If you are a university funded by the Government i.e. the tax payers do you have the responsibility of disclosing your research on contaminated food especially when the particular food is formula milk consumed widely by the very people that funds your research?
This conundrum is facing the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) at the moment and the answer is not that straight forward which may very well be decided by subpoenas.
David ML Tobbing has his work cut out for him
It started by the discovery of Enterobacter sakazakii contamination on 5 of the 22 formula milk tested by IPB. This information is somehow leaked and finds it way to the world of internet and SMS.
Enterobacter sakazakii is a gram-negative, non-spore-forming bacterium belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. It has been linked with sepsis, meningitis, cerebritis and necrotizing enterocolitis.
One of similar cases which is now been cited many times was the outbreak if Enterobacter sakazakii infection in Memphis, Tennessee, US in 1988 whereby four infants were hospitalized. Three of the infants had sepsis and the other three had bloody diarrhea, all patients responded to intravenous antibiotics and recovered without complications.
IPB refused to release the name of the formula milk and says that the person who releases the names is irresponsible. Sri Estuningsih, one of the researchers even says that IPB never releases the data and never will.
It is unclear whether IPB as a Government funded institute has an obligation to inform the tax payer when something as dire as bacterial contamination in infant milk formula.
Fortunately David ML Tobing a father of two toddlers who happened to be a lawyer had the nerve take on IPB, The Health Ministry and the Drugs and Food Supervision Agency (BPOM) to court at the same time.
David says that his two toddlers 3.5 and 2 years old could potentially consuming the contaminated milk because the both formula milk drinkers. “If the information is not disclosed, I won’t know if they are drinking contaminated milk or not? I need to know, I need to anticipate their future health. You can say that I’m doing this out of my own personal interest, but all parents that happen to have toddlers will have the same worry” he said.
At one point, it seems that David hard work pays off and the Supreme Court ordered the three defendants to release the information through media outlet.
The Supreme Court has deemed the defendants breaking the law by not releasing the brand of the contaminated milks. “By not releasing the results, they have neglected their public service function” said the verdict.
However, reaction from the three defendants varied. The Indonesian Health Ministry has vowed to appeal the decision and refuse to release the information saying that it is not their information to release.
BPOM on the other hand says that they don’t know which information they are supposed to release because they have always release their lab result of all milk formula since 2007 to the public. Apparently BPOM at one point did a complete test of milk formula and could not find any contamination, however, BPOM has never publicly refute the IPB result.
There is no respond from IPB so far as the body that started the brouhaha as their research result can only be seen either misleading or negligence.
One thing for sure, David journey to seek justice for parents is far from over even with the backup of the Supreme Court.
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