THE recent discovery of smuggled milk from China should force the government to finally deal with illegally imported food, Senate Majority Leader and independent Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said on Sunday.

“This is a problem that should have been dealt with a long time ago. Potential harm is not confined to melamine-laced milk products but any unmonitored food product that enters the market. A few years back, the government was given a wake-up call on smuggled diet pills laced with shabu. Are we waiting for another such controversy before we take action? Government agencies should be proactive and not reactive. Do they always need to be reminded by the public and the media about what needs to be done?” asked the senator.

Food items from unknown foreign sources are sold at very cheap prices in flea markets. In light of the international tainted-milk scare, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (Bfad) has admitted that it can barely prevent the sale and distribution of smuggled food.  On Friday Malacañang asked the Bureau of Customs to explain how two Chinese milk brands positive for melamine were able to enter the country.

Out of 30 Chinese milk and milk-based products that they have tested, the Department of Health (DOH) and Bfad  released on Friday partial results which so far resulted in two milk products being positive of melamine content.

“We completely ban the importation and consumption of Green food Yili Fresh milk and Mengniu Drink, especially those [with] information written in Chinese characters,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. He added that stores or importers who sell or distribute these two products will be penalized for violating the Consumer Act.

The Bfad tested 200 samples of milk and milk-based products from China. According to Duque, the Bfad and his department will expand the coverage of the testing for possible melamine substance,  not just in milk products but also in food containing milk and dairy products imported from China.

According to BFAD Director Leticia Gutierrez, the two mentioned milk products exceeded the allowable 1.0 ppm (parts per million) melamine substance limit under the high-pressure liquid chromatography test.

“Actually, the milk products which were found positive in melamine are smuggled...they are not registered with us,” Gutierrez said.

Scanasia assures public

Meanwhile, Scanasia Overseas Inc., the Philippines’ premier chilled-products distributor, assured the public that all dairy products it distributed and represented do not contain any melamine. Scanasia carries a large part of the products in the chiller section in any supermarket today and it confirmed with their principals that the raw materials of all dairy foods are not sourced or manufactured from China—in part or as a whole.

The Scanasia principals who confirmed the safety of their products include Arla Foods, Australian Co-operative Food Ltd. (Dairy Farmers), Bega Cheese Ltd., Dairy Crest, Fronterra Brands (Phils. And New Zealand), Goodman Feilder International, Land O’ Lakes, Nordmilch, Schreiber Foods, Congagra and Groupe Lactalis, according to the distributor.

Scanasia and its suppliers said they “stand behind the safety of their dairy products and assure the public that all products distributed are of the highest quality standards.”

Scanasia is the latest addition to the 2Go supply chain muscle representing 16 international principals and covers 35 international brands. It is a dominant player in the chilled section; leading the cheeses, cottage cheeses, creams, cream cheeses, sour creams, yellow fats (butters and margarines) and yogurts categories. It also plays an important role in the baking products, dressings, jams and preserves, juices, mayonnaises, olive oils, potato products, UHT milks, sauces, gravies, coffee, cereals and vinegar categories in what is classified as dry sections of the supermarket. Currently, there are 422 active items.

Officials said, meanwhile, that the Bfad and DOH will release the test results of another 30 products on Tuesday.

Duque said they await reports from hospitals “whom we ordered to report to us kidney problems in association with milk tainted with melamine.”

He listed the possible symptoms of a kidney problem: “If the child or infant cries for no apparent reason and loss of appetite, loss of weight and incessant crying for no apparent reason, they should be brought to the doctor for consultation.”

The following milk and milk-based products tested negative for melamine:

Anchor Lite Milk, Anlene High Calcium Low Fat Milk, UHT Bear Brand Instant Chichok Milk Chocolate; Farmland Skim Milk; Kiddie Soya Milk Egg Delight; Lactogen 1 DHA Infant Formula; M&M’s peanut chocolate candies; Milk Boy; Nestogen 2 DHA Follow-up Formula; Nestogen 3+ Prebio with DHA; Nido Full Cream Milk Powder; Nido Junior; No-Sugar Chocolate of Isomaltooligosaccharide (Cocoa Butter Substitute); Nutri-Express Milk Drink; PURA UHT Fresh Milk; Snickers Fresh Roasted in Caramel & Soft Nougat in Thick Milk Chocolate; Vitasoy Soya Bean Milk; Wahaha Orange; Wahaha Yellow; Want-Want Milk Drink (Red Can); Yinlu Milk Peanut; Yogee Yoghurt Flavor Milk Drink. (Sara Fabunan)

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THE recent discovery of smuggled milk from China should force the government to finally deal with illegally imported food, Senate Majority Leader and independent Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said on Sunday.

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