Cagayan de Oro city dads alarmed over imported US peanut butters

February 5, 2009

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Two city officials yesterday voiced alarm over reports that local stores are still selling US-made peanut butter products and those other food items containing such an ingredient as they may be contaminated with the salmonella bacteria.

Health committee chairperson City Councilor Dante Pajo and Trade committee chairperson City Councilor Ramon Tabor separately told Gold Star Daily that they are now urging the regional offices of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to pull out these products.

The two city councilors cited reports on how these imported peanut butter products may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria that recently sickened close to 400 people and killed at least six in the United States .

Tabor said several reports from the DOH’s Bureau of Food and Drugs in Manila found out that imported products with peanut butter ingredients are being pulled out from the markets.

He said the local agencies of the DOH, BFAD and the DTI should work hand in hand to initiate parallel efforts in the city.

Pajo said health officials in Cebu City and Tacloban among other areas have recently raised alarm on this latest reports on contaminated products particularly that this is no longer something that can be blamed on China .

“I also hope that they will be cautious with reading the ingredients of other imported products as they might contain imported peanut butter just to be sure,” he said.

Pajo is now urging local residents to buy local made peanut butter or those that are made by local accredited agencies.

He said this as he cited how there are some unlabeled peanut butters that are being sold in the market since they are not licensed or registered at the BFAD.

“We don’t know if those who made those peanut butters actually used clean utensils and had a clean working environment,” he said.

BFAD Director Leticia-Barbara Gutierrez earlier called for the immediate recall of selected brands of peanut butter and peanut butter and peanut paste-containing products from the US due to a risk of salmonella contamination. Salmonella is an organism which can cause infections, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

CLICK HERE for the latest 2nd Hand Laptops, Mobile Phones, SMART/ GLOBE /TALK 'N TEXT/ TOUCH MOBILE / SUN CELLULAR Postpaid, Pre-paid and International Roaming PROMOS, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Airlines Airline AIRFARE DISCOUNT tickets for sale!

Check out our Updated/Latest List of GOVERNMENT JOBS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT VACANT POSITIONS, PRIVATE JOBS, PRIVATE FULL-TIME JOBS, PRIVATE PART-TIME JOBS and OTHER ONLINE JOBS in this link!

Written by admin · Filed Under Cagayan de Oro