Dozens Of Noodles And Crackers Containing Additives Found In Batang Area Market

Traditional market illustration. (Antaranews)

BATANG - The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Semarang, found dozens of food products of crackers and noodles containing Auramin and Rhodamin B throughout 2022.

Head of BPOM Semarang, Sandra Linthin, said the dozens of products were secured from traders in Batang Regency, Central Java.

"From the test results, there were 12 positive samples containing Auramin and 13 positive samples containing Rhodamine B," Sandra said at a food safety socialization event in Batang, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, July 6.

He reminded the public to be observant in every choice of food as an effort to anticipate the food purchased contains harmful chemicals or not.

People can identify foods that contain harmful ingredients, such as formalin, or not by seeing that the food is odorless, durable, and not covered by insects.

"If the food has a striking or lighter color, it is indicated that it may contain additional coloring material (Rhodamine B). In contrast to natural food coloring, the color is usually more natural and not flashy," he said.

It is said that the safety and quality of food circulating in the community needs to be fostered for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and active supervision by relevant regional apparatus organizations.

"Therefore, I hope that the socialization of hazardous food safety in Batang Regency can synergize with the relevant regional apparatus organizations, namely Disperindagkop, Satpol PP, Diskominfo, and the Health Office," he said.

According to Sandra, the surveillance system begins with the government, which has rules and guidelines to disseminate information to the public or traders so that there is health insurance.

In addition, he continued, provide knowledge to food supply business actors so as not to make food products using hazardous chemicals.

"If there are findings of hazardous food ingredients, we will provide guidance to sellers and producers so as not to sell hazardous food ingredients. However, if the scale is large, it will be dealt with firmly by the competent authority," he said.