MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2) Twenty more milk products have been found negative for melamine contamination, officials said Friday.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the entire third batch of dairy products was cleared for sale following a battery of tests conducted by the Bureau of Food and Drugs.
“They were tested and found not to contain melamine,” said BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez in a telephone interview.
The dairy found to have no trace of melamine are:
1. Anchor Wam! Frootmilk Drink (Mango Magic)
2. Anchor Wam! Frrotmilk Drink (Orange Chill)
3. Anchor Wam! Frootmilk Drink (Strawberry Spin)
4. Arla Full Cream Milk (repacked)
5. Austria Milk Candies
6. Candyman White Rabbit Butter Toffee Candy
7. Cottage Milk Sweet Cream Butter Milk
8. Crisp Bean Chocolate
9. Crisp Chocolate Stone
10. Dairy America Milk Powder (repacked)
11. Dairy Kreem Skimmed Milk Powder
12. Dong Guan Bairong Coconut Biscuits
13. Farmland Milk Powder
14. Kiddie Soya Milk Egg Delight
15. La Crema (Puregold) Skimmed Milk Powder, Original
16. La Crema (Puregold) Skimmed Milk Powder, Regular
17. Magic Chew Grape Fruit Sharing
18. Milk Drink in Red Can (in Chinese character)
19. Oakland Skimmed Milk Powder
20. Showas Tempura Batter Mix
The BFAD has so far found three milk products positive for melamine. They are Greenwood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Drink, which are both labeled with Chinese characters, and Jolly Cow Slender High-Calcium Low-Fat Milk.
In a statement, Purefoods-Hormel Company (PHC) on Friday assured consumers that its canned meats are safe.
“None of the meat materials we use in our products, including Purefoods Chinese-Style Luncheon Meat, comes from China. Restrictions on importing meat from China have long been in effect,” said PHC general manager Noel Tempongko in a statement sent to the Inquirer.
“We call it ‘Chinese-Style’ because that is the profile of the flavor. It matches the flavor of this popular delicacy as prepared by the Chinese,” he added.
The National Meat Inspection Service, the regulatory agency supervising the local meat industry, has awarded PHC certificates for Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), which serves as the highest guarantee of food safety.
“The HACCP compliance audit is a process of verifying that the ingredients, processes and handling procedures all comply with requirements of safety from physical, chemical and biological hazards that could potentially contaminate food. Ingredients are validated to be free from those hazards that would render the food unsafe for use—including residual chemicals like melamine, which is today’s hottest issue,” Tempongko said in the statement.
Meanwhile, China on Friday said it would help foreign companies that claim compensation from exporters of milk products found tainted with melamine.
Liu Qian, China’s deputy health minister, said claims should first be resolved on a business-to-business level, but that China was ready to provide assistance through diplomatic channels if claimants encounter problems.
“The Chinese government will provide all necessary assistance,” he said at a news conference following a meeting with Asian health ministers. “We’re going to urge all our problematic companies to follow the market rule and the legal procedure to solve this problem.”
His assurance came amid statements from countries like the Philippines—which has found at least three melamine-contaminated Chinese milk products—that they will take up with China any possible local claims for compensation as a result of the entry of tainted milk products. No claims have been filed so far.
A statement at the end of the meeting of health ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their partners from China, Japan and South Korea, said the officials agreed that melamine should never be added deliberately to any food product. With a report from Associate Press
