FDA spots hundreds of food brands unsuitable for consumption

By Admin 26 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
26 October 2023, Sittwe
 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Health Ministry said that since January, it has detected 318 brands of food unsuitable for human consumption in both Myanmar’s traditional markets and being sold online.
 
The FDA carried out checks on 4,051 brands of food sold in the domestic market, and flagged 318 of them as dangerous for consumption.
 
“Those foods are not registered with the FDA,” said Professor Dr. Khin Zaw, director-general of the FDA. “We have told manufacturers not to sell those products, and also made them sign a document that they would face legal action for noncompliance.”
 
The FDA, however, could only warn the unregistered manufacturers whose addresses were available. Some foods are sold only online, with fake FDA certificates, said the FDA.
 
“We didn’t know. So, we have eaten [food banned by the FDA]. It would be best for consumers if the FDA strictly regulates, seizes dangerous food from the market and takes legal action [against manufacturers],” said Daw Win Mar, a resident of Yangon.
 
The FDA said it could not find out the identity and addresses of the manufacturers of 19 food brands flagged as dangerous for consumption.
 
Those foods contain chemicals whereby long-term consumption can result in failure of the stomach, liver and kidneys, said the FDA, which has threatened to take legal action against sellers under Section 28(a) of the National Food Law.
 
“The FDA has told edible oil refineries to apply for FDA certificates by April of next year, so all of us are applying for FDA certificates,” said an edible oil refinery owner from Magwe.
 
The FDA warned on Wednesday that it would take legal action against the selling of prohibited foods. Despite the FDA’s actions to control the sale of dangerous foods, many of those foods are still widely sold on the internet, including via social media.