Gordon seeks strict monitoring of retail stores
vs repacking banned dairy products

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today sought for a sustained effort to prevent a replication of a similar incident in China where children were sickened by melamine-tainted milk by closely monitoring retail stores that may repackage banned milk products and sell them in the market.

Gordon said the country is very vulnerable to products coming through the backdoor, apprehensive that milk products from China the government banned may find their way to small retail stores nationwide that are not closely monitored by government agencies.

"The fact that the country is very vulnerable to products coming in through illegal channels should impel the government to conduct stricter monitoring of the entry of these goods and to punish all who are responsible for violation of our laws," he said.

In filing Senate Resolution 661, Gordon proposed that retail establishments post notices in conspicuous areas of their stores that they are selling and distributing dairy products from China.

In the wake of reports of the melamine-contamination in China, Gordon had earlier called on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for an inventory of imports from China to determine if Chinese milk products were brought into the country.

He added that responsible officials of local government units (LGUs) should exercise their police power by inspecting establishments and addressing any infraction by prosecution under our laws.

Gordon also urged the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to test all food products for human and animal consumption, not only limited to those coming from China, for the presence of the chemical melamine.

"The safety of people, especially our children, is of paramount importance. More than reactionary and stop gap measures right now, we should come up with permanent safeguards for the earlier detection and immediate lock out of potentially unsafe food products," he said.

Gordon noted that almost 53,000 children have now been sickened by melamine-contaminated milk in China. More than 80% of the 12,892 children hospitalized in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger.

Melamine is an organic base first synthesized in 1834 by German chemist Justus von Liebig, also known as the father of the fertilizer industry. This chemical compound is high in nitrogen, which registers as elevated protein levels in food product testing.