Agri agency sues Cavite importer over onion shipment
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has filed a complaint against Chastity Consumer Goods Trading for allegedly misdeclaring imported onions as processed food.
In a statement over the weekend, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the BPI complained to the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office for violating the Food Safety Act and the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978.
It named Chastity Consumer Goods Trading’s owner and president, Lina Bang Talan, as a respondent in the case.
Aside from not being a registered BPI importer, the complaint also said that Chastity Consumer Goods Trading lacks the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for importing the goods.
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Traders are required by law to secure the SPSIC to ensure that imported agricultural commodities are safe for human consumption and to prevent the spread of harmful pests that could threaten local crops and ecosystems.
“The complaint highlighted the risk posed by the misdeclaration, noting that the absence of proper permits and inspections could potentially endanger public health and safety,” the DA said.
The BPI filed the complaint as local authorities inspected two container vans of imported goods that arrived at the Port of Subic last August, which were consigned to Chastity Consumer Goods Trading, whose headquarters are located in Cavite province, based on its registration with the Food and Drug Administration.
“The goods were declared as frozen fish egg balls, a processed food item not under the jurisdiction of the BPI,” the DA said.
“However, upon inspection, the containers yielded thousands of cartons of yellow onions, which are subject to the DA-BPI’s regulations,” it added.
Carmela Rivera, area manager of BPI-National Plant Quarantine Services Division at the Port of Subic, said authorities initiated the inspection after receiving “derogatory information” implying that the shipments might contain undeclared agricultural products.
The inspection carried out by BPI and Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials and other port authorities confirmed that containers had yellow onions along with frozen fish eggs.
The BOC seized a total of 6,395 stacks of yellow onions, which contained high levels of microbiological contaminants, including E. coli, making them unsafe for human consumption, based on tests conducted by BPI.
Under the Food Safety Act, penalties include a fine of P50,000 to P500,000, suspension or revocation of appropriate authorization to operate a business, and imprisonment.
