The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, identified dangerous ingredients such as formalin and borax in snacks sold in four elementary schools during tests conducted on Monday.
At state-run elementary school SDN 2 Mataram, for example, officers from the agency found popsicles containing coloring agents for textile and borax and formalin in noodle products and flour balls locally known as cilok.
“We have asked the respective traders to sign an agreement saying they will no longer use the dangerous ingredients in their food,” head of the agency, Sri Utami Ekaningtyas, told reporters after conducting the impromptu testing.
The agency deployed a mobile laboratory unit for the activity, making it possible to conduct testing on-site and produce quick results.
“We were also able to hold education activities in cooperation with the Mataram Health Agency and the Mataram Education Agency at a number of schools in the region,” Sri Utami said.
Sri added that snacks sold in schools could play an important role in helping provide students, especially those from elementary schools, with nutrients. Unfortunately, in terms of food security, the agency said they were quite concerned.
“Many of the traders still use dangerous ingredients. Apart from that, many of the snacks sold in schools are contaminated with microbes,” she said.
She added the agency had been monitoring the snacks sold in schools since 2004. As many as 100 samples are taken from 14 elementary schools in Mataram each year, she said.
So far, she added, some 32 percent of samples did not meet required food security standards, mostly due to microbes and dangerous ingredients as well as excessive levels of artificial sweeteners and preservatives.
“Such ingredients could lead to acute diseases if consumed continuously,” said Sri.
He added that the sampling was deliberately conducted in elementary schools so the agency could target high-risk age groups.
