Friday, September 26, 2008 Tainted milk products sold in Cogon market By Cong B. Corrales
CHINESE-made products suspected to be tainted with the deadly melamine are being openly sold at the Cogon public market, a city official revealed Thursday.
Councilor Dante Pajo, chairman of committee on health and social services, said he was able to buy Chinese-made food products like candies and biscuits in Cogon public market.
Pajo, a dentist by profession, will not identify the store where he was able to buy the food products until his committee meets next week.
He also was not able to identify the products except that these are candies and biscuits—the same items being banned by the Department of Health (DOH).
“Di nako ma-identify unsa ning kompanya kay di ko kasabot sa Chinese markings sa labels (I cannot identify what company because I cannot understand the Chinese markings in the labels),”Pajo told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Pajo’s findings run counter with that of the Department of Health in Northern Luzon who said last Wednesday that they did not find any tainted milk or milk products being sold in Cagayan de Oro’s public markets, malls and grocery stores.
Dr. Simer Belacho, chief of the DOH Regulatory, Licensing Enforcement Division (RLED), said monitoring teams they have sent to inspect the markets, malls and grocery stores in Cagayan de Oro found no suspected Chinese-made products being sold.
Belacho said the establishments that were inspected and found not selling Chinese-made products are Pala£a Grocers’ Plaza, Julmar, Kevin Supermart, Gaisano-Cogon, Kmart, Ororama-Cogon, La Victoria, Unitap, Cogon Market, Novo-DV Soria, Ororama-Carmen and SM City-Cagayan de Oro.
But The DOH laboratory in Barangay Carmen, in Cagayan de Oro is not equipped to test products if they are tainted with melamine, according to one of its chemists.
Helene Fe Abellanosa, DOH chemist said their laboratory are only equipped to test drugs and not for tests related to food.
Pajo said his committee will invite DOH officials in the City Council’s plenary session next week to explain why Chinese-made products like candies and biscuits are still being sold in the markets.
“We will be inviting the BFAD personnel on next week’s plenary session to shed light on this matter. Murag lax ra kaayo ang BFAD (It looks like BFAD is too lax),” Pajo said.
Pajo said he had requested Mayor Constantino Jaraula that the City government formed a “task force to monitor and seize all Chinese-made products” found on display in the markets, malls and grocery stores.
He said the task force shall be composed of representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), DOH-BFAD, Bureau of Customs, Offices of the city mayor and city treasurer and members of the health committee.
Pajo’s request is still at the office of Mayor Jaraula pending approval.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry regional office denied sending text messages warning the public not to buy several products which are known to have dairy content.
The text messages which say “FYI: the following items have been recalled due to China’s milk contamination problem. M&M’s, Snickers, Mento’s Yoghurt bottle, Dove chocolate, Oreo wafer sticks, Monmilk, Dutchlady sterilized milk, Wall’s all natural mango, mini poppers ice cream, Magnum ice cream, Moo sandwich ice cream, mini Cornetto n youcan ice cream.
Stores have been asked by DTI to remove them. If you have any of these items in your house don’t eat them, “have been circulating for more than a week in Cagayan de Oro.
Elvira Cajigas, division chief of DTI Northern Mindanao Consumer Welfare Division said their office did not send these text messages.
She said their Central office have yet to issue an advisory on which dairy products were safe or not for the public.
“We did not issue those SMS messages. In fact walay (no) official notice pa mi nadawat from central office,” Cajigas said.
She, however, appealed to consumers to be “extra careful “when buying imported dairy products.
