MANILA, Philippines—The head of the government agency tasked with certifying product safety said on Sunday the results of the tests on milk and dairy products from China would be released this week even as the Department of Health gave assurances the testing was being hastened to clear products not linked to the food scare.

“We are now preparing the instruments for the tests,” Director Leticia Gutierrez of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) said.

She said the list of products to be tested for the presence of the industrial chemical melamine could grow longer, depending on input coming from different regions of the country. “As of now, we are waiting for these inputs,” Gutierrez said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had earlier clarified that not all brands on the partial list released Friday night were covered by the ban on all China-made milk and milk products. He said the banned products were only those with labels stating that they were manufactured in China.

NZ brands removed from list

The DoH temporarily banned the importation and sale of infant formula and milk products from China following the discovery that melamine had been added to watered-down milk in China.

Four children have died in China and more than 55,000 others have fallen ill after drinking the tainted milk.

Gutierrez said four brands were removed from the partial list consisting of 56 products to be tested because they were actually manufactured in New Zealand.

These were Anchor Lite Milk, Anlene Milk Low Fat, Anmum Materna and Anmum Materna Chocolate, Gutierrez said.

The remaining 52 brands had been taken off store shelves pending the results of the BFAD exams.

Adverse effect on business

Health Assistant Secretary Elmer Punzalan admitted on Sunday that the release of the partial list had adversely affected some businesses, adding that for this reason, the DoH had directed the BFAD to fast-track the tests and produce results within the week.

“The testing was not done to affect businesses. It’s better to be cautious than be negligent. But we will speed up the testing and relay the findings to the media so the public will be properly informed,” he said.

Punzalan said Sunday that no children in the Philippines had been afflicted with kidney stones due to melamine contamination, drawing attention to a statement issued by the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

He said the BFAD was also checking other milk-based products from China, and even non-milk-based items like noodles as it heeded the recommendation of the Department of Trade and Industry.

The Philippine Baking Industry Group assured consumers Sunday that its bread products were safe as its member-companies did not use flour and milk from China.

PhilBaking, which represents 70 percent of branded bread products sold in supermarkets and groceries, said in a statement the powdered milk its members used were from the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and Holland.