The Department of Trade & Industry in Negros Oriental has assured it will provide assistance to the Food and Drugs Administration here regarding the discovery of a “foreign object” in a sachet of processed pork and beans.
DTI’s Angeline Gonzalez, however, clarified that the provincial FDA, headed by Vicky Sibala, is the lead agency to look into the incident.
The matter has been reported to the FDA while the distributor of the branded pork and beans has attempted to reach the complainant, said Gonzalez.
Also, the store from which the food sachet was purchased has reportedly taken down from the shelves the entire batch of the pork and beans, whose brand has been withheld while authorities are still conducting an investigation.
Last week, the chief of a government agency in the province, who has requested anonymity pending investigation, reported to authorities that she found a strange looking object in the processed pork and beans sachet she had purchased.
The object, which is uncharacteristic of a pork and beans preparation, measured about the size or a little larger than the bowl of a regular spoon, as shown in photos taken by the complainant.
The pork and beans with the strange-looking object has been forwarded to authorities for laboratory testing.
Meanwhile, the DTI has requested the distributor of this particular brand of pork and beans to conduct random expiry checks as well as monitor their accounts in the different stores in the province, Gonzalez said.
The DTI is also monitoring the distributor to see whether it has followed the instructions of the said agency, she added. (PNA)
