URC says PHL products safe amid Vietnam recall

Following the recall order of its flagship beverage brand C2 bottled tea drink in Vietnam, Universal Robina Corp. (URC) said all its products in the Philippines are safe.

"In the Philippines, all URC products remain fully compliant with food standards," Renato Salud, URC senior vice president for Corporate Affairs, said in an emailed statement.

"We shall be reaching out proactively to our customers and partners to assure them of this fact as well as answer questions they may have regarding the development in Vietnam," Salud added.

Since May 20, URC Vietnam has been ordered to pull out batches of its bottled tea drink C2 and Rong Do energy drinks after tests found these products contain higher levels of lead that exceeded permitted limits. 

A report by Tuio Tre News, a Vietnamese news website, revealed, the lead content in two batches of C2 produced on April 2, 2016 and January 11, 2016 was 0.085 mg/l and 0.46mg/l, respectively.

Moreover, the lead content in Rong Do produced on February 19, 2016, January 14, 2016, and November 10, 2015 were 0.053 mg/l, 0.21 mg/l, and 0.068 mg/l, respectively.

The lead content in the products were higher than the allowable level of 0.05 mg/l, the report said.

Salud reiterated that the company is fully aware of Vietnam's Ministry of Health recall order of two batches of C2 Lemon 350 ml and two batches of Rong Do energy drink 240 ml.

He said that the pulled out C2 drinks batches were manufactured on January 11, 2016 and February 4, 2016 and Rong Do energy drinks were made on November 10, 2015 and January 14, 2016.

"The rest of the URC products in Vietnam are not affected," Salud noted.

URC Vietnam has likewise proposed to the Vietnam MOH proactive measures including alignment on a common testing protocol and regular monitoring/checks of its products at its production site by the MOH itself, he said.

"URC is confident these measures will help the authorities in the exercise of their mandate," the company's corporate affairs officer said. —JST, GMA News