BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
“Bongbong’s piaya and barquillos are safe for public consumption,” the Negros-based food manufacturer assured over the weekend, following an advisory released earlier by the Bureau of Food and Drugs Administration against the products.
FDA Advisory No. 2021-1589, dated June 28 and posted on Facebook on July 15, showed that after they verified through online monitoring or post-marketing surveillance, several products of Bongbong’s are not registered and had no corresponding Certificates of Product Registration (CPR).
The agency noted that under Republic Act No. 9711, or the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion, and advertising or sponsorship of health products without proper authorization are prohibited.
FDA stressed that since these unregistered food products have not gone through the evaluation process of the FDA, the agency cannot assure their quality and safety.
Bongbong’s, in a statement, admitted that an employee, whose task was to monitor business-related documents like their FDA-CPR, committed lapses in ensuring their application and this eventually led to non-registration.
In the letter of denial received by the firm from the FDA, the non-issuance of certification was due to technicalities, and not because of safety concerns on their products, the statement said.
The firm also said that the application for FDA-CPR for their original/plain piaya was made simultaneously with their ube piaya that the agency had approved and was issued a certification.
The food manufacturer is now processing the reapplication of their CPR and has addressed the technical issues raised by FDA, adding that they will see to it that similar incidents will not happen again.
They assured that they will continue to provide the public with quality delicacies and pasalubong products.*
