19 Wyeth milk products taken out of 2 supermarkets in Cebu

At least 19 milk products manufactured by Wyeth have been pulled out of supermarkets in Cebu City, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) for Central Visayas reported over the weekend. Sun Star Cebu reported Saturday that BFAD sent field officers to drugstores, supermarkets and grocery stores to check for “contaminated" milk products. “Everything is already in place," said Grace Cordona, one of the officers sent to the field, adding there are no more Wyeth products affected by a recall order on the shelves of Cebu City-based supermarkets and drugstores. “We will continue to monitor various stores," she added, referring to smaller establishments in the area. But Angelita Salarda, chief of the Department of Health 7 health and regulation division, admitted they have no jurisdiction over sari-sari stores. Salarda sent two teams of food and drug regulation officers to check stores selling Wyeth products like Bonakid, Bonamil, Bonna, Progress Gold, Promil, Promil Gold and Promil Kid. The BFAD central office ordered last Tuesday to recall cans or sachets of milk products manufactured by Wyeth Philippines, manufactured between May 16 and July 26, 2006 and those marked with 172 as their lot number. It also issued an advisory to consumers who bought Wyeth milk products with lot number 172 to return the products to the pharmaceutical company or any of its licensed distributors. BFAD issued the order after hearing complaints from consumers that some milk products were contaminated and that the cans bore rust marks. Cordona said most of the supermarkets and drugstores were already aware of the BFAD advisory and had already taken precautions. She said the 19 milk products were taken off the shelf of Save More supermarket at the Elizabeth Mall on N. Bacalso Avenue and Leon Kilat Street. Cordona said that before they visited the supermarket Friday, it had already removed the products from the shelf per order of the SM Supermarket when the news broke about the recall order. BFAD 7 also advised stores to replace any returned product. Salarda said food and drug regulation officers conduct routine checkups every year. But with the latest development, they still have a few more days left to finish their checkups. She said that aside from a mother complaining about a discolored Bonamil she bought that resulted in her child having diarrhea, there have been no other complaints of “untoward incidents." The mother who bought the discolored Bonamil was given a note to have the product replaced, Salarda said. The mother, though, has yet to return to the establishment. Monina Coyoca, a food and drug regulation officer, said she received a phone call Friday about a worried mother who bought one of the milk products covered by the recall order. Coyoca said she advised the mother to have the child checked by a doctor and continue observing the child’s health. This also goes for all those who bought the affected product, she said. - Sun Star Cebu