|
By MARICEL V. CRUZ, Reporter
Congressmen are urging concerned
government agencies—namely the Departments of Health and of Trade
and Industry and the Bureau of Food and Drugs—to impose an
immediate ban on China-made food products made by Chinese companies
that were shut down by their government for using formaldehyde or
formalin.
The House members also expressed
apprehensions that the Philippines is being made a dumping ground
for unsafe Chinese products.
At the same time, reelected Rep.
Exequiel Javier of Antique and neophyte Rep. Adam Resol Jala of
Bohol demanded that the information dissemination campaign be
heightened against Chinese products available in the local market
containing formalin and other toxic ingredients.
Javier and Resol, in a joint
statement, underscored the need for the government to act swiftly in
banning the toxic Chinese food products.
They pointed out that while BFAD
is now testing Chinese food products in the local market to
determine if these contain formalin, the action is on a limited
scale. They complained that the test results may not be available at
once.
Javier, chairman of the House
Committee on Economic Affairs in the Thirteenth Congress, demanded
that government agencies concerned should publish the list of
affected products to warn consumers.
“This precautionary measure is
important in light of China’s failure to reveal the 180 factories
closed for manufacturing food products containing hazardous
industrial chemicals. We should do something to protect the public
from using unsafe Chinese products that are still in the market,”
Javier explained.
According to him, publishing
toxic Chinese products available in the local market will provide
essential information to the public and heighten their consciousness
about imported items that may contain formalin and other dangerous
ingredients.
For his part, Jala said concerned
agencies should also get the help of the Chinese government to
effectively close the distribution network of these products.
“We can’t sacrifice public
health. We cannot allow our country to be a dumping ground for
unsafe imported products,” he pointed out.
Jala reminded the current issue
should serve as a warning to producers and importers and drive them
to be more responsible in ensuring the quality of their products.
|
