The Parañaque City government’s inspection teams will concentrate on inspecting supermarkets and variety stores along major roads for milk and dairy products tainted with melamine.
City Health Office officer-in-charge Dr. Olga Virtusio said she has directed her inspection teams to initially inspect various outlets along Dr. A. Santos Avenue, which traverses four barangays – San Antonio, BF, San Isidro and San Dionisio.
In her initial report to Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Virtusio said they asked a supermarket to remove a brand of crackers, and a stallholder at the BF Homes wet and dry market to stop selling vermicelli from China.
Meanwhile, Consumers Welfare Office chief Michelle Licudine said her office is awaiting the release of the list of tainted milk products from the Department of Science and Technology, which is also running tests as a check for those conducted by the Bureau of Food and Drugs.
Bernabe said his order is a precautionary measure to protect the public against products laced with melamine, a toxic industrial chemical used in manufacturing plastics. In China, the chemical was found to be mixed with infant formula, causing deaths among infants and the hospitalization of thousands.
Bernabe said the inspection will continue until all stores in the city have been covered.
“We sincerely sympathize especially with the small-store owners who have invested hard-earned cash to purchase and sell for a small profit milk products from China like candies, chocolates, coffee with creamers and biscuits, but protecting the health of city consumers, especially the children, is our primary concern,” he said.
Meanwhile, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri has ordered the city health office to promote the advantages of breastfeeding and persuade mothers to breastfeed their newborn babies.
Echiverri noted that breast milk contains no melamine and that the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life to provide “continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection.”
He also said breastfeeding strengthens the bond between mother and child, boosts the immunity of infants, and is the cheaper choice for poor families. – Rhodina Villanueva, Jerry Botial