Two Mandalay-based food factories were shut down on Tuesday after authorities found them guilty of adding formaldehyde to their products.
In a bid to clamp down on the use of formaldehyde, Mandalay Food and Drug Administration officials carried out a surprise check on several food products that were being sold at Yadanarpon Market. There, they found traces of formaldehyde in two fermented tofu brands, which they traced back to the factories.
“After discovering formalin in tofu that was being sold at the market, we conducted a surprise inspection of the factories and caught them red-handed,” Mandalay FDA Deputy Director Dr. Kyaw Kyaw confirmed to Mizzima.
“They don’t add [the formaldehyde] to the tofu during production. Instead, tofu that will be shipped to other regions is soaked in melted formaldehyde to ensure that it stays fresh for a longer period of time.”
The factories have been suspended indefinitely.
Formaldehyde, also known as formalin, is widely used to preserve human bodies. It is sometimes misused as a preservative in tofu, noodles, seafood, milk, and dairy products.
The long-term or excessive consumption of formaldehyde can cause severe stomachache, nausea, fainting, renal failure, and death. Inhaling formaldehyde in its gaseous form can result in lung cancer, according to the FDA.
Dr. Kyaw Kyaw explained that a big reason that formaldehyde is still so widely used in Myanmar is that food producers lack proper training and aren’t aware of the dangers of formaldehyde. As such, in addition to regularly conducting more surprise inspections, the Mandalay FDA will also hold training programs for food producers to educate them on the effects of formaldehyde consumption.
Yangon authorities have also been combatting the use of formaldehyde in food products, with little success. In April, the Yangon FDA announced that it had all but eradicated the use of formaldehyde by publicly shaming companies that were caught using it. Earlier this month, however, the use of formaldehyde was discovered again in tofu sold at Theingyi Market.
A similar clampdown took place in Mandalay last year with officials conducting bi-weekly tests on foods sold at markets. Speaking to the Myanmar Times at the time, Dr. Kyaw Kyaw stated: “Previously, formalin was put into bean curd as a preservative, but we are not seeing it being used today.”
So much for that, eh?
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