Agency Terminates Buvanest Drug Permit After Deaths

Jakarta Globe, Investor Daily, Mar 06, 2015

Workers of Kalbe Farma factory sort out medicine tablets in Cikarang,
Indonesia West Java province August 5, 2013. (Reuters Photo)

Jakarta. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, known as BPOM, has terminated the distribution permit for the drug Buvanest Spinal by state-controlled pharmaceutical firm Kalbe Farma due to non-compliance with good manufacturing practices.

“[Kalbe Farma’s] investigation report did not adequately depict the problem roots, that there can be a potential mix-up,” said Togi Junice Hutadjulu, director of therapeutic products monitoring at the agency, on Thursday.

Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation suggest Kalbe Farma incorrectly labelled tranexamic acid as Buvanest Spinal, which resulted in the deaths of two women undergoing Caesarian section and cystoscopy procedures at Siloam Hospital in Tangerang last month.

Investor Daily

Related Article:

Investigation Into Deadly Drug Mix-Up Continues

BPOM Uncovers Two Formaldehyde-Tainted Noodle Factories in Bogor

Jakarta Globe, Vento Saudale, Oct 12, 2014

BPOM officers investigate formalin-tainted noodles confiscated during a
raid in two Bogor noodle factories on Saturday.

Bogor. The Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) along with officers from the National Police confiscated 50 kilograms of formaldehyde, known locally as formalin, and hundreds of kilograms of noodles produced using the hazardous substance during a raid in two noodle factories in Bogor’s subdistrict of Bojonggede, West Java, Saturday.

“According to temporary investigations, the two factories produce up to six tons of noodles in one production cycle,” said Mustofa, director of  hazardous products and materials for the BPOM. “It is known that the noodles contain over 1.5 milligrams of the hazardous substance, which is definitely a threat to one’s health.”

Formalin is an aqueous form of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The substance is often illegally used as a preservative in several food items such as chicken, fish, noodles and tofu in Indonesia.

The raid follows a two-month-long investigation by a team from the agency, Mustofa said.

The factories reportedly employ up to 20 people and own four cars used to market the products to traditional markets and noodle vendors within the Greater Jakarta area.

Mustofa added that the factories had been in operation for three years, with noodles being sold for Rp 45,000 per five kilograms, a price said to be cheaper by up to Rp 20,000 ($1.60) compared to noodles that do not contain formaldehyde.

Lilik, owner of the factories who reportedly buys formaldehyde from a drugstore in South Tangerang, is charged with the 2012 Food Law, which sees a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp 10 billion.

Mustofa has called on the public to avoid consuming food containing formaldehyde, emphasizing it could lead to digestive disorders and paralysis.

“Noodles containing formaldehyde are typically brighter in its color and are tougher,” he said.

That's a Smarties move! Nestle becomes first confectioner to ditch all artificial additives from its products

Daily Mail, by SEAN POULTER, 2nd March 2012  

Smarties along with other Nestle
 brands will no longer contain any
 additives

Nestlé has become the first major confectioner to remove artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its entire range.

The company, which is behind leading brands including KitKat, Smarties and Quality Street, has changed the recipe of 79 products to remove suspect chemicals.

Nestlé’s Crunch bar is the last of the company’s products to have the chemicals removed as part of a programme that dates back six years.

In total, more than 80 ingredients have been replaced with alternatives, mostly from natural sources such as carrot, hibiscus, radish, safflower and lemon.

Other companies are also racing to drop artificial additives from products, particularly those targeted at children. The moves follow a Daily Mail campaign and research by British academics linking some artificial colours to harm, including hyperactivity, in children.

The Daily Mail first highlighted the use of suspect colours in products such as Smarties in 2005. It launched the ‘Ban the Additives’ campaign in 2007 following research which found that normal healthy children became hyperactive when fed a cocktail of additives commonly used in sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks and some medicines.

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The colours involved were tartrazine (E102); quinoline yellow (E104); sunset yellow (E110); carmoisine (E122); ponceau 4R (E124); and allura red (E129).

Subsequently, the Food Standards Agency announced a voluntary code calling on all food manufacturers to stop using these chemicals.

However Nestlé  has gone further and removed all artificial additives from its range. The changes meant that blue Smarties disappeared for a time until a natural colouring could be found.

Smarties chocolates are amongst Nestle's most popular products

The managing director of Nestlé Confectionery UK, David Rennie, said: ‘This is a significant milestone. Nestlé is proud to be the only major confectionery company in the UK to announce it is 100 per cent free of artificial preservatives, flavours or colours across the entire portfolio.

‘To achieve this, Nestlé Confectionery and our suppliers have worked very hard ensuring we don’t compromise and we maintain the same quality and taste of all our brands.’

The firm’s research found that three quarters (74 per cent) of consumers buying confectionery now look for natural products, which includes the need to be free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.

Sally Bunday of the Hyperactive Children Support Group, which has warned against the use of artificial additives for 35 years, welcomed the Nestlé announcement.

She said: ‘There is more than enough evidence to show that these artificial colours have an adverse effect on the well-being and behaviour of the children.

‘We are delighted to learn of the decision taken by Nestlé to stop using all artificial additives. I am sure many other companies will also decide to stop using questionable additives.’

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BPOM Says These 22 Coffee Brands Are Bad for You

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, November 25, 2011

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Coffee drinkers, beware of these 22 brands. It is not about their caffeine content, says the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), but that they contain chemicals that can be bad for your health.

The 22 brands are not registered with BPOM but had been sold in the market, according to BPOM head Kustantinah. The problem is that they contain sildenafil or tadalafil.

Both substances are not allowed for use in food or beverage as they can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach aches, palpitations, chest pains, permanent erectile dysfunction and even death.

Sildenafil and tadalafil are usually found in drugs or supplements for erectile dysfunction. They can have a lethal effect if consumed by someone with a heart condition.

“Imagine if people don't know this fact,” Kustantinah said. “Coffee is a beverage usually taken in the morning, during the day and at night time.”

BPOM has withdrawn all these brands from the market to be destroyed. Meanwhile, the producers as well as marketers have been warned to stop producing and selling these or face sanctions of a maximum of five years in jail or a fine of Rp 600 million.

The banned coffee brands are:

    1. 39 Sa Kao 3 in1 Kopi Mix Plus Ekstrak Jahe

    2. 39Sa Kao kopi Mix Ginseng Korea 3 in 1

    3. Bel-bel Kopi Ekstra Susu

    4. Black Borneo Platinum Coffee

    5. Dream Coffee

    6. Dynamic Coffee/Dynamic Nusantara/Dynamin Tribulus Coffee.

    7. Golden Life

    8. God Coffee Premium/ Good Coffee

    9. Herba Max Coffee

    10. Jaho Mix Barokah SP

    11. Jomoon Instant Coffee

    12. Joss-Fly Plus Coffee Plus Panax Ginseng

    13. Kopi Cleng- Sehat, Nikmat, Berstamina

    14. Kopi Mahabbah

    15. Kopi Pasutri

    16. Kopi KPH/Kopi Kuat

    17. Kopi Strong 234

    18. Maca-Tech

    19. Matador Coffee

    20. Mawaddah Coffee

    21. On Coffee

    22. Premium Energy Coffee

Indonesia Requests Radiation-Free Certification for Japanese Foods

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran | March 24, 2011

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The Indonesian government on Thursday said it had requested that all food imported from Japan be accompanied with certification showing it was free of radiation contamination.

Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih said all food, both fresh and processed, shipped after March 11 should be accompanied “with radiation free and radioactive substance contamination certification from Japanese authorities.”

She said ministry data showed the latest processed food shipped from Japan was on March 9.

“There has been some fresh food [shipped] but it has been quarantined for further checks by the National Nuclear Energy Agency [Batan],” Endang said. “The tests will define whether it is safe or it needs to be destroyed.”

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Mothers receive bottles of water at a distribution office
in the Adachi ward of Tokyo. The government has warned
that infants should not be allowed to consume tap water.
(Haruyoshi Yamaguchi, Bloomberg / March 24, 2011)

Indofood Insists Noodles Safe After Taiwan Ban

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Dessy Sagita & Susilo Wardhani | October 12, 2010

Jakarta. Senior executives from Indofood, the world’s biggest maker of instant noodles, on Monday speculated that unfair trade practices or illegal imports were to blame for their products being pulled off shelves in Taiwan on Friday, as two chains in Hong Kong followed suit on Monday.

Meanwhile, Indonesian health officials moved to reassure the public the noodles were safe.

Fransiscus Welirang, director of Indofood Sukses Makmur, questioned the Taiwan Health Department’s motives for banning Indomie brand instant noodles, which are produced by Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur, a spinoff company.

“Taiwan wants to protect its market from Indomie, which is cheaper than any other noodles,” Fransiscus said.

He also suggested that the Indomie noodles in Taiwan might have been intended for other markets and illegally imported to the island nation, which has higher food-safety standards than other countries.

Indofood CBP makes the Indomie noodles with different ingredients for different markets.

On Friday, Taiwanese authorities banned the brand on the grounds that it contained excessive levels of the preservative benzoic acid.

On Monday, the Hong Kong newspaper The Standard reported that two of the city’s biggest supermarkets, Park’n’Shop and Wellcome, had also taken Indomie noodles off their shelves because of the Taiwan ban.

Kustantinah, head of Indonesia’s National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), on Monday said the noodles were safe.

“There’s no need to panic. All instant noodles that have been registered [with us] are safe,” she said.

Kustantinah said she would ask the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) to try to find out more about Indofood products being pulled.

“We have no diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, so we can’t just ask its food and drugs agency to clarify the situation, but perhaps people from the Trade Ministry can ask why,” she said.

Fransiscus said all Indofood CBP’s products were in full compliance with the guidelines set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international food-standards body. However, he acknowledged that Taiwan had independent guidelines.

“The preservative content in Indomie is still within normal levels,” he said.

Fransiscus said Indofood CBP was still weighing its response to the ban.

Shares of Indofood CBP tumbled 4.3 percent on Monday, while shares of Indofood Sukses Makmur fell 4.4 percent. The stocks’ outlook was also downgraded for unrelated reasons by JP Morgan.

Muhammad Al Fatih, an analyst from Samuel Sekuritas, said the declines would be temporary, and the issue was likely to pass quickly.

But he added that investors would need some time while the facts were clarified.

Related Articles:

All instant noodles from Indonesia inspected in Taiwan

Critics Blast Indonesian Government’s Defense of Indomie

Taiwan Bans Sales of Indomie Instant Noodle

Woman loses five family members due to food poisoning

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi | Wed, 09/01/2010 6:06 PM

Police in the South Sulawesi regency of Barru are investigating the cause of food poisoning which has killed eight people in Patappa village.

Sakka, 55, a witness, said her husband La Pasau, 60, grandchildren Asni, 16, and Mammi, 14, her daughter-in-law Juhaeni and the latter’s father La Waleng died after eating pancakes they received from relatives next door as they broke their fast on Tuesday.

Seven other people, including Sakka’s son Amon Tang and her grandsonYusri, are being treated at Wahidin  Sudirohusodo Hospital in the provincial capital of Makassar.

Doctor Siti Hajar who takes care of the survivors said her patients hurt their stomach, but found no problems with their liver and kidney. She expected her patients to recover soon.

Sakka said she received the pancakes from her relative Syamsidar, who often baked pancakes using ingredients she bought from a nearby market. Syamsidar, who planned to leave for employment in Tawau in Malaysia, died in the incident.

All the dead victims were buried on Wednesday in Patappa village.

Consumers at Risk of Mercury Poisoning: Activists

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, May 20, 2010

Public health and environmental activists on Tuesday called for lawmakers to introduce legislation regulating the use of mercury in consumer goods and small mining operations.

“Southeast Asia is probably the biggest user of mercury,” said Yuyun Ismawati, director of environmental group Bali Fokus Foundation. “We use it in electrical and medical equipment, batteries and even dental fillings.”

Increasingly, medical and scientific bodies are pushing for tighter controls on mercury to curtail the shopping list of health problems brought on by the prolonged exposure to the toxic element. And what a list it is. It includes: damage to the brain, tissue, kidney and lungs, as well as birth defects.

But in major urban areas such as Jakarta, where the treatment of general waste has been an issue for years, the dearth of safe disposal facilities is compounding the problem.

Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman Husna Zahir said the increasing rate of mercury poisoning found among the public is also a question of low awareness of the element’s side-effects.

“Most consumers have little knowledge of the dangers posed by substances such as mercury because they only start exhibiting symptoms once the toxin has accumulated inside the body,” she said.

Skin-whitening creams, hot sellers at glitzy urban department stores, were singled out for flying under the radar of public conciousness.

“Women should be particularly concerned about this, because of the proliferation of mercury-containing cosmetic products, some of which are actually licensed for sale,” Husna said.

Husna called on the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the country’s main consumer and public health watchdog, to tighten licensing requirements of products before they are brought to market.

Yuyun echoed that call, urging the government to adopt a policy of “No data, no market,” for manufacturers who fail to provide accurate product information about toxic or potentially harmful substances.

“People must be careful about consuming fish caught in polluted waters, as they could also contain high levels of accumulated mercury,” Yuyun said.

UN Industrial Development Organization Indonesia country coordinator Rini Sulaiman said mercury use in Indonesia has been driven by increasing discoveries of gold and other precious metal deposits.

Smaller miners often use mercury amalgamation to extract gold and other precious metals. The process is no longer used by the big mining companies because of the severe environmental degradation it leaves behind.

“There are so many miners now exhibiting symptoms of mercury poisoning, including tremors, fever and nausea,” Rini said.

One dead, dozens treated after consuming turtle meat in West Sumatra

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang, West Sumatra, Thu, 04/08/2010 3:56 PM

A 57-year-old man died and 139 residents of South Pagai Island, in Mentawai, West Sumatra, have been treated for food poisoning after consuming the meat of a leatherback turtle.

Tiolina Saogo, chief of South Pagai public health center, told The Jakarta Post 30 residents had been put under intensive care.

“We had to treat the others at their homes because of insufficient facilities on the island,” Tiolina said.

Residents of Maonai and Mapinang coastal hamlets caught the 40-kilogram turtle two weeks ago and split the meat between the hamlets.

“A few days later, all the residents that ate the meat suffered dizziness, nausea and vomiting. A man named Osael died four days after he had eaten the meat,” Tiolina said.

The health official only became aware of the mass poisoning earlier in the week after a number of residents came to the health center for treatment.

There are frequent deaths from turtle-meat poisoning on the islands off the West Sumatran coast.

Three have died in a village on South Pagai Island and two others on Siberut Island in the past two months.

Local authorities have repeatedly warned residents about their turtle-consuming habit. Aside from pork, turtle meat is the main cuisine at local traditional feasts.

Pigs' Blood Used in Cigarette Filters: Claim

Jakarta Globe, April 02, 2010

Not only is smoking deadly, but new research alleges that pigs' blood is used in the manufacture of filters of the kind used in Indonesian cigarettes.

In a claim likely to cause consternation to many Indonesians of the Muslim faith, a Dutch author has published a book that claims that pigs’ blood is used in the manufacture of cigarette filters.

Professor Simon Chapman from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney was quoted on the university’s Web site as saying, “Many devout Islamic and Jewish smokers and some vegetarians would be horrified to think they were putting a filter in their mouth which contained a pig product,” Chapman said.

Pig 05049, written by Christien Meindertsma, lists 185 different ways that pigs’ bodies can be used, including, according to the Web site, the manufacture of sweets and shampoo, to bread, body lotion, beer and bullets.

Pig hemoglobin is, according to the book, used to filter harmful chemicals contained in cigarettes.

Kartono Muhammad, the former head of the Indonesian Doctors Association, told Detik.com that Indonesia imported filters for locally made cigarettes.

The Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia has called on authorities there to investigate the claims.

Police Raid Illegal Jamu Factory

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 24 March, 2010 | 14:27 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Cilacap:The Cilacap Police yesterday confiscated thousands of tablets and a traditional herbal drink (jamu) machine which may have contained chemical substances.

“We received a report from the local people so we immediately raided the factory,” said Cilacap Chief of Police Senior Commissioner Guruh Ahmad Fadianto.

The police also seized three bags containing 153,000 jamu tablets, 14,000 brown tablets, six buckets of jamu powder, and one tablet-pressing machine.

The police arrested the alleged factory owner, MRA, who may be penalized with 10 years imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion fine.

“They are strongly suspected of using chemical substances,” Guruh said.

A new modus may have emerged in traditional jamu production, for instance jamu producers no longer produce the jamu at home or in their own factory.

They ask local people to do the production.

The modus is also to fool the officers’ raids.

“Like this MRA, whose house is in Purwokerto but he produces the jamu in Cilacap.”

ARIS ANDRIANTO

Cheers to Jeers: Indonesia Trades One Alcohol Tax for Another

Jakarta Globe, Irvan Tisnabudi, March 23, 2010

A laborer lifts a crate of beer at Sunda Kelapa port in Jakarta on Monday. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Just over a week after the country’s producers of alcoholic beverages applauded the government’s move to scrap the luxury tax on their products from April, they are now indignant over the government’s sudden decision to increase the excise tax by up to threefold.

A Finance Ministry decree signed on March 17 but released only on Tuesday raised the excise tax on alcoholic beverages by 100 percent to 214 percent, depending on their alcohol content. The luxury tax currently imposed on alcoholic beverages ranges from 40 percent to 150 percent of their sales price.

“We appreciate the government’s efforts in scrapping the luxury tax on alcoholic beverages, but the increase in the excise is just way too much,” Ipung Nimpuno, a representative of the Indonesian Malt Beverages Association (GMMI), told the Jakarta Globe.

He said the increase in the excise tax could undermine the objective behind scrapping the luxury tax: reducing the black market in alcoholic beverages.

“I haven’t figured out how much is the proper excise the government should charge in order to compensate for the scrapped luxury tax, but the current figure is too much,” Ipung said. He added that he expected prices of alcoholic beverages to increase by 20 percent to 40 percent with the new excise duty.

The government divides alcoholic beverages into three categories: type A, containing up to 5 percent of alcohol, type B, with 5 percent to 20 percent, and type C, with more than 20 percent.

The new decree raises the excise tax on domestically produced type A drinks from Rp 3,500 (38 cents) per liter to Rp 11,000. The excise on type B beverages is increased from Rp 10,000 to Rp 30,000 per liter and on type C beverages from Rp 25,000 to Rp 75,000 per liter.

Meanwhile, for imported alcoholic drinks, the excise for type A is increased from Rp 5,000 to Rp 11,000 per liter, for type B from Rp 20,000 to 40,000 per liter and type C from Rp 50,000 to Rp 130,000 per liter.

The decree says the new excise tax rate is aimed at compensating for the expected drop in revenue from the abolition of the luxury tax on alcoholic beverages.

Ipung said that when the luxury tax was still in place, Indonesian brewers had been contributing about Rp 4 trillion annually to the state coffers.

“With the luxury tax scrapped and the excise tax increased, we [GMMI] predict that beer producers will now have to contribute Rp 4.8 trillion yearly,” he said.

Evi Suhartantyo, a spokesman for the Directorate General of Customs, said the current level of excise duty for alcoholic beverages was “ideal.”

“Objects that are charged with excise have their excise tax increased every year, because it is done to protect the health and well-being of our people,” Evi said.

He added that because the issue was related to health, consumption should be limited, as with cigarettes. The tax on cigarettes is increased by 10 percent to 30 percent yearly.

72 Food Products Contain Dangerous Substances

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 02 February, 2010

TEMPO Interactive, Makassar:Out of 800 food products from South and West Sulawesi that have been tested by the Makassar Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, 72 of them were found to contain dangerous substances.

The Head of the Makassar Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, Marigan Silitonga, explained the findings to reporters in his office in Baji Minasa Street, yesterday afternoon.

“Based on the test, 72 food products contain Rhodanin B and Borax," he said.

Rhodanin B is a synthetic coloring product usually used to color paper, textile and ink.

But it also is being used to color food such as crackers, shrimp paste, icy drinks, meat balls and the majority of red colored stall foods.

This substance is carcinogenic and can damage the heart and digestion system.

Borax is an antiseptic which is usually used to make detergent.

Borax is also found in noodles, meat balls and crackers.

This substance could cause nausea, upper stomach pain, diarrhea, sleepiness, fever, headache, digestion system irritation and liver failure.

Maringan said that the food product brands containing the dangerous substances are among others soft noodle “Lumba-lumba” produced by Sumber Pangan Gowa, yellow “Lumba-lum ba”noodles, “Yammie” meatballs produced by Fadilla Makassar Gowa, and special “Siga Putra” crackers produced by Sidoarjo Indonesia.

ABDUL AZIS

Some children`s snacks contain hazardous chemical substances

Antara News, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 16:59 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Some children`s snacks sold at schools and surrounding areas contain hazardous chemical substances such as borax, textile color dyes and formaldehyde, a drug supervision official said.

"We have checked snacks at 4,500 elementary schools. We have not recapitulated the results, but the results are varied, between three percents and 20 percents of the snacks contain hazardous chemical substances," Husniah Rubiana Thamrin Akib, head of the Drug and Food Supervision Agency (BPOM), said here on Tuesday.

Husniah accompanied Health Minister Endah Rahayu Sedyaningsih when inspecting a mobile laboratory supervising snacks at school, at Menteng Dalam 02 elementary school in Jakarta.

Borax or borax acid is antiseptic used for detergent and if is eaten, it could cause digestion problem, diarrhea, and kidney damage, she said.However, borax is often used to make meatball, fresh noddle and crackers.

Formaldehyde is chemical substance usually used for disinfectant and plywood adhesive as well ad disinfectant. However, it is also sometimes used to preserve tofu and fresh noddle. Formaldehyde could cause diarrhe, headache, level, brain and cardiac damages.

Synthetic dyes for textile, Rhodamin B (red) and Methanil Yellow are often used in making sauce, crackers and cakes. It might harm digestive system and lever`s function.

BPOM was trying to deal with the problem by operating mobile laboratories to check snacks being offered at schools, Husnia said.

The mobile`s laboratory operators took samples of the snacks and then briefed school managers and snack traders, she said.

BPOM now has 22 mobile laboratories being operated in six cities, namely Serang, Surabaya, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Jakarta.

"The ideal number should be 140 mobile laboratories to serve all provinces, but we don`t have adequate funds," she said.

BPOM jointly with the national education ministry also gave guidance to school`s canteens, including the Menteng Dalam 02 elementary school which was twice visited by BPOM`s mobile laboratory.

The elementary school has assigned a teacher to supervise the school`s canteens, which are not allowed to sell food using synthetic dyes, preservatives, and MSG.

However, outside the school`s yard, there are still some vendors selling colorful beverages, cereals and fried snacks.

Meanwhile, the health minister said her ministry planned to help provide more mobile laboratories for BPOM to check snacks at schools.BPOM could not work alone in that case, therefore it needed to cooperate with the health ministry, she said.

Vaccine Review Meets With Irritation, Questions of What Supari Isn’t Saying

The Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, March 26, 2009

Doctors on Thursday criticized and questioned the health minister for her decision to review a number of discretionary vaccines that she said had not scientifically been proven beneficial.

Soedjatmiko, chairman of the Indonesian Pediatrics Association, told the Jakarta Globe that Siti Fadillah Supari had created unnecessary alarm by announcing the plan before the ministry could provide any reason for doing so.

“It would be better if she kept things confidential until her cause for worry was clear, especially on such a sensitive matter,” he said, adding that even though the vaccines were excluded from the government’s list of mandatory vaccinations for children, they had been proven beneficial and were widely used in neighboring countries, including Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

“Do you really think all those countries would use these vaccines if they weren’t beneficial?”

Soedjatmiko said that if the government deciding against making additional vaccines mandatory due to financial reasons, it should not prohibit people who were willing to pay from obtaining the vaccines.

“The diseases exist in this country, the vaccines are readily available, and if parents can afford them, why should we stop them?” he said.

Soedjatmiko also said all vaccines available in Indonesia had been tested by the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency before being made commercially available.

Sukman Tulus Putra, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association, said the vaccines had, in fact, been scientifically proven to be beneficial, although some of the research was conducted overseas.

“But we don’t need to rely only on local research; we can consider foreign research as long as a particular country has our same standards,” he said.

“We have no problem with the ministry’s plan to review the vaccines, but please don’t prohibit them.”

However, Iskandar Sitorus, spokesman for the Legal Aid Foundation for Health, or LBH Kesehatan, said his office had found indications that some vaccines were not only not beneficial, but were even harmful for children.

Sitorus said Supari’s call for a review came years too late.

“Over the past few years, trillions of rupiah has been circulating around these possibly wasteful vaccines, and our children may be left to bear useless and possibly toxic chemical substances in their bodies,” he said.

Sitorus said the minister should have initiated a review years ago, before the use of some vaccines had become commonplace.

He also said the ministry’s decision indicated that some problems likely had been found.

“I don’t think the ministry would announce the review so suddenly if they hadn’t run into irregularities.”

Earlier this week, Supari said she would review the benefits of immunizations that aren’t currently included in the government’s official vaccination program, including vaccines for pneumonia, flu and rubella.

Supari said that in urban areas at least 11 different kinds of vaccinations were available, but that the ministry had made only four mandatory — for measles, polio, tetanus and tuberculosis.

“Those four were cleared by the WHO and were scientifically proven to be beneficial and necessary,” she said.

Of the remaining eight, she said, “Note this: I’m not saying they are dangerous, but the real question is whether or not they’re necessary. That’s why the ministry is conducting a review.”

Many products from Malaysia, Thailand and China detrimental to health

Medan, N Sumatra, (ANTARA News) - Imported food, beverages, and medicinal herbs from Malaysia, Thailand, China and Singapore, accounted for the vast majority findings of the Drugs and Food Supervisory Agency (POM) in its recent raid of superannuated products.

"Last year, for instance, Medan`s POM found and destroyed food imported from Thailand and Malaysia, in addition to cosmetics from Singapore and Thailand, which are detrimental to health," Head of Medan`s POM Supriyanto Utomo said here Friday.

He also said that many locally produced food and goods lacked universally accepted standards and therefore need to be controlled, he said.

Examination shows 30% packed food harmful in Indonesia

www.chinaview.cn , 2009-03-14 22:28:26            

JAKARTA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Indah Sukmaningsih, Executive manager of the Indonesian Consumers Institute Foundation (YLKI), said that some 30 percent of packed food on the free market in Indonesia contained hazardous substances detrimental to health, the national Antara news agency reported on Saturday. 

She said that the institute launched an intensive examination on 28 different types of food along with experts of the University of Indonesia (UI) recently, and the result shows that 10 were contained with hazardous substances like melamine and others. 

This bad condition did not include expired food products, which missed the attention of the government and other relevant authorities, she added. 

She also criticized some government institutions for not been working most effectively and mostly examined only food that had already been cleaned and washed thoroughly. 

She said that the government trading authorities which were supposed to serve as a filter of the hazardous foodstuff, failed to properly examine and control such foodstuffs, and were more concerned with issuing various regulations only. 

Editor: Yan

Consumers warned of ‘substandard’ generic drugs

The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Wed, 02/11/2009 9:24 AM  

Most generic medicines consumed here fall short of international standards, with drug companies complicit in the scam, experts said Tuesday. 

“The generic drugs are often of far lower quality than patented ones,” Anugerah Corporation chairman W. Biantoro Wanandi told The Jakarta Post after an event to launch his book on community health. 

He revealed that pharmaceutical companies had been dishonest in their claims concerning generic and patented drugs. 

“They say generic drugs only differ from patented drugs in terms of the packaging, but the difference goes far beyond that,” the pharmaceutical expert said. 

The ingredients used in making generic drugs can be of lower quality than those used in making patented drugs, he explained. 

“What’s more, the process of making generic drugs tends to be lower in standards. Thus, traces of fine chemicals, which are pure chemical substances, may still be left in the finished product.”

These chemicals, he warned, were dangerous for the human body and could produce ill effects if allowed to accumulate. 

Biantoro also said local drug makers currently used the Farmakope No. 4 of 1995 as a pharmacopoeia to determine their quality benchmark. A pharmacopoeia is a book containing standards for making compound medicines. 

However, the standards used are outdated, he said, since the book referred to the 1995 United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) No. 22. The US government has issued new standards in its 2008 USP No. 31. 

“The new pharmacopoeia contains many changes in drug quality standards,” Biantoro said.

“The government should adjust the nation’s drug standards accordingly, and make sure the pharmaceutical companies obey them.” 

Generic drugs here are produced by state-owned drug companies such as Kimia Farma and Indofarma. 

Community health expert Hasbullah Thabrany echoed Biantoro’s concerns, saying those in the public pharmaceutical sectors often distorted data in procurements and quality control documents. 

“This results in low-quality drugs in public facilities,” he said at the book launch. 

Biantoro added that the pharmaceuticals problem was just one of many plaguing the nation’s healthcare system. 

“The government must take serious steps in improving its healthcare policies,” he said the event. 

Lower-income people receive poorer health services, he explained. 

“The number of doctors in remote areas are inadequate, and some don’t take their work seriously.” 

He also said public healthcare facilities must be able to compete with private ones in terms of service and equipment. 

“In order to ensure the sustainability of public healthcare centers, the government must have a clear health financing system.” 

Such a system, he went on, was part of a social security mechanism under Law No. 20 of 2004, which obliged each citizen to pay an insurance fee commensurate with their salaries. The system is meant to provide a safety net for those with a lower income. 

But despite passing the law five years ago, the government has not taken serious steps to implement it, Biantoro said. (dis)

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