City, BPOM play blame game over tainted ice

JAKARTA. Both the Jakarta administration and the Jakarta chapter of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) have refused to take responsibility after the revelation that tainted ice blocks have been produced and sold across the city for more than 10 years.

The case was revealed recently after some residents of Setiabudi in South Jakarta suffered from nausea after consuming some ice in a beverage.

Police later brought a sample to the Health Ministry’s laboratory for examination, which revealed that the ice contained E. coli bacteria that could cause various illnesses. The police traced the ice to a factory in East Jakarta and found that it was made of water taken from the Kalimalang River in Bekasi, West Java. The factory staff allegedly added chemical ingredients like chlorine and caustic soda to the water.

The ice was allegedly sold to vendors for between Rp 12,000 (90 US cents) and Rp 30,000 per block. The factory aimed to sell 2,000 ice blocks per day.

Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja said that the supervision of the ice blocks was in the hands of the BPOM.

“I think the BPOM is responsible for the supervision of such activities. This needs to be investigated further,” Ahok told reporters in Bogor, West Java, over the weekend.

He said he acknowledged that many vendors in Jakarta still sold unhealthy food and beverages unfit for consumption.

“That’s why starting this year, the city administration, in cooperation with the BPOM, will increase supervision over street vendors and the goods they sell,” Ahok said, referring to a memorandum of understanding signed by the two institutions to increase the quality of street food and beverages in the capital.

Meanwhile, BPOM Jakarta head Dewi Prawitasari said the city administration should be responsible for the supervision of ice block production and distribution.

“Ice blocks are not yet regulated by the BPOM. The factory, sales and distribution permits are the city administration’s responsibility,” Dewi said over the phone on Saturday.

South Jakarta Police chief Adj. Comr. Audie Latuheru said the police had questioned 14 people in the tainted ice block case, including employees of the factory and local residents living near the factory. The factory, located in Cakung, East Jakarta, was believed to have been operating for more than 10 years, he said.

“We’ve been investigating since March 21. We have questioned 14 people as witnesses, including the person in charge of the company and the water tank truck owner,” Audie said as reported by kompas.com. (Dewanti A. Wardhani)