FDA: Fonterra milk products safe

A woman checks a guarantee announcement on a shelf of Dumex baby formula, which uses the New Zealand dairy Fonterra as its raw material supplier, at a supermarket in Hefei, north China’s Anhui province, on August 5, 2013. China stepped up warnings to consumers on August 5 over a botulism scare involving products from the New Zealand dairy company Fonterra, and has demanded affected importers check their sales records. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assured the public on Tuesday that milk products from a worldwide exporter of dairy products were safe.

In an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM Tuesday, Joyce Cirunay, officer-in-charge of the FDA International Affairs Office, quoted a letter from Fonterra Branch Philippines Inc. which said that the company underwent and passed the quality control tests conducted by FDA Center for Food Regulation and Research.

“Ligtas po iyan. Hindi po sila mabibigyan ng Certificate of Product Registration kapag hindi nila nasunod ang panuntunan ng pilipinas sa food. [The products are safe. The company would not be given the Certificate of Product Registration if they did not comply with the Philippine standards in food.],” Cirunay said.

Fonterra Philippines admitted, however, that there were contaminated batches that had been distributed to other countries, said Cirunay but did not elaborate.

Cirunay and Fonterra Philippines gave the assurance after China and Russia released a global alert against Fonterra dairy products from New Zealand when the company confirmed that Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC80), a primary ingredient in its milk powder formulas, was contaminated with Clostridium Botulinum toxin, which causes Botulism, a deadly food-borne disease that paralyzes the muscles.

The Fonterra International chief on Monday apologized and said that the toxic substance was acquired in May 2012 in their Hautapu plant’s dirty pipes in Waikato New Zealand.

Fonterra Philippines is the distributor of dairy products like Anchor, Anmum and Anlene.

Cirunay said, however, that despite the assurance, the FDA were still verifying internally, checking the declarations of products entering the Philippine market.

She also said that concerned citizens may inquire and contact them through the FDA hotline 857-1900 loc 1805 or e-mail [email protected].

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