The National Commission for Child Protection on Friday threatened legal action against the government for failing to say which baby milk brands were allegedly tainted by bacteria.
Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of the commission, also known as Komnas Anak, said the state should disclose the brands reportedly contaminated with Enterobacter sakazakii bacteria, known to cause diarrhea and meningitis in newborns.
“It was ordered by the Supreme Court, which holds the highest authority of law in this country,” he said, referring to a Jan. 17 ruling that tainted milk brands be exposed.
The case stemmed from a study published in 2008 by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), which found five of 22 formula milk samples tested from 2003 to 2006 to be tainted.
David ML Tobing, a consumer advocate lawyer, filed suit with the Supreme Court to get the Health Ministry and Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to disclose the brands.
However, Health Minister Endang Rahayu said on Thursday that her office could not name the infected formulas because it had no information on the matter.
“I know people expect us to announce the milk brands alleged to be tainted, but we can’t because we honestly don’t know,” Endang said.
The health minister said she could not force the IPB to disclose the brands, while the institute’s officials said they could not disclose the names because they had not yet received formal notification of the court ruling.
Arist said Komnas Anak would “try to ask the [Supreme Court] to confiscate documentation on the IPB research.”
He said the commission would also ask officials from the Health Ministry, BPOM and milk companies to discuss an immediate solution to the “milk scare.”
“But if nothing else works, we will resort to the last option. We will file a complaint with the National Police,” Arist said.
Marius Widjajarta, chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation for Health (YPKKI), said the failure to disclose the names of contaminated formulas put thousands of lives in danger.
“People have been waiting for this information since 2008, and now the government says it won’t announce it. Of course people are furious,” he said.
Vira Farhana, a librarian, said it was frustrating not knowing which brands were safe for her 6-month-old daughter.
“I breast-feed my baby, but sometimes during emergencies, I need support from formula milk,” she said. “But now I don’t know whether or not it’s safe.”
(x the Jak Globe)
za 12 feb 2011 - 1:35