Philippines Bans Chinese Milk Products

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 24, 2008) – Manila has banned all Chinese milk products in the country after two babies had died and over a thousand more in China and Hong Kong because of melamine-tainted formula.

Filipino health authorities have warned the public against consuming liquid and powder milk from China suspected to contain melamine chemical.

Dr Aristides Tan, regional director of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Mindanao, said they have already deployed several teams to monitor the children’s ward in hospital.

The Bureau of Food and Drugs have also sent out teams to inspect supermarkets and stores selling milk to ensure that no China milk tainted with melamine are sold to public.

The BFAD and DOH also warned the public from consuming other Chinese food products containing milk, such as chocolates and yogurt and even candies.

Chinese hospitals are fighting to save more than 1,000 babies who have fallen sick after being fed milk powder laced with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastic cups and saucers, fabrics and glue. It is also one of the major components in Pigment Yellow 150, a colorant in inks and plastics and used to make fertilizers.

Some milk manufacturers in China used melamine to give the false appearance of a higher level of protein. Chinese media reported that two babies have already died from drinking the formula laced with melamine in a ploy by farmers to boost the apparent protein content of the milk that they sold to one of the best-known milk powder manufacturers in the country. Police have arrested nineteen people, including two brothers who ran a milk collection station.

Melamine chemical was reportedly mixed in the Sanlu milk product that affected many children in China and Hong Kong, prompting the DOH Secretary Francisco Duque and the BFAD to issue an advisory against the selling of the infant formula.

“We are now monitoring cases of children admitted to hospitals, but so far there have been no reports of babies fed with contaminated milk,” said Dr Carol Carabaña, assistant Zamboanga City Health chief.

She also advised parents to refrain from feeding their babies with infant milk coming from China while thorough studies are still being undertaken by concerned government agencies to ensure the formula is safe.

She said they are also aggressively campaigning for mothers to breast feed their babies instead of giving them infant formula. “That’s the safest and healthy way to feed our babies as long as the mothers are healthy too,” she said. (Erico Rosco)

Certify Safety Of China Toys, RP Senator Urges Gov't Agencies

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Aug) – A Philippine senator on Monday urged the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) to promptly certify the safety of all playthings being given away by popular fast-food chains as part of their special meal bundles for kids.

"Following the Mattel recall episode, our sense is that the BFAD and the BPS should now check these China-made toys being dispensed by major fast-food stores, if only to reassure the consuming public as to the safeness of these items for children," Sen. Gregorio Honasan said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Honasan was referring to the China-made toys being distributed by McDonald's Corp., Jollibee Foods Corp., Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp. and other restaurants through their promotional meal packs for children.

"We certainly hope that they are absolutely harmless to, and suitable for children," said Honasan, chairman of the Senate committee on public order, safety and illegal drugs.

Due to "safety issues," El Segundo, California-based Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy maker in terms of sales, recently recalled 18.2 million products; including Barbie play sets, Polly Pocket, Dora the Explorer, Fisher-Price, Sesame Street and Sponge Bob Square Pants toys.

The "safety issues" were traced to the inadequate product quality standards of Mattel's contract manufacturer in China.

Embarrassed by the Mattel recall and a prior similar incident involving tainted toothpaste, China has vowed to improve its product quality controls and safety standards.

"We understand that all the toys being distributed by these fast-foot outlets are manufactured in China by firms exclusively contracted by the (restaurant) chains themselves."

"The BFAD and the BPS are duty-bound to now examine these made-in-China toys, and then come out and categorically assure everyone that these products are totally safe," Honasan said.

At the close of the Manila meeting of the economic ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China's trade minister pledged "to deal with product quality-related issues."