Indonesia Says Indomie's 'Special Chicken Flavour' Noodles Are Safe To Eat
According to Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, while the product does contain ethylene oxide, which is linked to lymphoma and leukaemia, it's at a level that abides by local safety standards.
By Sadho Ram — 28 Apr 2023, 04:32 PM
Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has assured that 'Special Chicken Flavour' noodles from Indomie, the country's popular instant noodle brand, are "safe for consumption"
The assurance from the neighbouring country's BPOM comes amidst Malaysia's withdrawal of Indomie's 'Special Chicken Flavour' noodles from shelves for containing excessive levels of ethylene oxide.
Malaysia's decision to withdraw the Indomie product came after the Taipei Department of Health said that it had discovered the carcinogen in two instant noodle brands from Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to BPOM, while the Indomie special chicken variant did contain ethylene oxide — a cancer-causing compound — it's at a level that is acceptable to the country's health agency standard.
BPOM, in a statement yesterday, 27 April, stated that the content level detected by Taiwan is still way below the standard applied in Indonesia and in other countries, such as the US and Canada
"Therefore, in Indonesia, the instant noodle is safe for consumption as it has complied with the standard applied here," the health agency said, as reported by The Peninsula.
Additionally, Budi Santoso, an Indonesian trade ministry official, told reporters that Indomie in Indonesia was safe and that Taiwan's regulations "are very sensitive, different [than] us", reported Reuters.
So far, MOH has not issued any further statement with regard to BPOM's assurance about the safety of Indomie's 'Special Chicken Flavour' noodles.
A worker arranges Indomie's Special Chicken Flavour instant noodles packets on the shelves of a supermarket in Jakarta, Indonesia on 26 April 2023.
Image via Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters