Political Tidbits
Include China beauty products in tests
By Belinda Olivares-Cunanan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:33:00 10/07/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Representatives Luis Villafuerte, Martin Romualdez and Aurelio Gonzales are on the right track when they filed a joint resolution directing the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to widen the tests it has been conducting on food items such as milk and canned goods from China, to find out which have been contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine. The congressmen want to include beauty products from China following studies by the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health showing that “nearly 900 of the chemicals used in cosmetics are toxic and have been linked to deadly side effects.”
Including beauty products from China is urgent inasmuch as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told Cecile Alvarez and this columnist when he appeared as guest on our “Paaralang Bayan” last Sunday night on radio dzRH that repeated use of toxic-infected products is very harmful to consumers. Duque noted that babies taking contaminated milk for some time could end up with damage to their kidneys and other organs, whereas adults are not as susceptible as they don’t take such products regularly and their bodies have ways to handle the toxins. By the same token, millions of women have taken to using Chinese cosmetics such as lipsticks, face powder and hair dyes regularly, because they are much cheaper than American or French brands. Use of contaminated cosmetics, however, could produce skin cancer and asthma and reproductive disorders. The earlier the BFAD can test these Chinese cosmetics, the safer Filipino consumers will be.
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The problem of contaminated food and beauty products is only the latest gigantic woe to bedevil our huge neighbor, following killer earthquakes, massive floods and charges of misrepresentation during the Beijing Olympics last August. Contamination further shakes confidence in the integrity and safety of Chinese products. A few years ago, toys made in China by a giant US company had to be pulled out of the global market after they were found to be laced with toxic materials. Last year Chinese-made pet food was also pulled out after thousands of pets died mysteriously in the US.
China has to address this credibility problem more forcefully, as it is bound to affect its giant export industry. Coming after its massive spending for the Beijing Olympics and huge losses in the global financial crisis, such as its $300-billion exposure in Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a slowdown of the Chinese economy could worsen the fragile world economy, and the Philippines is bound to suffer as China is a huge market for our fruits and metals. It’s hard to say how extensive this food contamination is, it’s safe to assume worldwide implications, since China has a wide consumer market abroad and many foreign companies, such as Cadbury and Nestlé, are manufacturing from there. This melamine meltdown can be likened to the world financial crisis as its contagion could spread to the four corners of the globe.
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Duque sees silver linings in the melamine issue. In response to a possible shortage of infant milk here owing to the pullout of Chinese brands, he plugged anew for breastfeeding, which is down 16 percent in the Philippines. Duque pointed out that breastfeeding is still best for infants as it provides them immediate immunity from sickness. World Health Organization studies show that it increases their mental capacity by 5 to 8 percent.
When I observed that mothers now find it difficult to breastfeed since most of them work outside the home, Duque said government is setting up “breastfeeding stations” in places like shopping malls, where working mothers can feed their babies (there are now 27 such stations). He said there are now three “milk banks” — two in Metro Manila, namely the Philippine Children’s Medical Center on Quezon Avenue and the Fabella Memorial Medical Center in Tondo, and one in Cebu City — where mothers can deposit breast milk and avail of it when needed. There are plans to increase the number of breastfeeding stations and milk banks.
Another benefit of the China milk crisis, Duque said, is that it could boost local dairy production.
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Critics have been harsh on the BFAD for being slow in coming out with the list of contaminated products from China, after Duque imposed an absolute ban on all Chinese made products while tests are being conducted. However, Duque said BFAD personnel have been working around the clock and many of them have had little sleep lately. But it’s good to remember that hardly anyone is ever satisfied with government’s handling of a crisis. Then, too, where the BFAD has always kept a low profile, now it’s in an emergency mode and problems in its structure and personnel have been exposed and Congress now realizes the urgent need to increase its personnel and budget. If the problem is not Chinese products, it could be an epidemic. There are also a lot of medicinal claims by popular herbal products that need to be validated.
Another problem cropped up when a private laboratory-testing firm, one of 14 accredited by BFAD, came up with its own positive findings about milk contamination, but the Department of Health forbade their disclosure until the findings could be validated by the BFAD. One senator wanted them released to the public without BFAD validation, but Duque said no. I can see Duque’s reason: The public’s welfare could suffer if unverified findings are disclosed and these are subsequently proved wrong. The government would then be blamed for it. Or the results could be manipulated by unscrupulous parties for pecuniary or even political gain. What the BFAD could do is to mobilize the resources of university laboratories so that it can conduct the necessary tests faster during this melamine crisis.
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