Food manufacturer takes exception to dirty chicharon report

A company engaged in the food business for more than 30 years took exception to a report aired on “Imbestigador" about food factories that allegedly do not comply with sanitary requirements in the preparation of the Filipino delicacy chicharon. “Our products are always known as ‘Laging Bagong Luto’ as we maintain our company’s reputation of providing the cleanest way of preparing and cooking chicharon," Rey C. Lapid, president of R. Lapid’s Chicharon & Barbecue, said in a letter sent to GMA News. R. Lapid’s Chicharon & Barbecue boasts of 60 outlets all over the country. Lapid voiced “concern" that the airing of the June 9 “Imbestigador" episode on the unhygienic production of chicharon in a factory in Bulacan “has its drawback not only against our company but also the entire chicharon industry." Lapid blamed the “laxity and negligence" of government agencies as among the causes of the problem of unhygienic food preparation. “Imbestigador," led by veteran broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez, exposed a food factory in Bulacan that churns out chicharon using not just pig skin but also buffalo skin and cooks it in reused oil so many times until it was black. The episode also revealed that the factory is located near a pig sty. Lapid admitted that after the airing of “Imbestigador’s" June 9 episode their chicharon outlets “have experienced low revenues." Lapid lauded “Imbestigador" for exposing the “ill practices" of the factory, even as he insisted on clearing his company’s name and those of other manufacturers that follow the correct food processing procedures. - GMANews.TV