September 12, 2025 | 10:51 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Zulkifli Hasan, revealed that the PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT) factory in the Cikande industrial area, Serang, Banten, which is suspected to be the source of radioactive contamination on frozen shrimp processed by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS Foods), has been localized. "PT PMT has been localized," he said at Graha Mandiri, Central Jakarta, on Friday, September 12, 2025.
Zulkifli said that the frozen shrimp produced by BMS Foods is suspected to be contaminated due to PT PMT's production activities. In addition to shutting down the factory suspected of emitting radioactivity, the government will soon conduct decontamination in the affected area.
The government carefully investigated the shrimp case using a scientific approach that aligns with international standards for food safety. He also asked the export destination countries not to worry about this shrimp case. "Food safety is our top priority. The government is acting swiftly," said Zulkifli.
Thus far, the government has held two coordination meetings with the relevant agencies regarding the case of contaminated imported shrimp. Zulkifli has also formed a task force to handle the frozen shrimp case.
The investigation into the radioactive contamination on the frozen shrimp exported by BMS Foods led to a scrap metal processing factory. The BMS Foods facility and the scrap metal processing factory are located in the same industrial area in Cikande, Serang, Banten.
Rizal Irawan, the Deputy of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency, revealed that the initial investigation confirmed that the raw material used to produce the shrimp exported to the United States was safe. The investigation also involved the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency, and the Police.
The joint team detected the radioactive element cesium-137 in the blower and ventilator at the BMS Foods facility. Although the concentration is low and well below the limits, the finding was immediately followed up with the decontamination of the entire factory area.
The follow-up tracing then led the team to higher radiation levels, first at a pile of scrap metal in an empty hut outside the BMS Foods factory. The second location visited by the team was the PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT) factory in the same industrial area, as the tracing radius was further expanded to two kilometers from BMS Foods.
The PMT factory is suspected to have a connection to the potential source of contamination. The radiation level found at this location is in the range of 0.3-0.5 microsieverts per hour, higher than the normal condition of 0.1 microsieverts per hour.
According to Rizal, this company also has a connection with PT NAC, which is now being investigated by the joint team. "Why suspected? Because the examination results on the production equipment contain Cesium," said Rizal as quoted by Antara.
Based on information gathered by Tempo, the seal at the BMS Foods factory has been released again. However, exports cannot be carried out yet because the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still includes it in the import alert list.
Zacharias Wuragil contributed to the writing of this article
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