Bureau of Plant Industry Director Blo Umpar Adiong said in a letter to BOC officials that there are reports that a huge volume of contaminated tomato paste from China is on its way to the Philippines.
Adiong urged the BOC to redirect shipments of tomato paste from China to the "red lane" customs examination area for quarantine inspection and to have quarantine officials determine the product’s state before this is released.
Adiong pressed for the request after receiving reports from local tomato paste manufacturer Northern Foods Corp. (NFC) that about 4,000 metric tons (MT) of tomato paste from China have been redirected to the Philippines after the Japanese government rejected the shipment due to high levels of pesticide residue.
NFC chairman Bernard JB Mitra said the contaminated tomato paste is currently being offered to Philippine importers at half the international price of tomato paste.
"This poses a grave danger to the country’s food safety," Mitra said.
Mitra said that BOC officials should be forewarned to ensure the product does not penetrate the local market.
Tomato paste is used as raw material for tomato sauce and ketchup manufacturers, fish canneries and fastfood chains and processors.
Currently, the bulk of tomato paste entering the Philippines comes from China, Turkey and the United States.
The NFC urged the DA to investigate reports of alleged dumping of imported tomato paste products in the country, complaining that some Asian countries are flooding the local market with the commodity by undercutting local prices.