Borax-Laden Tapioca: Government unable to go after erring dealers of ‘sago’

ANGELES CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) are unable to go after dealers of tapioca or sago laden with borax, which can cause hair loss and kidney problems, due to lack of manpower and legal constraints.

Joe Dizon, consumer arbitration officer of DTI-Central Luzon, said that while his agency is now engaged in a campaign to warn the public on borax-laced sago, it could not compel outlets of "pearl shakes" to publicly display sago product labels to inform consumers that their tapioca suppliers had BFAD approval.

Ofelia Alba, officer-in-charge of the regulation division of BFAD’s central office, admitted to The STAR that her agency lacks personnel to check on the safety of sago shakes sold in stalls which have mushroomed in many parts of the country.

BFAD director William Torres, in a letter to the DTI last April 27, said that only two sago shake brands have passed his agency’s tests.

"All samples (of the two brands) tested negative for borax," Torres said.

The letter, addressed to Ma. Teresa Arao-Mahowo of the DTI’s Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection, stated that both the BFAD and the Department of Health have issued a health advisory against sago products manufactured by two firms in Obando, Bulacan, and three others in Binondo, Manila.

The DTI subsequently issued cease-and-desist orders against the five sago manufacturers.

BFAD warned that borax "can cause signs and symptoms of clinical toxicity such as fever, convulsions, confusion, coma, kidney malfunction, jaundice, anemia, hair loss, blisters, vomiting and diarrhea and low blood pressure."

Alba said that despite "constant collection of samples" from sago shake outlets, the BFAD lacks manpower to be able to check on all outlets.

"In Metro Manila, we have only about 30 field personnel. The same manpower shortage exists in the regions," she lamented.

Alba noted that sago products which have passed BFAD standards were all imported. "We cannot monitor all sources of sago which are retailed in small quantities or takal-takal," she said.

Alba warned that borax-laden sago cannot be readily detected. "A consumer cannot determine borax content by merely looking at or tasting sago," she said.

Dizon said that while the DTI can impose the labeling of sago products, there is no law that could compel "pearl shake" outlets to publicly display the labels of sago products they use.

He stressed, however, that consumers have the right to demand to be shown labels of food products that they purchase.