"Once again, for the cloves in Surabaya, the results of the inspection show we did not find any contamination at the plant," Hanif said after signing a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with global carbon standard Verra in Jakarta on Friday evening.
He noted that a report from the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) indicated radiation levels at the PT NJS facility were within the normal range, between 0.04 and 0.07 microsieverts, which are considered naturally occurring.
Hanif stressed that the plant remains safe, although the government is still awaiting the results of re-imported shipments from the United States scheduled for September 30.
"We are still waiting for the re-import. Only after seeing the returned goods from the US can we clarify further. But as of now, the plant is safe," he explained.
Hanif, who also serves as Executive Chair of the Task Force on Cesium-137 Radiation Hazards, emphasized that the situation at the clove facility differs from the case in the Modern Industrial Estate of Cikande, Serang District, Banten.
At that location, authorities are conducting decontamination after radioactive material was discovered at a steel processing plant.
The task force, chaired by Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan and supported by the Environment Ministry, Bapeten, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and the Police Gegana Team, is currently transporting high-radiation material to a temporary storage facility.
The FDA had earlier reported suspected Cs-137 contamination in clove exports from PT NJS and subsequently blocked all spice shipments from the company to the US market.
A similar case was previously reported involving frozen shrimp exported by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS), prompting the government, through the Environment Ministry, to seal a factory in Cikande suspected of being the contamination source.
On Tuesday, September 30, Coordinating Minister Zulkifli Hasan confirmed that Cs-137 contamination was confined to the Cikande industrial area.
He assured that the issue did not spread to the national supply chain or other export products.
Related news: Task force to probe into cloves contaminated by Cs-137
Related news: Indonesia treats Cesium-137 exposure cases, no symptoms reported
Related news: Govt reviews scrap metal import policy amid radiation contamination
Translator: Primayanti
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
