28 dairy products cleared

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) has cleared 28 milk and dairy products for traces of melamine.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that so far, only two milk products from China had tested positive for the chemical.

He revealed at a news conference yesterday the findings of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) that Greenfood Yili Pure Milk and Mengniu Drink had exceeded the 1.0 ppm (parts per million) allowed for melamine substance.

“BFAD used a high-pressure liquid chromatography test and these products tested positive for melamine… this substance is not supposed to be there, it cannot be used as food additive,” Duque said.

Duque explained that chronic ingestion of melamine could damage the liver and kidneys because it cannot be easily dissolved.

Duque said the DOH would implement a total ban on the importation and consumption of the two Chinese milk products.

He said the DOH would cooperate in filing criminal charges for violation of the Consumer Act against traders and vendors defying the ban on the sale and distribution of the two milk products.

BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez said Greenfood Yili Pure Milk and Mengnui Drink are among the imported Chinese products that are locally registered.

Gutierrez, however, said the packages of Yili and Mengniu products tested by BFAD had labels in Chinese characters, indicating they were smuggled into the country.

Gutierrez said these products could be re-sold in the local market but only if they are reformulated and pass the registration requirements of BFAD.

Duque, however, cautioned against automatically concluding that Yili and Mengniu products with English labels also contain melamine, but admitted they “most likely come from the same source.”

Ma. Lourdes Santiago, officer in charge of the BFAD Laboratory, said samples of legitimate Yili and Mengniu products are among some 200 other specimens yet to be tested.

She said BFAD would come out with additional results of the tests on Tuesday.

At the same time, Duque maintained the DOH or BFAD has not commissioned any private testing firm to conduct analysis on China-made products.

He said BFAD has accredited laboratories that could do the tests although the results are still subject to validation by the bureau. 

Gutierrez also appealed to the public for understanding as testing of the milk products takes time.

Gutierrez stressed they want to be certain of the accuracy of the results of their verification process.

Malacañang also defended BFAD over the slow pace of testing the milk products.

“This issue came suddenly so our agency will have to contend with this surge in the need for some chemicals so that they can undertake all these tests, so let’s be patient because best efforts are being exerted right now, considering the emergency situation,” Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said.

Dureza also gave assurances that the private laboratories tapped to assist the BFAD in the testing process would also be counterchecked by the BFAD.

“Undertaking due diligence to protect the consumers is never an overreaction,” Dureza said.

“We’d rather overreact than under-react because it’s the health and safety of the consumers that are paramount,” he said.

Dureza also urged the public to monitor advisories from the DOH, BFAD and the Department of Trade and Industry on the issue.

At the same time, Dureza said yesterday it does not see its trade relations with China getting strained over the ongoing milk controversy.

“It has no bearing at all as to whether it will create problems with our relations because I’m sure China also is probably as concerned as we are in seeing to it that the products that they export are not harmful to consumers,” he said.

Dureza said the Philippines and China have close diplomatic and trade relations “and issues like (the melamine scare) will not get in the way of the warm relations between the two countries.”

Other importing countries have also banned Chinese milk products even as the Chinese government conducted a crackdown on all milk manufacturers using the toxic chemical melamine.

Over 50,000 Chinese babies have been reported sick due to infant formula milk products that are contaminated with melamine.

China has been struggling to contain the scandal, with countries around the world rushing to ban or restrict its dairy products.

The Philippine government barred the entry of China-made milk products after baby formula tainted with melamine triggered a global food safety crisis.

Melamine is a chemical used in making plastics, which can make milk and other food products appear to have a higher protein count than they actually do.

The melamine scare also forced local distributors of imported chocolates in the Philippines to implement damage control measures even with the potential loss of profit.

Henry Azcarraga, Mars Philippines Inc. country manager, said they have lost about 5,000 cases of assorted brand of confectionaries since the melamine scandal came out. Their company is the local distributor forSnickers, M&M and Dove chocolates, which are among the products cleared by the DOH.

Azcarraga though remains optimistic that the melamine scare is only temporary.

“We are victims of the dairy crisis in China. But despite the delay in the release of our cargo, we understand the government’s position. We are assuring the government of our cooperation,” he said.

Local government officials were also forced to implement safety measures against the sale of Chinese milk products.

Valenzuela Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian said he had formed a task force to monitor the importation, distribution, selling and offering for sale of infant formula and products with milk components imported from China.

Authorities have also implemented a crackdown on smuggled milk products with the seizure of sacks of powdered milk in two warehouses in Quezon City yesterday.

Duque led a team of experts and Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group operatives in raiding the warehouses filled with thousands of sacks of expired milk which are being repacked and mixed with other milk products for resale. – With Paolo Romero, Reinir Padua, Evelyn Macairan, Jerry Botial