Food exporters group sets stricter membership rules

Food manufacturers intending to become members of the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization Inc. (Philfoodex) will have to acquire the approval of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) before being duly-certified as a member of the organization.

Newly-elected Philfoodex president Roberto Amores said a BFAD seal on company members‚ products assures the overseas markets that their products comply with the highest food safety and quarantine standards.

Amores said Philfoodex would urge proper authorities to require food processors to get the BFAD seal before they are even given the license to operate.

"This measure is not discriminatory and arbitrary, it prepares our members with the intention of staying long in the export trade to comply with the even more stringent global food standards, it prepares them to be competitive on all fronts," noted Amores.

Amores said the new Philfoodex leadership would be focusing on steering its member companies to meet the demand of the international buying community with regards to food safety.

"The international buying community is getting more and more stringent and we cannot be complaining of discrimination everytime and not make the effort to comply. Our members should remember that good manufacturing practices are critical not only to keep our markets but also to expand our market base," added Velia J. Cruz, Philfoodex internal vice president who is also the president and chief executive officer of Tentay Patis, one of the country’s major fish sauce producers and exporters.

The non-compliance by some Philippine food exporters with rules has often led to the refusal of all products coming from the country. If this continues, the Philippines stands to lose its major markets such as the US and EU.

In 2003 and 2004, the US Food and Drug Administration directed the US Bureau of Customs to ban the entry of more than 500 processed food exports, such as instant noodles and shrimp paste for failure to comply with quality standards.

The violations cited by the USFDA can be categorized into four, namely the presence of filth (like impurities, dirt, human hair and mosquito wings), salmonella, histamines and deviations on standard labeling and packaging requirements which include nutrition information, as well as name of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor. A number of products were also found to contain color additives that the USFDA deemed to be unsafe.

The EU on the other hand, is also setting more stringent health and sanitary standards on copra meal and coconut oil imports. While already reducing the maximum limit on aflatoxin content in copra meal from 200 parts per billion (ppb) to only 20 parts per billion (ppb), the EU also successfully lobbied for the Codex Alimentarius Commission to cut the maximum allowable hydrocarbon content in coconut oil to only 2 to 12 ppb from 47 ppb.

Previously, Philfoodex had asked for a P150-million loan from the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) to bankroll plans to upgrade their facilities and conform with quality standards of the United States and EU.

These facilities will enable companies to boost their production systems and incorporate good management practices, attain hazard analysis critical control points or HACCP standards and other food safety requirements.

Philfoodex external vice president Pete Borja said that in order to meet HACCP standards and quality for certification, food companies have to upgrade their facilities.

"This is a very stiff requirement for the micro, small and medium food companies, which at this point, are not in the best position financially to carry out an independent undertaking. It must be a shared facility for members," said Borja.