Jakarta. Food manufacturing giant Indofood Sukses Makmur announced that the company would soon clarify Taiwan’s allegations of a cancer-inducing substance found on its noodle brand Indomie: Special Chicken Flavor. 

Taipei’s Health Department recently accused Indomie Special Chicken Flavor of containing ethylene oxide. Exposure to this chemical compound can lead to lymphoma and leukemia.

“We will issue a response soon. Just wait. We will make official clarifications because we are currently still looking into this matter,” Stefanus Indrayana, the GM of Corporate Communication at Indofood, told Beritasatu.com on Wednesday. 

The same goes for the National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM). 

When asked how the BPOM had been monitoring Indomie products so far, the agency’s spokesperson Eka Rosmalasari said: “We will soon give updates on that.”

A series of tests by Taipei’s Health Department revealed ethylene oxide content on Malaysia’s Ah Lai White Curry Noodles and Indomie Special Chicken Flavor. The tests identified the ethylene oxide on the flavor packet of the Indonesian product. They found the chemical compound on both the noodles and the flavor packet on the Malaysian product.

According to the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau, as reported by Focus Taiwan, ethylene oxide is poisonous when consumed or inhaled. Ethylene oxide can cause severe skin and eye irritation if the person comes in contact with the substance. It can also trigger birth and hereditary defects.