DPR Highlights Chemical Muscat Wine, Encourages Consumption Of Local Production

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IV DPR RI Daniel Johan highlighted public concerns about consuming muscat wine in the midst of Thailand's findings regarding the 14 hazardous chemical residues in the fruit. Daniel also asked the Government to ensure the safety of muscat wine circulating in Indonesia while at the same time encouraging people to choose local production.

"We ask the Government to be serious and committed to taking preventive steps towards the case of this muscat wine. We are concerned and continue to ensure that every food product circulating in Indonesia is safe for the community," said Daniel Johan, Wednesday, October 30.

As is known, the public is feeling uneasy following the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) warning regarding the findings of pesticide residues above the safe limit on the muscat shine wine product circulating in the country. As a result, most of the samples are allegedly containing chemical residue.

Laboratory tests performed found residues of 14 harmful chemicals in concentrations above safe 0.01 mg/kg. During the examination, a total of 50 chemical residues were found and 22 of them were not regulated by Thai law, such as triasulfuron, cyflumethofen, tetraconazole, and fludioxonyl.

Thailand's findings have become a viral topic of conversation on social media. People are worried because the muscat shine wines that are widely sold in fruit shops and markets in Indonesia have been widely consumed.

Moreover, the dangers of systemic pesticides that can be absorbed into fruit tissues, such as triasulfuron and tetraconazole, can have fatal impacts on health ranging from digestive system problems, disorders in the nervous system to the risk of cancer in the long term. Daniel asked the Government to pay serious attention to this problem.

"Tight supervision of food products is absolutely necessary, especially those from imported products," said the legislator from the West Kalimantan I electoral district.

Although the National Food Agency has ensured that the muscat shine wine circulating in Indonesia is safe, the government is currently conducting a laboratory examination and testing process for the premium wine sample from Japan.

Even the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) appealed to the public to temporarily limit the consumption of muscat shine wine during the investigation process. Cross-ministerial/institutional coordination is reminded that it must run efficiently.

"Including the Quarantine Agency in order to prevent the entry of contaminated muscat wine. So the Food Agency, BPOM and the Quarantine Agency must act to ensure that residual muscat wine does not circulate in the Indonesian market," said Daniel.

Commission IV of the DPR in charge of food and agricultural affairs also encourages cooperation between the BPOM, the Quarantine Agency, the Food Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of food products circulating in the community. Daniel said regulations and supervision must be carried out more proactively to protect public health.

"Strict out random inspection and sampling procedures for imported products such as muscat wine, and supervision must be firm," he said.

"Public health protection must be a top priority in every policy related to food products. Don't let Indonesians become sick when consuming fruit that should support the health of the body," continued Daniel.

On the other hand, Daniel encourages increased consumption of local products. Data from the Central Statistics Agency reveals that there has been a significant increase in wine production in the last three years. Indonesian wine production in 2022 reached 13,515 tons, an increase from 11,905 tons in 2020. Meanwhile, in 2023, the production of wine fruit in the country reached 134,055 kwintals.

"I invite the public to consume local fruit because the taste is no less delicious than imported products and of course the price is cheaper. In addition, choosing local fruit can also help the movement of the national economy from our agricultural sector," said Daniel.

Daniel emphasized the importance of reducing dependence on imports of foodstuffs.

"So the increase and development of agricultural production must be maximized. We can direct by focusing on developing horticultural areas," said the man who is also assigned to the Legislation Body (Baleg) of the DPR.

Daniel also encouraged the Government to improve agricultural programs on the production of fruits that support the export market so that it has the value of benefits in the development of the country's economy. For this reason, he invites all stakeholders to be involved in building domestic fruit production.

"Whether it's related ministries/agencies, farmers, business actors, local governments, practitioners, academics, researchers, and the community itself must have a commitment to build national fruits," Daniel explained.

To increase competitiveness, Daniel encouraged the Government to cooperate with universities and research institutions to provide training for farmers, business actors, and other related elements. Daniel hopes that the increase in agricultural production and productivity in the country can be more optimal.

"And the government must also ensure that market and logistics access for the production of our farmers' fruit is guaranteed. Of course, the spirit of building national fruit must also be supported by a modern and environmentally friendly agricultural system," he said.

Daniel said good knowledge and technical skills for agricultural development and fruit cultivation are needed to produce productivity and quality. In addition, to maximize farmers and fruit business actors build networks.

"If this can run effectively, the potential for fruit development, including wine in Indonesia, will not only benefit farmers and business actors, but also open up opportunities for people who want to be involved in the world of Indonesian fruit," concluded Daniel.