Manila shuts down 2 milk tea shops lacking city permits

Manila city hall has closed two milk tea shops after the stores failed to show proper permits, a report from GMA's “24 Oras” said Tuesday.

 

According to the report, the "Gen Tea" milk tea shop did not have proper business permits while the "I love milk tea" shop's food attendants had expired health cards.

 

Manila Health Officer Dr. Benjamin Yson said establishments are required to have a business permit, sanitary permit and a health card for their food attendants.

 

Meanwhile, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno ordered milk tea from one store to prove to the public that the deadly incident last Friday was an isolated one.

 

“Gusto natin ma-assure na ligtas pa rin itong pagkain na ito. Pero habang sinasabi nating ito'y ligtas, ang pamahalaan ng Lungsod ng Maynila naman ay maigting ang kampanya ngayon para sila'y inspeksyunin,” Moreno said.

 

Manila city hall personnel will soon inspect the warehouses of the suppliers of milk tea products.

 

The Manila Police Department is still conducting its investigation on the deadly incident last week.

 

Regulatory compliance

 

“Very minimal fee [ang babayaran for permits]. You don't pay for the sanitary permit. You just pay for the sanitary inspection fee which is very minimal amount, usually 100 to 200 pesos and it takes about the most two weeks to process the sanitary permit,” Yson said.

 

The local government's move comes after two reportedly died hours after they ingested milk tea from the Ergo Cha store in Manila last week in what has been labeled as a “milk tea poisoning” incident.

 

But the Health Department said in a recent statement that initial results show there were no toxic substances found in the milk tea samples they retrieved from the store.

 

Milk tea shop supervisor Christopher Ancio sales said sales in the city have dipped to an all-time low following the incident last Friday.

 

“Mga 70 percent po bumaba yung sales namin. Talagang sobrang baba po talaga kasi tanong ng mga customer ito ba yun [kung saan may namatay]?” Ancio said.  — Andrei Medina/ELR, GMA News