4 facts about the figure of a farmer who sprays chili peppers with red paint, 10 years of growing chili peppers, tempted by price differences

KOMPAS.com- Behind the discovery of red peppers in Banyumas, Central Java, there is a figure of a farmer who is suspected of being the culprit.

The police have arrested and examined the farmer with the initials BN (35).

Here are four facts related to the figure of a farmer spraying chili peppers with red paint.

Also read: Case of finding red cayenne pepper in traditional markets, the police arrest a farmer

KOMPAS.COM/FADLAN MUKHTAR ZAIN Cayenne pepper is painted red and is found in various traditional markets in Banyumas, Central Java.

The head of the Banyumas Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Kompol Berry, said that the alleged perpetrator was a farmer from Napirejo Village, Temanggung Regency, Central Java.

The farmer with the initials BN is now being examined in Temanggung.

“For the actor in the chili painting, investigators have secured them in Temanggung,” Berry said.

“Currently, the chief and the members are still at the scene examining the witnesses,” he continued.

Also read: Red cayenne pepper found in Banyumas is spray painted

Shutterstock chili illustration

2. Use spray paint

Berry explained that the alleged perpetrator admitted that he had indeed painted the chili peppers he harvested.

BN is desperate to use spray paint to change the color of yellow chili peppers to red.

Although the coloring with this paint is harmful to consumers if the chili is consumed.

“So to take advantage of the high price, (the yellow bird’s eye chili peppers) were painted red with Pilox (spray paint),” Berry said.

Also Read: This Farmer Paints Green Cayenne Pepper Turns Red Because He Is Tempted By High Prices

3. 10 years of chili cultivation

k9-11 Farmer illustration

According to a police investigation, BN has been a Chilean producer for 10 years.

“It has been a chili grower since 2010,” Berry said.

However, according to the alleged perpetrator, spraying chili peppers was the first time he had done it.

“This is your first admission of doing that, because of the huge difference (price) between the yellow and red bird’s eye chili peppers,” he said.

The chili peppers are then supplied to various places, one of which is a traditional market in Banyumas.

Also read: Effects of Eating Red Painted Cayenne Peppers Found in Banyumas: Throat Irritation from Poisoning

KOMPAS.com/NURWAHIDAH Money illustration

4. The reason is due to price differences, tempted to profit

It turned out that BN did this recklessness because it was tempted by high sales results.

BN admits that there is a price disparity between red bird’s eye chili peppers and yellow bird’s eye chili when sold in the market.

“The reason is economic, the red pepper costs Rs 45,000 per kilo, while the yellow pepper costs Rs 19,000 per kilo,” Berry said.

The difference in price made BN think about changing the color of the chili peppers.

He also painted the peppers with red spray paint.

The perpetrator also mixed yellow bird-eye chili peppers that were painted red with real red chili peppers in a package.

Police found that for every 30 kilograms of red chili peppers, 5 to 6 kilograms of yellow bird’s eye chili peppers were painted red.

Also read: Officials find red chili painted in the market, appearance like wood paint and laboratory tested

Horrendous find

The shocking discovery of cayenne pepper, allegedly painted red, was found in several traditional markets in Banyumas, Central Java, on Tuesday (12/29/2020).

The food and drug supervision officer (POM) found the chili peppers at the Wage Purwokerto market, the Cermai Baturraden market and the Kemukusan Sumbang market.

From the hands of the merchants, agents and authorities they confiscated five boxes of chili peppers of 30 kilograms each.

The director of BPOM Banyumas Suliyanto explained that, physically, the color of the chili peppers is quite strange.

Unlike food coloring, the color of chili peppers sticks easily.

“If you look at it physically, it looks like paint, because if you use food coloring it will be very difficult to stick. It is definitely not food coloring,” Suliyanto said.

He added that at first glance there is a similarity in color to wood paint.

Even more so when put in water and alcohol, these dyes do not dissolve.

“So it looks like wood paint,” he said.

Also read: yellow cayenne pepper mixed with red paint, presumably for high prices

Dangerous if consumed

If consumed, red bird’s eye chili peppers can be harmful to health.

In a small amount, these chili peppers can cause a sore throat.

“But if consumed in large quantities it can cause poisoning, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. If consumed regularly it can have a worse impact,” said the Head of the Banyumas Health Service, Sadiyanto.

Source: Kompas.com (Author: Banyumas contributor, Fadlan Mukhtar Zain | Publisher: Teuku Muhammad Valdy Arief, Aprilia Ika, Dheri Agriesta)