This needs to be investigated," she said.

The minister said she had ordered the BPOM to conduct the investigation after learning that Taiwanese authorities had banned Indomie instant noodles from circulating in their market. In this regard, the BPOM is reviewing the quality of instant noodles circulating in the domestic market.

"Today we also have instructed all of our branches across Indonesia to take repeat samples of instant noodles of all brands," BPOM Chief Kustantinah told a press conference at the BPOM building.

BPOM would take repeat samples outside periodic samples to see the quality of the instant noodles, she said.       "We will examine the samples all at once and not one by one to make the examination more efficient and cheaper," she said.