Balai POM Palu Suspects Men's Strong Coffee Has Widely Circulated In Central Sulawesi, Urges Residents To Be Alert And Careful When Buying

Head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (POM) in Palu Agus Riyanto (left). AMONG

PALU - The Palu Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (POM) suspects that coffee containing medicinal chemicals (BKO) has been widely circulated in the province of Central Sulawesi (Sulteng).

"It is possible that the coffee has been circulating and being traded in Central Sulawesi because based on the suspect's information, the coffee has been circulating since two years ago. If it had been circulating for that long, it might have entered Central Sulawesi," said Head of POM Agus Riyanto in Palu, Antara, Tuesday, March 8.

Currently, he continued, his party is waiting for instructions from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) of the Republic of Indonesia to conduct market operations to find the existence of these products and carry out inspections.

In the meantime, the public is advised to be vigilant and always careful when buying any food and medicinal products, especially coffee products. If you don't have a distribution permit from BPOM or a home industry food permit (PIRT) or a Home Industry Food Production Certificate (SPP-IRT) from the local government, you should not buy it, let alone consume it.

"For 2022 until now we have not tested coffee food products. But in 2021 we have carried out laboratory tests on several coffee products, either in powder or liquid form. The results were not found that contained hazardous materials, especially BKO," he said.

BPOM previously confiscated various herbal products, strong coffee specifically for men and illegal processed foods containing medicinal chemicals. Especially for strong coffee is known to contain paracetamol and sildenafil. This dangerous product was confiscated through cyber patrols on a number of electronic commerce (e-commerce) platforms.

"This product is herbal medicine and coffee products which are prohibited because they contain medicinal chemicals to increase stamina in a short time but pose a huge risk to the health aspect," said Head of BPOM RI Penny K Lukito in a press conference at Building C BPOM RI Jakarta, Friday afternoon last Friday. .

Evidence seized in the form of Paracetamol and Sildenafil raw materials of more than 30 kilograms, bulk materials of more than 5 kilograms in the form of capsules or other packaging, simple production equipment that does not meet good manufacturing methods.

While the confiscated finished products consisted of 15 types with a total of 5,800 items, traditional medicines consisted of 36 types totaling 18,200 items. "There are types of coffee with various brands and illegal claims that can deceive consumers," he said.

According to Penny, all illegal products worth a total of more than Rp. 1.5 billion were confiscated from production houses in Bandung and Bogor, West Java in the past month. "There are already two suspects," he said.

The long-term effects of using medicinal chemical raw materials outside the dose are at risk of triggering heart problems, liver disorders, affecting reproductive organs, and causing cancer and death," said Penny.​​