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).