Cebu malls remove Taiwanese food items

MAJOR food retailers in Cebu said they removed Taiwanese food products after learning of a Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) advisory that they are “high-risk” items that could contain the chemical DEHP or Di (2-ethylhelyx) phthalate.

Mall giant SM said it finished removing all Taiwanese food products from their shelves nationwide, including SM Supermarkets and Hypermart in Cebu.

“We no longer carry items identified by authorities as high-risk food products from Taiwan that contain harmful chemical. It has always been our policy to comply with the government’s rules and regulations,” their Manila office said in a statement.

Retial chain Gaisano Metro, said they will pull out Taiwanese food products as soon as they receive the FDA memo listing the specific products and brands.

Gaisano Metro official Rose Jose said they usually remove and return these products to their merchants.

“For customers who bought these products, we are willing to accommodate their returning of the products and reimbursing them so long as they still have the receipts to prove that they bought these products from us,” Jose said.

Melanie Chua Ng, Philippine Retailers Association Cebu Chapter president, said she only read about the issue in the news yesterday.

“We’ll get more details on this and follow the guidelines set by FDA. We’ll also get feedback from our members. We will look into this matter seriously because health is of utmost importance to us especially the young children,” Ng said.

The FDA issued an advisory last May 27 warning about the DEHP contamination in Taiwanese food products.

It said Taiwanese authorities discovered the presence of plasticizer (2-ethylhelyx) phthalate (DEHP) in a raw food ingredient known as cloudy agent.

The ingredient is reportedly used as an emulsifying agent. The FDA said the Taiwanese government informed the Department of Health (DOH) about this.

The national government is verifying the identity of the local partners distributing the food products.

FDA supervisor Rica Aumentado said they informed stores and malls in Cebu City to remove Taiwanese food products from their shelves while they investigate these items.

She said their Manila office has yet to complete its inventory of high-risk Taiwanese food items that consist of sports drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices and jellies.

Aumentado said there were two grocery stores inside a shopping mall that sold these products but declined to identify them.