Borax in Food Products

Perjuanganku lebih mudah karena mengusir penjajah, tapi perjuanganmu akan lebih sulit karena melawan bangsamu sendiri.

Soekarno
1st President of The Republic of Indonesia

The quote above when translated in English means, My fight was easier, because fought the invaders. But, yours would be more difficult, because of fighting your own nation. The word nation here means, my fellow countrymen, in other word, the invaders are the Indonesian people themself.

For examples, some bussiness owners slaved their employees, by not paying the salary, or by paying the salary, below the government minimum payment regulations. Terrorism acted by some Indonesian, who had made other Indonesian, and foreigners in Indonesia, died or suffered.

The freedom of having a faith or religion is still in chain. It is so easy to build a mosque in Indonesia, but way too hard to build a church. Even just to build a fence for church's parking-lot, must wait for the IMB (Ijin Mendirikan Bangunan), or a building permit by the local authority. Food products made by small home industry, which contain toxic substances, such as, formaldehyde and borax.

In my earlier post, I had already described the use of formaldehyde in food products. In this post, I will describe how my fellow countrymen used borax, which freely sold in the traditional market, as food additive.

Borax

Borax, or also known as sodium borate, dissolve easily in water. According to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia (Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia) No. 722/MenKes/Per/IX/88, Indonesian government forbade the use of borax, and its derivatives (boron and boric acid), as foods additive. However, borax is easily found to be sold in nearest traditional market.

I assume that the freely sold borax is meant for other uses, such as, for making glass, pottery, and ceramics. Borax possess antifungal properties, which is useful to treat fungal foot disease, Athlete's Foot, and candidiasis, by soaking the foot in the mixture of water and borax. Borax is also used as disinfectant to kill bacteria, and germs.

Borax may use as natural ant killer. To make your own ant traps, mix a tablespoon of honey, borax and sugar. Place the mixture in a bottle. Then, place the open bottle, in open area where there are ants. The ants will take the mixture back to its nest as foods, and will kill the entire colony. ([PDF] Pesticide Alts Eng)

Borax in Lontong

Lontong

Lontong, an Indonesian rice cake, is made by compressing rice cake which wrapped using banana leaves. Lontong is widely known as traditional Indonesian cuisine. But, some lontong makers add borax as a preservative, to make lontong more chewy, or elastic, and last long to be sold.

The original lontong which is made without borax, will be watery after a day period. But, last week, my mom ordered 100 pieces of lontong, in traditional market, for the 68th Indonesian Independence feast. Curious with the lontong that my mom bought, I kept a piece of lontong, in dining table, to be left for three days. You know what, it did not even watery, infact when I touched it, the lontong was harder in the outer skin.

A study using the spectrophotometric method was demonstrated to examine ten samples of lontong, which was sold, in Setu district, Bekasi, West Java. Amazingly, all ten samples were contained with borax at the levels between 220.23 parts per million (ppm) and 314.58 ppm. The study suggested that the Indonesian government should provide more information about the danger uses of borax as food additives. (Nugroho A J, 2011)

Borax in Tempe Chips

Tempe Chips

Tempe, a traditional soy product origin from Indonesia, is made by a fermentation process of soybeans. Tempe iCompressed rice cakes popular ingredient for many Javanese dishes, foods, and snacks, such as, oseng tempe, kering tempe, tempe bacem, tempe mendoan, and tempe chips.

Last Sunday news from Reportase Investigasi, a local TV news program, in TransTV, was informed that all six samples of tempe chips, which were randomly bought, including a sample that was bought in a snacks store, were contained with borax.

Just like borax in bread, in my previous post, all six tempe chips were also tested in laboratory. Small pieces of all samples, when added with a flame produced a green color.

From the interview with a naughty tempe chips maker, and also supported with the video record, it was shown that the maker mixed borax into the flour, which used to cover the tempe before being fried.

Moreover, the scientist who tested the samples, at Sucofindo laboratory, was found that some tempe chips samples were also contained with plastic material. It was shown that some tempe chips maker had melted the plastic container of the frying oil, in the frying pan, before frying the tempe.

The melted plastic in the frying oil, will make the frying oil able to be used many times, and also make tempe chips more crispy. That makes double poison additives inside the tempe chips, borax and plastic.

Image credit: SquareSpace.com & Wikimedia.org

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Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Formaldehyde Chicken Satay

Formaldehyde on Food Products

Healthy Labelled Foods

Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Bad news for seafood lovers. I am not fond of seafood dishes, but oyster is one of my favorite dish.

Report from Reportase Investigasi, in TransTV, Dec 1, 2012, titled Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes, had found an astounding fact. The initial aim of the report was to determine the contents of chemical substances in seafoods such as shrimp, oyster, and fish in the waters of the Java Sea.

10 samples were obtained by TransTV crew from traditional markets and supermarkets. All of them were tested in a laboratory of Padjajaran University. The result, all of them had been contaminated by chemical substances.

Although the chemical level still in the normal threshold, but if it accumulates continuously will adversely affect to the people's health.

The further tests had found another results. 7 out of the 10 samples were also contained with borax and non food grade dye.

The TransTV crew than went to see Joni, the oyster seller, who had sold oyster which contained with borax and textile dyes. Joni had beed committed fraudulent practices to his costumers for years.

He used to have formaldehyde in all seafoods sold on his kiosk. Since getting formaldehyde were difficult, he then used borax which easier to get.

Since 1979, the Indonesian Government had banned the use of borax in all food products. But in order to preserve the goods and to attract buyers, has resulting in fraudulent behavior of the merchant.

That night in his kitchen, Joni soaked oyster, fish and shrimp in a bucket filled with water that had already mixed with borax and textile dyes.

After having soaked for about an hour, he then dried it, and ready for sale early in the morning.

Joni claimed that many his customers who complained about the fish which was bought from him tasted bitter. He then only answered by saying that all the seafoods were bought directly from fishermen.

Tips to distinguish seafoods which safe to eat

TransTV Crew used two types of shellfish, the one was purchased from Joni (dishonest seller) and the other from an honest sellers named Asep, and brought them into the open.

Shellfish which bought from Joni attracted less flies than the shellfish which bought from Asep.

Shellfish stench on Asep owned more sting than stink on Joni owned shellfish.

Color of the shellfish which were sold by Joni more striking, while the one which were sold by Asep pale.

Formaldehyde Chicken Satay

Portrait of a satay seller with its customers in 1870, courtesy of Tropenmuseum

Satay, or sate is consider one of many famous Indonesian cuisine originally from Java. And then became widely in almost all regions of Indonesia. Sate is considered to be the national dish and one of Indonesia's best dishes, added with its regions specific ingredients recipes, different from my favorite original East Java satay that is only used peanut pasta with sweet soy sauce.

Last week, my mom was visiting my aunty house, and having a chat with her. After talking about family and etc., my aunt told my mom about her neighbour who live next door. My aunt's neighbour is a chicken satay seller. Couple of nights earlier, my aunt spotted her neighbour, was putting lots sticks of fresh chicken satay on a wood table, outside their house.

When my aunt saw the husband, she then asked him, Why do you put those satay, on your porch, without covered with anything?. Don't you worry about it. My satay won't smell stinky, he answered. My aunt then felt more curious. It's impossible for those fresh chicken meat, which are laid outside without even smell stink, and there're no flies come approach.

Still in my aunt's memory, recent local TV news about bread that was using borax as preservative. He might have done the same thing with those satays, said my aunt to my mom. Her point of view about satay then suddenly changed. She told my mom that she will never buy, or even eat satay no more.

My aunt's neighbour satay seller act was definitely scarred one of Indonesian most famous cuisine, in which I do really love most. As long borax and formaldehyde are easily to be bought in the nearest drugstore, this kind of practice will still continue. Though not all of satay sellers also doing those cheat thing, but we must be awared of it!

We should prioritize the well-being of our family, particularly our children. It would be better for us to cook our foods by ourselves, using fresh vegetables, meat, or fish, which are chosen by ourselves, without any preservatives added.

Related articles:

Bread Cancer Trigger

Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Formaldehyde on Food Products

Healthy Labelled Foods

Bread Cancer Trigger

Image from recipetineats.com.

I am shock to see these facts while I saw Reportase Investigasi, a TV news program in TransTV, May 27, 2012. 6 out of 10 white bread sold in Indonesia, turned out to be contained with borax. Preservative that should not to be used in food, just like formaldehyde, in which nearly quite known the same as borax.

Borax has known for its wide variety of uses in many manufactures industry, but not for food industry. It is used as component of detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. Indonesian government had prohibited its used for food industry, but what had been shown by TransTV seems to be scarred the face of Indonesian Directorate of Consumer Protection (FDA). The Indonesian FDA had already warned the risk of liver cancer with high consumption over a period of 5–10 years.

6 bread out of 10 samples containing borax was the result on laboratory test by Padjajaran University of Bandung. 2 of them are well-known branded bread, in which one of them can be found in every supermarkets in Indonesia, while the other well-known branded bread is obtained from a mall in Jakarta.

Based on interview by the crew of Reportase Investigasi TransTV with an employee of a baking factory. In the bakery where he worked, used of borax as a preservative for baking bread. Also using margarine that had already expired, artificial sweeteners, as well as using eggs that have been damaged. According to the informant, the use of borax will make longer shelf life, from 4 days normal time of expiring to 2 weeks.

Hygiene is no longer ignored by the factory in pursuit of revenue targets. The TV crew's hidden camera revealed that a bread dough that had been fallen to the dirty floor, picked up again, and mixed into the dough, when he entered the factory. That makes the informant who is also employee of the factory did not want to eat bread anymore.

Rate of 60% of 10 samples of bread made from dangerous cancer trigger preservative should be questioned. Where is the Indonesian FDA during this? I've written about this before. But it is unavoidable to not to eat this healthy labelled food, because my job required shift work and my work began at 6 am. So, I chose white bread with jam for breakfast in a hurry, due to at 5.15 am I must leave the house to go to work. (Breakfast at 5 am. Have you try it before?) But after watching TV yesterday afternoon made me think twice for breakfast with bread again.

Here are tips on choosing a safe to eat bread and free of preservatives, from a Chef who also interviewed:

The Longer The Harder
If it kept for a week, safe to eat bread texture would be harder, but the bad ones will stay soft.

Butter Smell
A safe to eat bread will have more fragrant smell of butter or margarine, while the bad one has no smell at all, or a stinky smell.

Yellowish Color
The color of the white bread that is safe to eat, is a slightly yellowish color. If you usually think of white bread has only white color, you should be more careful. Because the white color comes from bleaching agents that were added during the bread baking.

Try To Twisted The Bread!
The best eaten bread will fall out easily when pinched or torn into small pieces, and if you twisted the bread, it will be back shaped like the bread dough.

Source : Reportase Investigasi, TransTV, May 27, 2012, 5.15 pm (UTC+7).