Director Leticia Barbara Gutierrez of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) said Tuesday that they are inspecting all milk products in the market due to the melamine contamination crisis on China’s milk products.

 

“Regional inspectors will be collecting samples of milk products present in the market. Still, we’re concentrating on the milk products coming from China,” she told ABS-CBN’s early morning show Umagang Kay Ganda.

 

The BFAD on Monday has already ordered a stop to the distribution and sale of milk products from major Chinese dairy companies Mengniu Dairy Co. and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group due to suspected melamine contamination.

 

“We’ll be doing this inspection for around two to three weeks as we’ll be collecting from different regions in the country.”

 

Gutierrez stated that the BFAD has the inspection under control as they have the proper technology and manpower to examine the milk products and give proper instruction to its distributors, importers, and manufacturers.

 

“The Bureau of Food and Drugs is equipped with State of the Art equipment that will be used for testing the presence of melamine in all the products. Yesterday we came out with a public health advisory and it’s posted on our website and we are telling all the license importers and distributors of the bureau not to import, distribute, sell, or offer to sell any of the products until or unless we find that it is fit for human consumption.” 

 

Gutierrez said that milk products will be given more priority, although attention will also be given to the inspection of candies, chocolates, and other products containing milk.

 

“We also receive reports that some candies and chocolates supposedly contain melamine so we’re collecting samples of those as well. Still, our main priority is the examination of actual milk samples because these are given to babies, to infants,” she said.

 

Gutierrez stressed that if the BFAD found some milk products to have no melamine, these can be purchased and consumed by the public.

 

“If there are no traces of melamine in a milk product, we could say that it’s safe for consumption since none of the chemical was added when it was manufactured,” said Gutierrez

 

 

Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Tuesday that a task force was created in order to monitor other milk brands should they take advantage of the shortage of milk products as a result of the melamine crisis.

 

“We currently have a task force that monitors other milk products should they take advantage of this crisis. We’re working with the BFAD, and Secretary Favila has already issued a directive so provincial offices as well can help us. We’ll make sure that no one would take advantage of the situation, thinking that we’re only examining products coming from China.”

 

Maglaya said that along with the BFAD, the Bureau of Customs also has a role in preventing the distribution of melamine-contaminated milk products.

 

“Yes the Bureau of Customs ought to check milk products entering the country. The BFAD as well plays an important role in inspecting these products so distribution can be prevented should these are found to contain melamine.”

 

Maglaya continued to remind the consumers not to buy repacked milk products, as well as products without labels.

 

“There is a possibility that repacked milk products actually come from China, thus the possibility for melamine content. We couldn’t say for certain, but the important thing here is for consumers to not buy products that do not have labels. Consumers cannot determine the contents of the product if it doesn’t have any label, and it could not be traced to its manufacturer.”

 

 

SM, Robinson’s, and other big supermarkets have already pulled out Monday milk products that came from China even before a directive was released to remove them for possible melamine content.

 

None of the liquid or powdered milk products made in China can be seen in over 60 supermarkets all over the country. However, there are still soya milk products present in the market which are made in Hong Kong and China since this isn’t part of the scope of recall.

 

Milk products from China now require a certification from BFAD before these can be returned to grocery shelves. Supermarkets and groceries also demand this BFAD certification as proof that these products have passed the department’s inspection.

 

For those who have already bought milk products made in China, supermarkets and groceries said that they could have them replaced for other brands. But since news came out regarding the melamine contamination, many consumers have stayed away from milk products coming from China.

 

Since January 2008, more than two million kilos of milk are imported by the country from China. Given this, the DTI is now working extra hard on monitoring these products, especially the repacking process. 

 

Last week, the Chinese government’s quality watchdog released an initial list of milk manufacturing companies suspected of using melamine in their milk products. The public ought to check if the milk products they have purchased are manufactured by one of these companies.

 

The companies are:

1 Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co

2 Shanghai Panda Dairy Co Ltd

3 Synutra International Inc

4 Shanxi Gucheng Dairy Co Ltd

5 Jiangxi Bright & Hero Dairy Co

6 Baoji Huimin Milk Co Ltd

7 Mengniu Dairy

8 Duojiaduo Dairy Industry (Tianjin) Co Ltd

9 Guangdong Yashili Group Co Ltd

10 Hunan Peiyi Dairy Co

11 Heilongjiang Qining Dairy Co

12 Shanxi Yashili Dairy Co Ltd

13 Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk Co Ltd

14 Guangzhou Shien Dairy Co

15 Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Co

16 Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co

17 Ausmeadow Nutriment Co Ltd

18 Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology Co Ltd

19 Xi'an Baiyue Dairy Co Ltd

20 Yantai Leilei Dairy Products Co Ltd

21 Shanghai Bao'anli Dairy Co Ltd

22 Fuding Chenguan Dairy Co Ltd