3-year-old boy critical after 'vetsin' meal

MANILA, Philippines — No thanks to poverty, a three-year-old boy is now in critical condition after he and his sister used monosodium glutamate (vetsin) for lunch in Sagay City in Negros Occidental. Online news site Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported on Thursday that Wilfredo Labajo Jr. was rushed to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, two days after he ate rice mixed with vetsin at their home in Bato village in Sagay City last Monday. The victim’s father, Wilfredo Labajo Sr., said the boy and his sister Jerelyn, 9, put MSG into their plain corn rice as the family could not afford regular rice or any proper viand. Labajo, an "ice buko" vendor, said he and his wife Jenelyn, had prepared the rice for their children before leaving them with neighbors when they went out to sell their products. The boy, who was first brought to the Alfredo Marañon District Hospital in Sagay on Monday, was still writhing in pain as of Wednesday night, said the report. Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer commonly added to food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. It has been reported to have adverse affects when taken in large amount but researchers have found no evidence so far showing that it could cause illness. - GMANews.TV