US FDA ban on PH sauces sparks shortages in New York shops

NEW YORK — In stores around Little Manila in Woodside, New York, supplies of ketchup, lechon sauces, and shrimp paste (bagoong alamang) from the Philippines have already run out.

This developed after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Import Alert Number 99-45 on Oct. 25, banning multiple all-purpose sauces and shrimp pastes imported from the Philippines.

Aling Vicky has been returning repeatedly to a Fil-Am store in Little Manila in search of shrimp paste, a key ingredient in her cooking.

"For everything I eat, I use shrimp paste. You know how we Filipinos are—whether it's for coconut milk dishes or other foods, I always add shrimp paste. Especially with okra, there's shrimp paste. It's not just me; my daughter and I both use it. I didn't realize it would run out. I'm now rationing what little we have left," she said.

Ivan of Fil-Am Store in Woodside told GMA Integrated News that the shortage is also affecting Filipino restaurants that typically use shrimp paste in kare-kare, lechon kawali sauce, and ketchup for Filipino-style spaghetti.

"We don't have it anymore. According to US-FDA, it's not allowed because it contains an ingredient that isn’t permitted. Restaurants here are upset because their kare-kare can't have shrimp paste. The supplier mentioned there might be new shipments of Mang Tomas, ketchup, Jufran, and UFC by the end of November. Many people are complaining because they're missing key ingredients. For spaghetti, there's no ketchup, and for kare-kare, no shrimp paste—all home-cooked dishes are affected," Ivan said.

According to Cheryl, stock supervisor at Kabayan Turo-Turo and Kakainin etc., supplies ran out as early as last month.

"I think it was last month. I believe they're still working on the ingredients. Many people are looking for it, and when you buy it from others, it's really expensive, but now, there's none at all—no stock available," Cheryl said.

The import alert affects around 30 countries worldwide.

Companies on the red list are subject to "Detention without Physical Examination," meaning any attempt to import these products into the U.S. will result in confiscation.

According to the import alert, products can only be removed from the red list if the companies demonstrate they have resolved issues related to the food additive in their products.

Nutri-Asia Inc., one of the Philippine manufacturers affected by the ban, said in a statement last Tuesday that it already shipped the reformulated products as early as August, and that the shipment was already undergoing "routine US FDA inspection."

NutriAsia said it complied with all regulatory requirements of countries to which we export our products.

"We understand that these regulations are periodically updated based on new research, local health trends, and the public health needs of their citizens," NutriAsia said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News