UNAIR NEWS- Several media have reported that the Taiwanese government had refused some instant noodle products entry from various countries, including Indonesia. Based on a report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Taiwan, mie sedap brand products have excessive pesticide residues. However, Dominikus Raditya Atmaka SGz MPH , UNAIR Nutritionist, appealed to Indonesian people not to panic too much.
Dominic explained that instant noodles’ pesticide residues are very low. It is even lower than the pesticide residue of other agricultural products. He explained that pesticide residues in food usually come from agricultural land.
“So, these pesticides are usually used as anti-pests, anti-pathogens, and others that are commonly used to improve the quality of food production,” said the specialist in clinical nutrition and food product development.
In this regard, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) has regulated the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) for food production. So, if the manufacturer of a food ingredient does not follow the rules or inadvertently contains harmful ingredients in the food. So, BPOM will withdraw the product from the market.
Even for the pesticide residue threshold, said Domi, there are rules, and they vary depending on the type of food. “In instant noodles, no specific statement is mentioned on the pesticide threshold because the processing of instant noodles does not involve pesticide-derived ingredients. However, food production standards in other countries are usually listed in more details,” he said.
Reported by tempo.co, some variants of mie sedap products in Taiwan were detected to contain the carcinogenic pesticide class 1 ethylene oxide residues. They are Beef Soup Instant Cup; Chicken Soup Instant Cup; Korean Spicy Soup Instant Cup; Korean Spicy Chicken Instant Cup; and Spicy Laksa Soup Instant Cup. It happens because the food production standards set in Indonesia are different from other countries. It means it depends on the strict supervision of the food regulatory agency in the country.
Domi said some countries, such as America, Japan, and Taiwan, have stringent food control. The stringency also depends on the health condition of the population in the country. “For example, in Japan, the population tends to be very healthy. The Japanese do not consume much sugar, salt, and oil. So, yes, they (Ed: FDA authorities) are very strict in supervising the production of food in their country,” said the UNAIR Nutrition lecturer.
Meanwhile, in America, the high number of allergies such as allergies to peanuts, chocolate, to seafood has made the American FDA (BPOM) tighten the foods that can trigger allergies. The strictness is solely to maintain the health of the people in the country.
Furthermore, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, long-term exposure to ethylene oxide can increase the risk of breast cancer and blood cancer. In addition, Domi stated that chemically derived pesticides such as organophosphates have the ability to oxidize cells so that cancer will form in some organs, such as colon and liver cancer.
Even though BPOM has previously minimized pesticides with regular monitoring and testing, Dominikus continues to emphasize to the people of Indonesia to be wise in consuming food.
“Yes, even though the pesticide residues in instant noodles are very low, there are minimal health problems, consumers must remain wise in choosing and consuming processed foods to achieve maximum health conditions,” he said.
Author: Viradyah Lulut Santosa
Editor: Feri Fenoria
