FDA working to keep food products with DEHP chemical away from schools

Health authorities are working with the Bureau of Customs and local governments to keep away from schools “high-risk" products from Taiwan suspected of containing the chemical DEHP or Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deputy director Nazarita Tacandong said on Tuesday the FDA will meet with local governments to make sure such products are not sold in or near schools. “Ang eskwelahan sakop sa local government. Kaya kami may meeting bukas sa representatives ng local governments at sanitary inspector para sila ipaalam sa nasasakupang areas like markets, carinderias, canteens, dahil hindi namin sakop yan," she said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Tacandong said the FDA is coordinating with the Bureau of Customs to identify and limit the entry of such products from Taiwan. She said the FDA disseminate the list of high-risk products once it receives the appropriate advisories. “Hindi pa namin alam ano ang produkto dahil kami nakikipagugnayan sa FDA ng Taiwan. Ang aming natanggap na sulat walang nakalagay doon na pangalan ng produkto kaya di pa namin masabi ano ang mga brand or pangalan ng produkto," she said. So far, Tacandong said the FDA has not yet received reports or complaints about ill effects from the high-risk products. “Kaya kami nagpalabas nito bago may masamang mangyari sa consumers," she said. FDA inspections Tacandong said the FDA has requested supermarkets and retail drugstores to remove potentially high-risk items from their shelves while the FDA collects and tests sample products. “Simula kami mag-test ng juices. Nag-collect ang aming inspector at dinala sa aming laboratory," she said. While the tests are being conducted, Tacandong said consumers should play safe by looking for markings on food item packaging that indicate they are registered with the Philippine FDA. “Ang amin lang pong maipayo sa consumer tingnan ang bibilhing pagkain o juice kung ang produkto registered sa FDA, tingnan sa packaging," she said. Illegal use of DEHP On Monday, the FDA said supermarkets and retail stores will be asked to remove temporarily high-risk products from Taiwan — such as sports drinks, soft drinks, juices, and jellies — which are suspected of containing the chemical "DEHP. In an advisory, the FDA described DEHP as a plasticizer used in the making of medical devices like intravenous bags and tubing, blood bags and infusion tubing, and nasogastric tubes. Taiwanese authorities discovered that DEHP had been illegally added to a food product raw material known as "cloudy agent" used for emulsification. “As a precautionary measure and pending identification of implicated products, FDA will instruct supermarkets and retail stores to temporarily remove from the store shelves identified high-risk products that include sports drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices and jellies and until such time when these have been proven to be free of the contaminant DEHP," FDA Director Suzette Lazo said in the advisory. - VVP, GMA News