Philippines Bans Milk Products from China
The Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has banned milk and products containing milk from China after the reports of melamine contamination that has sickened thousands of Chinese children. The ban has been imposed indefinitely until such time that the products are deemed safe for human consumption.
Melamine is an industrial-grade non-food additive that is used mainly in plastics. It has been found to have caused kidney problems in the sick children.
The BFAD and the Department of Health have issued warnings against buying or consuming any milk products that are made in China. The public is also being urged to be cautious about buying repackaged products. However, neither of the agencies have released a list of the banned products.
Virginia Francia Laboy, officer in charge of BFAD policy, planning and advocacy, said the bureau would not be releasing any list.
“We do not want to release any list yet. We do not want to penalize only those registered products because we are also concerned with unregistered products,” Laboy said
Without a list, the agencies seem to be hoping that Filipinos will simply employ a blanket avoidance of any and all milk products that might have even a smidgen of Chinese manufacturing in it. In the interest of public safety, it might just work.
Meanwhile, Alaska Milk Corp, makers of Alaska, Carnation, Alpine, Milkmaid and Liberty milk products, has assured Filipinos that its products are safe.
“Our skimmed milk powder and UHT products primarily come from New Zealand, Australia and US,” Santiago A. Polido, Alaska vice president for corporate affairs, said in a statement.
via Inquirer
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Millions of people allegedly poisoned by brewery.
2008 Dec. 14.
Despite complaints, filed by consumers to the appropriate Government Agencies, the Philippines largest drinks manufacturer allegedly keeps on poisoning its national and international clientele. Established in 1890 as a brewery, the company is Southeast Asia’s largest publicly listed food, beverage and packaging company with over 15,000 employees in more than 100 major facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Allegedly about 50 percent of the bottle caps, used by the company to close their light beer and other drinks, are rusted. The problem mainly occurs after cooling the drinks. Consumption of rust can cause kidney and liver problems. The probability of not reaching the age of 40 in the Philippines is 8.9 percent, which is a much higher percentage compared to other countries like China, Singapore and South Korea. This is partly due to a relatively high number of kidney and liver diseases, many of which may be traced back to consumption of rust.
The prevalence of kidney diseases in the Philippines has been in an increasing trend, especially the end-stage renal disease (ERSD) as reported in the Philippine Renal Disease Registry (PRDR) in 2007. The rate of death due to end-stage renal disease has been in the top ten list of the mortality of the Department of Health (DOH – 2007). Reliable estimates reveal that the number of these patients might double in 2010. The number of patients in the Philippines with liver diseases is rapidly increasing as well.
The company carries the brand names of some of the most formidable players in the Philippine food and beverage industry. The company’s flagship product, beer, is one of the largest selling beers and among the top 15 beer brands in the world. The Company’s manufacturing operations extend beyond its home market to Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia and its products are exported to 60 markets around the world.
According to law firms, the brewery violates the Consumer Act of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 7394 regulates among others the protection of consumers against hazardous drinks.