There Are Findings Of RI Contaminated Radioactive Spices, Ministry Of Industry: We Have Not Heard

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) admits that it has not heard any information about the findings of contamination of Cs-137 radioactive substances to spices from Indonesia reported by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, said that his party had not received any information regarding the findings.

"No, we haven't heard and we ask for information," said Febri in response to VOI's question when met at the Ministry of Industry's office, Jakarta, Tuesday, September 30.

Febri said that his party also did not know where the radioactive findings were in the area and what the origin of the incident was. According to him, this will later be traced by the Nuclear Energy Supervisory Agency (Bapeten).

"We don't know (the information) yet. But, later, right, there is a team from Bapeten to trace what kind of incident happened, in what container and who made the radioactive goods," he concluded.

Previously, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) again found contamination of Cs-137 radioactive substances in spices products from Indonesia.

In a report published by the FDA, exposure to Cesium-137 radioactive substances was detected in the cloves sent by the company PT Natural Java Spice to California.

Based on these findings, the FDA then blocked the import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spices (NJS).

"The FDA detected the presence of Cs-137 in a clove sample from PT Natural Java Spice. Thus, the spice products sent by the company PT Natural Java Spice to the US have also been added to the import warning for chemical contamination," the FDA wrote in a statement, quoted from the official website fda.gov, Tuesday, September 30.

Although the radioactive levels detected are still well below the health protection threshold, the FDA assesses that these findings cannot be taken lightly. The agency warns that radioactively polluted foods still have the potential to trigger serious health problems in the event of long-term exposure to consumers.

According to the FDA, although exposure to Cs-137 is limited, it can increase the risk of cancer due to DNA damage in body cells. The FDA assesses that although isotopic levels are detected to be still below the level of concern, product withdrawals are carried out to avoid exposure to low doses that can be accumulated in the long term.