T

he discovery of a meat processing business mixing pork in what it claimed to be beef meatballs has sparked concerns among the city’s Muslim meatball lovers, whose religion forbids them from consuming pork.

Farah Anastasia, 19, who lives in Kebayoran Baru, said that she was disturbed by the discovery and decided to stop eating bakso (meatballs) for a while. “A meatball vendor in front of my high school on Jl. Fatmawati was among the vendors who were arrested. The meatballs he sold tasted just like other meatballs. I could not tell and it scares me,” she said.

Farah said her father had banned her from eating meatballs, adding that even if her appetite for the dish came back, she should only buy meatballs from well-known stores with good reputations. “My father even stopped a vendor who usually passes by our house just to make sure he sells meatball made of genuine beef, because we have often bought from him. That’s how insecure we are,” she said.

South Jakarta Maritime and Agriculture Agency and officers from the Jakarta Police on Thursday raided a meat processing business in Cipete Market and arrested the business owner and employees, after a report from residents who were suspicious of the unusually cheap price of their products.

The price of beef is normally Rp 90,000 (US$8.30) to Rp 100,000 per kilogram, while the “beef” sold at the Cipete business cost only at Rp 40,000 to Rp 45,000 per kilogram. Beef prices have soared in recent weeks following implementation of a government policy to cut the quota for imported beef to protect local producers.

The provincial Maritime and Agriculture Agency then surveyed and took samples from meatball vendors across the city and found that some vendors in Cilandak, Kebayoran Baru and Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, as well as other areas in East Jakarta, North Jakarta and West Jakarta, were secretly selling pork meatballs.

Ani Suwarni, 41, a housewife living in Kebayoran Baru, shares Farah’s concern. “Bakso is my family favorite food and I cannot imagine stop eating it. From now on, I will never buy meatballs sold on the street and will only serve my family homemade meatballs.”

Meatball vendors said that the agency’s finding had severely hurt business.

“I can usually sell 4 kilograms of meatballs a day but these few days I can only sell half that. I hope the pork suppliers and meatball vendors who use the meat will all be caught because they not only have dragged down the reputation of honest vendors, but also have caused us to suffer a great loss,” Miko, 60, who sells meatballs from a cart next to the South Jakarta Mayor’s Office.

South Jakarta Maritime and Agriculture Agency head Agung Priambodo urged people to be cautious when buying meatballs from street vendors because his agency was still determining whether other vendors had used pork.

“It’s hard to differentiate pork and beef once it becomes a meatball. For awhile, don’t buy meatballs from street vendors and avoid buying from vendors who offer cheaper-than-usual prices,” Agung said.

He added that his agency was still searching for the pork supplier. “The pork was from wild boar, which is usually taken from Sumatra to feed animals in Ragunan Zoo. We are currently investigating the possibility of any officials involved,” Agung explained. (aml/fzm)