The Trade Ministry has identified 12 local companies allegedly importing tainted milk from China, prompting an immediate inspection by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the ministry has said.
Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said she received a list of the companies Sunday and would coordinate with the BPOM to ascertain whether the products contained melamine, an industrial chemical that can be harmful when consumed.
"The BPOM will be responsible for investigating the products and certifying they come from safe brands," Mari said on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission VI for industry and trade.
The former trade analyst also said the ministry would wait for the results of the investigation before deciding to ban milk products imported from China.
According to the ministry, the imported milk products were for babies and toddlers and were on the shelves of some local supermarkets. The ministry declined to provide the names of the 12 companies identified as importing the goods.
The BPOM is likely to inspect all markets to discover if their milk products are tainted.
The government has been on high alert following recent reports that three infants in China were killed and more than 6,240 sickened, including by kidney failure, after consuming Sanlu, a formula milk product contaminated with the melamine.
Normally found in plastic, fertilizers and cleaning agents, melamine can be used illegally to increase the protein content of milk products. It can cause kidney-related diseases, including kidney stones and kidney failure, when ingested.
The Chinese government has been inspecting all milk products in the country in the wake of the scare and has banned Sanlu from the market.
Minister Mari said the Chinese government was currently trying to determine the source of the problem, whether factories, distributors or farmers.
"For that reason, we have to inspect all milk products imported from China to help prevent any harm from occurring. We don't want to respond too late, as the Chinese government has done," she added.
Chinese milk products account for a small proportion of the Indonesian dairy market, Mari said.
"Most of our imported milk products come from Australia and New Zealand."
Indonesia, which produces 570,000 tons of milk a year, imports between 200,000 and 250,000 tons of powdered milk from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Last year, annual per capita milk consumption among Indonesia's 230 million inhabitants reached nine liters, up from 7.7 a year earlier, but lower than that of the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
Powdered milk is preferred to fresh milk in Indonesia, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all milk consumption.
Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said she received a list of the companies Sunday and would coordinate with the BPOM to ascertain whether the products contained melamine, an industrial chemical that can be harmful when consumed.
"The BPOM will be responsible for investigating the products and certifying they come from safe brands," Mari said on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission VI for industry and trade.
The former trade analyst also said the ministry would wait for the results of the investigation before deciding to ban milk products imported from China.
According to the ministry, the imported milk products were for babies and toddlers and were on the shelves of some local supermarkets. The ministry declined to provide the names of the 12 companies identified as importing the goods.
The BPOM is likely to inspect all markets to discover if their milk products are tainted.
The government has been on high alert following recent reports that three infants in China were killed and more than 6,240 sickened, including by kidney failure, after consuming Sanlu, a formula milk product contaminated with the melamine.
Normally found in plastic, fertilizers and cleaning agents, melamine can be used illegally to increase the protein content of milk products. It can cause kidney-related diseases, including kidney stones and kidney failure, when ingested.
The Chinese government has been inspecting all milk products in the country in the wake of the scare and has banned Sanlu from the market.
Minister Mari said the Chinese government was currently trying to determine the source of the problem, whether factories, distributors or farmers.
"For that reason, we have to inspect all milk products imported from China to help prevent any harm from occurring. We don't want to respond too late, as the Chinese government has done," she added.
Chinese milk products account for a small proportion of the Indonesian dairy market, Mari said.
"Most of our imported milk products come from Australia and New Zealand."
Indonesia, which produces 570,000 tons of milk a year, imports between 200,000 and 250,000 tons of powdered milk from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Last year, annual per capita milk consumption among Indonesia's 230 million inhabitants reached nine liters, up from 7.7 a year earlier, but lower than that of the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
Powdered milk is preferred to fresh milk in Indonesia, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all milk consumption.
