MANILA, Philippines — An official from the Department of Health on Friday said that the Philippine production of instant noodles from the "Lucky Me!" brand is not affected amid product recalls from four countries.
This comes after Taiwan, France, Ireland and Malta recalled variants of the brand's instant pancit canton and noodle products after health authorities discovered pesticide residues in them.
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"Meron ho tayong local manufacturer nitong food product na ito kung saan ang atin pong mga ginagamit ng mga sangkap nito at tsaka iyon pong pagsasagawa ay dito po sa atin sa Pilipinas," DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing on Friday, referring to the "Lucky Me!" brand.
("We have a local manufacturer for this food product which uses local ingredients and processes them here in the Philippines.")
"Ang sinasabi po natin, ng ating Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sa ngayon, base sa kanilang pagkakasuri at pagiimbestiga, hindi po apektado 'no 'yung produksyon ng ating food product na ito dito po sa ating bansa," she added.
("Right now, based on the findings and investigation of the FDA, the production of our food product is not affected in the Philippines.")
The FDA, which has the authority to recall contaminated products and those that may pose potential health risks to consumers, is under the DOH.
"We are not currently affected by this incident of contamination which happened in the European countries," Vergeire said.
In a recall order, the Food and Safety Authority of Ireland recalled one batch of the instant pancit canton original flavor which was produced in Thailand, and had an expiry date of July 20, 2022. Meanwhile, France and Malta did not specify country of origin of the products covered by their respective recall orders.
"We would like to clarify that ethylene oxide is not added in "Lucky Me!" products," listed food giant Monde Nissin said in a statement on Thursday.
"It is a commonly-used treatment in spices and seeds to control microbial growth typical in agricultural products. These materials, when processed into seasoning and sauces, may still show traces of ethylene oxide," it added.
The company assured the public that it has been registered with the country's FDA and are compliant with local food safety standards, as well as the U.S standards for ethylene oxide.
Shares in Monde Nissin slumped to 7.22% on July 7, closing at P13.36 apiece, which an analyst attributed to the decision of several countries to recall the products.
DOH's Vergeire earlier said they are not issuing any recall order for the "Lucky Me!" noodles sold in the Philippines, as they are still waiting for the results of FDA's investigation. — Angelica Y. Yang with a report from Janvic Mateo/The STAR and OneNews.PH