Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Milk from China being banned By Elisabeth P. Baumgart Sun.Star Correspondent
THE Bureau of Food and Drugs (Bfad) 7 found one store with unmarked milk in downtown Cebu and asked it to stop selling the product, until lab tests confirm it’s safe to consume.
So far, no melamine-contaminated milk has been found in Central Visayas, but Bfad 7 asked the public to choose carefully.
“Look at the labels, the name of the manufacturer and where the product came from,” advised food and drugs regulation officer Grace Cardona.
A Bfad 7 team inspected yesterday 10 stores that sell repacked powdered milk in downtown Cebu City.
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales ordered all district collectors in 17 ports to hold the release of all container vans loaded with milk products imported from China.
Recent testing found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from 22 Chinese companies, including the country’s two largest dairy producers, Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co., and prompted nationwide recalls of milk and dairy products.
Melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
Many countries—including Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines—have followed suit with restrictions on food with Chinese dairy. The limits covered everything from yogurt bars to strawberry milk, biscuits and candy.
A DyLA report yesterday said that the Bfad 7 found one store repacking powdered skimmed milk from a 25-kilogram sack, labeled “Farmland SMP Milk Powder.” The sack, however, was not marked with the manufacturer’s name and its country of origin.
This prompted Bfad officials to take a 250-milligram sample of the skimmed milk and ask the storeowner to temporarily stop selling that brand of skimmed milk. Food and drug regulation officer Terry Ann Cuyos said they will send the sample to Manila for testing.
Department of Trade and Industry 7 Director Asteria Caberte asked the public, in the same radio report, not to buy milk products that are repacked or have no labels.
“As of today, especially for milk products, we advise the public not to buy the products from China,” said Cardona, although she added there are “no importers of Chinese milk products in Region 7.”
In a public health advisory released last Monday, the Bfad central office clarified there was no registered infant formula imported into the country.
“Consumers are advised not to purchase and use outright infant formula from China that might have been brought into the county through unauthorized means,” stated the health advisory.
The advisory also directed all licensed importers and distributors of registered milk products sourced from China to “stop temporarily from further importing, distributing, selling and offering for sale” any milk products.
Bfad 7 recently inspected the supermarkets of Ayala Mall, SM City, Robinsons, Fooda and Gaisano and found no milk products imported from China.
But while importers are required to procure licenses to bring these products into the country, Cardona said there were other, illegal means for China-made milk products to enter the region.
“The importer can be in Manila, but can have distributors in Cebu. So if he asks to sell his products in Cebu, the distributor can sell the products in Cebu,” said Cardona.
Should China-made milk products be found in the region, these will be immediately sent to the Bfad central office for testing.
