The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will send samples of canned tuna that have been recalled due to “foul odor” complaints to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing.
The FDA will act as an independent third-party certification body to determine whether the canned tuna, which is included in the DSWD’s family food packs, is safe for beneficiaries to consume.
“The DSWD will wait for the results of the FDA tests as this will determine objectively and scientifically whether the questioned canned tuna flakes are really safe for the consumption of the beneficiaries or not,” DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Romel Lopez said.
Lopez said that until the DSWD receives the full FDA report, “we cannot categorically say if the complaints were due to taste preference or there is really contamination in the cans.”
(DSWD File Photo)
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian directed the creation of a fact-finding board, composed of DSWD officials, after its Mimaropa field office submitted a report last May 5 confirming several complaints about the quality of the canned tuna that was included in the food pack for oil spill-affected families in Calapan City, Naujan, Bulalacao, and Roxas in Oriental Mindoro.
The complaints range from “unacceptable and unusual taste” to “unpalatable” and “smells like rotten eggs,” according to the report.
Gatchalian has already ordered the recall of the local brand of canned tuna included in its relief packs on May 6.
The fact-finding board informed the representatives of the two canned tuna suppliers that the DSWD will write the FDA a letter and send them samples of the canned tuna flakes taken from the pre-positioned family food packs in Calapan City, Naujan, Bulalacao, and Roxas in Oriental Mindoro.
During the fact-finding meeting, it was revealed that the DSWD’s stockpile of canned tuna was not expired, as samples of the canned goods showed that its expiration will be in 2025.
“The FDA test will also determine if the expiration date stamped on the cans really corresponds to the state and quality of the tuna flakes inside cans,” Lopez said.
He noted that if the FDA test results are negative for the canned tuna company; the DSWD has a number of options, including replacement of the entire lot by the suppliers and other sanctions, such as withholding payment and even blacklisting from the list of accredited suppliers.