PMAP slams DTI Usec’s ‘anti-poor’ bias

A day after staging a lightning protest at the Turkish flour exhibit at the World Food Expo (WOFEX) 2010, the People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) asked yesterday for the immediate resignation of Trade Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya for "showing extreme bias against the welfare of poor Filipinos."

PMAP made the demand after Maglaya directed the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the "continuing illegal dumping" of "contaminated" Turkish flour into the Philippines.

PMAP chair Ronald Lumbao said that Maglaya’s published statement that "the FDA and BOC should fix" the issues concerning the technical smuggling and the reported contamination of Turkish flour with cancer-causing mycotoxin is a "clear sell out."

Lumbao said that instead of saying that the Philippines should succumb to Turkey and the EU bloc, Maglaya should have asked the FDA to protect the health of Filipinos against toxic Turkish flour.

"Alam kaya ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na isinusugal ni Usec. Maglaya ang kaligtasan ng pinakamahihirap na Pilipino na ang kasalanan lang ay hindi nila alam na gawa na pala sa Turkish flour ang kanilang pandesal o pansit na kinakain,"said Lumbao.

Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/08062010/busi11.html

‘Toxic’ Turkish flour slammed at food expo

MEMBERS of an urban-poor group on Wednesday staged a lightning rally at the start of the World Food Expo (Wofex) 2010 in Manila, denouncing the “health hazard posed by toxic Turkish flour used in the making of pan de sal and noodles, popular food for Filipinos, especially the poor.”

Bearing placards with such calls like “Pan de sal na mura, panlason sa masa!” members of the People’s Movement Against Poverty (Pmap) aired their protest at the venue of the food expo at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Led by Ronald Lumbao, national chairman, and Rommel Mendoza, youth sector representative, the protesters sent a  message to Turkish Ambassador Adnan Basaga that said, “though most Filipinos are poor, we are humans, too. We deserve food, not poison from you!”

Lumbao denounced a test report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearing Turkish flour, saying that the finding cannot be believed because of reports that a lobby group from Turkey, abetted by local importers, wined and dined government officials during the test period.

“Gusto naming kumain ng tinapay, pero mas gusto naming mabuhay! Stop the illegal dumping of toxic Turkish flour! Punish the greedy importers!” shouted the protesters.

The Pmap also said Turkish flour is grossly undervalued at customs to as low as just $100 per metric ton so its local importers can escape paying the proper duties and value-added tax.

But to Lumbao and Pmap, the issue that reaches the stomach is that Filipinos no longer know whether the pan de sal and noodles they are eating are made from Turkish flour and whether, like the nicotine in cigarettes, it will also kill them in the long run.

Lumbao pointed out that the FDA test “result” is also contradicted by a more thorough report in the Journal of Food, which cited a study by the University of Istanbul of Turkish flour being contaminated with cancer-causing mycotoxins from mold, mildew and cereal pests.

“How come the FDA gave the Turkish ambassador an advance notice on the test result? This is a fact because the ambassador even issued a press release boasting about it, a week before the FDA officially released the result to the media,” he said in Filipino.

Lumbao  averred that Turkish traders and their Filipino partners who bring in the flour seemed to have taken advantage of Wofex 2010 to show how to mix Turkish flour with other flour to mask the former’s low-nutrient and unsavory taste.

“Some local bakers say that to make pan de sal from Turkish flour, it has to be mixed with other flour as an extender to increase their profit. Now, Turkish traders had come in to teach us, of all things, how to use preservatives and flavorings to overcome the moldy taste of goods made from their toxic flour,” the protesters said.

The “dumping” of Turkish flour is also a hot issue in Indonesia, with the filing of the  complaints of violation of that country’s anti-dumping law being contemplated both by consumers and affected traders, the protesters said.

Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28458:toxic-turkish-flour-slammed-at-food-expo&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63

Protest mars Turkish flour product expo

HAVING BEEN cleared by the local food and drug administration, Turkey’s biggest flour producers and exporters are highlighting their products at the World Food Expo 2010 being held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

But about 15 demonstrators led by Ronald Lumbao of the People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) Wednesday staged a lightning rally and engaged security guards of the SMX complex in a brief scuffle. They wore t-shirts saying: “Pandesal na mura, panlason sa masa (cheap bread rolls, toxic to the masses) and “no to importation of toxic Turkish flour.

Earlier, local flour millers brought up the possibility that rival Turkish flour, which was being sold 25 percent cheaper than locally milled flour, was toxic. The Department of Health, however, said tests showed Turkish flour imports were safe.

“Our mills in Turkey are some of the biggest and most modern in the world. These mills produce flour in compliance with international standards on quality and safety,” said Turgay Ugtu, deputy chair of Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporter Unions Sector Committee, an organization of flour producers and exporters in Turkey.

“We are assuring everyone that the wheat flour that we produce in Turkey is safe and of good quality,” he added at a press conference Wednesday.

Ugtu’s claim was supported by Binondo-based businessman Ernesto Chua Co Kiong, whose Malabon Longlife Trading Corporation is a leading importer and wholesaler of Turkish flour in the country.

Kiong said the cheaper Turkish flour has helped many bread and noodle-making enterprises thrive—and keep down the price of the Filipino pandesal, a common breakfast staple.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100805-284989/Protest-mars-Turkish-flour-product-expo

Food or poison?

Istanbul University of Turkey has declared in the global Journal of Food that Turkish flour, which is being imported into our country, is contaminated with cancer-causing mycotoxin.

Yet our own Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has pronounced that it is safe for human consumption, endangering the health of millions of Filipino consumers of pan de sal and other bread products made of Turkish flour.

How come the FDA released in advance to the Turkish Embassy the result of its “test,” one week before informing the public through the media? Does this not suggest undue influence?

Is it true that some government officials had been “wined and dined” by a lobby group of local importers and Turkish traders, resulting in a favorable finding for the Turkish flour?

If the shelf life of flour is only one month before it develops mold and insects, how come Turkish flour in the Philippines has been given one-year expiry dates?

Is this the reason behind reports that Turkish flour sold in the Philippines is infested with lice and mold, the primary source of cancer-causing mycotoxins?

Why do our government officials turn a blind eye to this issue, placing the health and safety of our people at risk just so some greedy traders can make a killing?

Can the Turkish ambassador’s self-serving claim that the flour sold and consumed in Turkey has the same “high quality” as the flour exported to our country be believed?

The price of Turkish flour in Turkey at the Polatli Commodity Exchange averages at US$500 per metric ton, while that which reaches the Philippines is valued at less than US$300 per metric ton reference value set by the Bureau of Customs. Is not our country being made a dumping ground for uneatable Turkish flour?

The Turkish flour imported into the Philippines is grossly undervalued possibly to escape customs duties and taxes as well.

With Customs setting the reference value of imported flour at $300 per metric ton, Turkish flour is being imported at a suspiciously much lower value as shown by the chart below.

SAMPLE OF WHEAT FLOUR ARRIVALS FROM TURKEY

Port of Manila, MICP/ As of March 5, 2010

IMPORTER Entry Date Net Weight Declared CNF

(March)

Ingredient Mngt. Asia 3-March-10 120 MT $89.58/MT

(February)

Malabon Long Life 24-Feb-10 337.50 MT $295/MT

Mountain Glory Ent. 22-Feb-10 960 MT $186.25/MT

(January)

Uni-Trade Mfg. Corp. 27-Jan-10 240 MT $199.99/MT

Is the Food Expo showcasing Turkish flour at SMX Center some kind of damage-control, an effort to show how Turkish flour can be mixed with other flour to mask its low-nutrient content as established by an earlier BFAD order for it to be fortified?

Is it at the Expo where preservatives and flavourings will be mixed to mask the moldy taste of Turkish flour?

President Benigno Aquino III should look into this matter because it involves his concern of technical smuggling and corruption at the Bureau of Customs, not to mention the danger posed to the health of millions of Filipinos consuming Turkish flour.

What’s the difference between mycotoxin and the nicotine in cigarettes, when they both kill, albeit slowly?

With Indonesia already moving to stop the dumping of Turkish flour there, the Philippine government should no less to protect our people and to stop smuggling at the Bureau of Customs.

Once more, we appeal to P-Noy to ban the entry of garbage flour into our country!

“ANG PAGPILI PARA SA IKABUBUTI NG TAUMBAYAN;

ANG PAGTANAW SA INTERES NG NAKARARAMI;

ANG PAGKAPIT SA PRINSIPYO… ITO PO ANG TUWID NA DAAN.”

--President Noynoy Aquino