MANILA, Philippines — Popular liver spread brand Reno has apologized and submitted an application for registration for its controversial food product, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday.
FDA director General Eric Domingo said the agency is now awaiting the brand to complete its requirements to process the approval.
“Sumulat naman sila at nagpaumanhin dahil nga hindi daw sila nakapagrehistro ng produkto nila at ngayon po, alam ko po nung isang araw sila’y nagsubmit na ng kanilang application for registration,” Domingo said in an interview over Teleradyo.
(They have written a letter apologizing that they were not able to register their product and from what I know, they submitted their application for registration the other day.)
Reno liver spread was among food products and supplements that have been identified by FDA for failure to secure any certificate of product registration from the agency.
Domingo said the brand must comply with several tests to ensure that the food product is safe for consumption.
“Once na napakita nila na pumasa sa lahat ng standard, makakabalik naman po sila magtinda ulit,” he said.
(Once they have shown that they pass all standards, they may return to the market immediately.)
Asked why the FDA only flagged the said product recently, Domingo explained processed canned meat goods used to be regulated by the Department of Agriculture’s National Meat Inspection Service.
“Nag-transition lang po sa FDA simula noong 2015 and 2016. Tapos yung 2017 kumuha sila ng license to operate at na-advisean sila mag-rehistro,” he explained.
(It was only in 2015, 2016 when it transitioned to FDA. In 2017, the brand secured a license to operate and was advised to register their products.)