Indonesian food agency confirms melamine contamination

Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) confirmed last week claims that certain snack products are contaminated with melamine, reports The Jakarta Post.

"We have found that chocolate candies with the brand Yake Assorted Candies contain 5.86 ppm of melamine," agency head Husniah Rubiana Thamrin said during a press briefing at the ministry of communication and information in the country's capital, Jakarta.

The confirmation follows a report from the Indonesian Consumer Group (YLKI) that last week issued a list of ten products that allegedly contained melamine. Most of the products were children's snacks.

Since the problem of milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine – added to boost the apparent protein content - came to light last year in China, incidents of melamine-containing foods have swept the globe. Major manufacturers using milk powder, including Cadbury and Unilever, have withdrawn some products from sale.