The Denpasar Drug and Food Monitoring Agency on Thursday raided canteens at two elementary schools and nearby street vendors in Denpasar and tested the food they sold for hazardous chemical substances.
The officers who conducted the raid on Saraswati 1 and 2 Elementary Schools and their surrounding areas took samples of foods and checked them on the spot.
“We are targeting unpackaged snacks such as meatball soup, tofu, sweets and crackers,” agency chief Corry Panjaitan said.
She said around 36 percent of children obtained food from school canteens or vendors nearby.
The foods were tested for (rhodamine used as a food coloring agent), formalin (used as preservatives), borax and metanil yellow.
Locals in Bali as well as the rest of Indonesia love street food such as noodles and bakso, served from carts parked on main roads. While most people do not become sick after consuming food from these outlets, there are scanty control measures to ensure the food is safe. In the past there have been reports on Indonesian TV of night market vendors melting plastic bags in the wok oil to make pisang goreng (fried bananas) morre crispy as well as a host of other 'bizarre' techniques.
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