ESCUDERO BILL TO TIGHTEN DAIRY CONTROL

To counter another milk scare and scandal like what the melamine-laced Chinese dairy products brought to the country, Senator Chiz Ecudero filed a bill pushing for the development of the local dairy industry.

Senate Bill No. 2670 or the amendment of the "National Dairy Development Act of 1995" seeks to accelerate the development of the local dairy industry and pursue self-reliance in the country's local production.

Escudero said while it was the government's responsibility to immediately pull out milk products suspected of melamine contamination pending testing by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD, it was clear that the government's response was reactive.

"The China milk scandal is an obvious lapse in the observance of milk safety products. Part of the solution that the government must provide should be a long-term one which at the same time develops the full potential of our local industry".

The bill seeks to give regulatory power to the existing National Dairy Authority, created by virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 7884. At present, NDA is constrained to institute milk safety measures directly on milk product imports because of the lack of power to do so.

To date, the regulation of milk products rest on the combined yet still wanting efforts of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the Bureau of Agriculture and Fishery Product Standards (BAFPS), the Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Under S.B. No. 2670, the NDA will also assume control and supervision over all dairy-related government agency personnel and programs, including the BAI's Dairy Division, the Livestock Development Council's Dairy Division, the Philippine Dairy Corporation, Livelihood Corporation's Laguna Processing center and other dairy related government agencies, division, councils subject to the guidelines prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.

Once the bill is enacted, the NDA will set up a one-stop shop inspection and surveillance center which will monitor, on the basis of existing substantive evidence any entity engaged in any dairy production and marketing malpractice.

Marketing malpractice, as defined by the bill, shall consist of any of the following: (a) unhygienic farm and plant practices which tend to contaminate milk and milk products; (b) adulteration of raw milk by adding water; (c) unclean hand milking which tend to cause mastitis and thus contaminate milk; (d) dumping of imported milk products; (e) undeclared stocking or inventory, buffering or hoarding; (f) unfounded price hiking; and (g) mislabeling, and others that maybe identified in the implementing rules and regulations.

"We do not want, and we must never opt, another milk scare in our midst, where a significant number of children died in China due to melamine contamination. We must learn to strengthen our local milk industry for self sufficiency and food security as well".

In 2007, the country spent US$4.92 billion for agricultural importation or about 8.5 percent of the total cost of everything we imported. Out of this amount, 13% went to rice while dairy products took 12% of the total agricultural import.

The country imports as much as US$1.1 billion annually, yet the local dairy producers supply just 1% of the market demand.

"If we can only gear the up the NDA to act potently in steering the local dairy industry, we secure the country's food supply at the same time we provide economic progress to our own people, thus stabilizing the nation".