rss feedIndonesian police: Factory used formaldehyde-methanol mixture in tofu
It’s always disappointing when you hear about humans tampering with food. It’s even more appalling when it’s bean curd that reportedly includes a formaldehyde-methanol mixture.
Police in Indonesia this week apparently seized gallons of formalin that were used to make tofu in a Cipinang, East Jakarta factory, according to a Jakarta Post article.
The public informed Jakarta police about the use of the ingredient, which the University of Minnesota reports “is used as a fixative to preserve tissue samples in health care laboratories.”
The article neither listed the tofu brand name nor stated whether the product is shipped to other countries. Investigators also did not provide a motive.
A police spokesperson identified as Adj. Sr. Comr. Mahbub told the newspaper:
The factory, which produces a well-known brand of tofu, had been selling a lot of tofu to several markets in Jakarta for a while now.
The factory is located on Jl Harapan II, Cipinang Melayu Makasar, East Jakarta, the newspaper reported. Police also confiscated production equipment from the factory.
Indonesian officials have outlawed the use of formalin, which typically includes formaldehyde, methanol and water, in food. The article did not say whether prosecutors expect to file charges.
The University of Minnesota notes that:
low to moderate exposure to formaldehyde can irritate the eyes, nose, mouth, throat and skin, and cause headaches. Formaldehyde may be carcinogenic, and toxic or fatal to humans at high concentrations.
The formaldehyde and methanol also make formalin waste toxic.
It appears that the Jakarta Post was one of the few, if not only, media outlets to report the tofu factory raid. Soybean consumption reportedly is high in Indonesia.
Concerns about food quality in the United States have grown in recent years, especially with more items made overseas and then imported.
