Taiwan Finds Indonesian Basreng Containing A Sewer To Guard Safe Limits

Illustration of fried meatballs (basreng) (Pexels/Meggy Kadam)

JAKARTA - Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has again highlighted food from Indonesia. This time, TFDA found fried meatballs or basreng from Indonesia containing benzoat acid preservatives exceeding the safe limit.

The food was then held at the border. The detention occurred a week after a similar product was also stopped on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.

In the TFDA report, it was stated that the product came from Isya Food, a food producer from Indonesia, and was imported to Taiwan by Sheba Enterprise Co. Here are the details of the product.

- Bakso goreng or basreng with a total of 1,001 KGM / 1,072 kg with benzoat acid at a concentration of 0.05 g / kg

- Grilled fried meatballs with a total of 1,008 KGM/1,008 kg, are found to benzoic acid at a concentration of 0.02 g/kg

These substances are not included in additional food ingredients permitted on the Specification, Coverage, Implementation, and Limitation of Taiwanese Food Additional Materials. This is considered to violate the Law on Food Security and Sanitation in Taiwan.

"Based on the Scope Room, Limitation, and Specification of Food Additional Materials', the products mentioned in this report are not included in the list of allowed foods and do not comply with Article 18 Paragraph 1 of the Food Security and Sanitation Law," TFDA statement, quoted from its official website, on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

Thus, the TFDA will take further action against the Basreng product. Starting from being returned or destroyed.

"Products that are not in accordance with what is stated in the document will be returned or destroyed in accordance with the regulations," he added.

Previously, on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, TFDA had also announced the detention of similar products from the same company. A total of 1,008 kg of Basreng Cracker products at that time were found to contain benzoat acidacets of 0.93 grams per kilogram.