For even flies shy away from formaldehyde-treated fish.

We've routinely warned small-scale food producers about the dangers of certain substances such as formaldehyde and borax in foodstuffs. But it seems that when the people we talk to stop using these substances, another batch of unscrupulous producers takes over.

Of the 40 tofu samples we took, only two contained formaldehyde. As for noodles, three out of 37 samples were positive.

Of course we can't do this by ourselves, so we need the help of the industry and trade agency, city administration, health agency, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) and the consumers themselves.

That way, if we later tested their products and found traces of harmful substances, we would have a strong reason to revoke their business licenses.