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View all search resultsTaiwan flags Indonesian snack imports over banned preservative
Indonesia’s food export industry has faced a series of contamination cases in recent months, spanning various commodities from shrimp to spices.
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Routine check: Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) officers conduct a routine field check on April 4, 2023, in a snack shop in Batang, Central Java. (Antara/Harviyan Perdana Putra)
T
aiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday detained more than a tonne of the Indonesian snack product fried meatball crackers (basreng) at the border after detecting the presence of benzoic acid, a preservative that violates the island’s food safety regulations.
Laboratory tests on the batch found 0.05 grams of benzoic acid per kilogram of product, the Taiwan FDA said. The agency noted that benzoic acid is not listed as an approved additive for processed snacks of this kind under Taiwan’s Food Safety and Sanitation Act.
As a result, the products imported by Taiwan Sheba Enterprise Co. from Indonesia’s Isya Food were found to be in violation of the Food Safety and Sanitation Act, leading authorities to order the goods be either returned or destroyed at the border.
The fried crackers were among 11 imported food items, including melons from Japan, radish leaves and mitten crabs from China and lettuce from Malaysia, that recently failed Taiwan’s border inspections.
Read also: US demanding RI spices despite contamination concerns, govt says
Benzoic acid is a food preservative permitted in Indonesia within specific limits under the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM) regulations for certain processed foods such as sauces, beverages and condiments.
The latest seizure came a week after authorities intercepted a similar shipment from the same Indonesian producer, Isya Food, following the discovery of the same additive.
