Food Safety in the Philippines

1. THE PHILIPPINES FOOD
SAFETY SYSTEM AND ISSUES
Presented by:
CHRISTMASITA OBLEPIAS
FDRO III, BFAD

2. The Philippine Food Safety System
is lead by two agencies namely:
BFAD for DOH – Processed Food
Dept. of Agriculture and its
attached agencies
For animal & animal health, plant
plant health, slaughterhouse,
grains, milk.
FOOD SAFETY FROM FARM TO TABLE

3. Quality and safety of food – efforts
of everyone involved in the complex
chain of agriculture production,
processing, transport, food
production and consumption.
The assurance of food safety is a
shared responsibility from farm to
plate.
Other agencies involved:
DOST, Academe, TWG

4. Philippines Food Safety
Framework Initiated by
the DOH for
Food Safety Committee
Comprehensive, coordinated
forward-looking framework that
would strengthen the systems
that ensure the safety of the
countries food supply

5. PHILIPPINES FOOD SAFETY FRAMEWORK

6. FOOD CHAIN
Markets
Wholesalers
Distributors
Trader
Retailers Consumers
Processors
Manufacturers
Food Establishments
Air and Sea Ports
Farm Transporter
DA

7. Farm: Agriculture and Fisheries.
Department of Agriculture and
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR)fisheries and
aquatic resources protection and
safety, Bureau of Plant Industry
(BPI), for plant and plant health;
Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority
(FPA), for safe and proper use of
pesticides; and the Bureau of
Animal Industry (BAI), for animals
and animal health

8. FOOD INDUSTRY
Slaughterhouse – National
Meat Inspection Service
under the Department of
Agriculture (DA)
Food Processing – BFAD
Food Importation BFAD for
processed food
Raw fish, meat and poultry
DA.

9. FOOD SERVICES
Restaurants, and Institutional Food Services –
Schools, Hospitals, Caterers, Carinderias,
Street foods Vendors – Local government
regulators/sanitary inspectors. Policies –
National Center for Disease Prevention and
Control – Environmental Health and
Occupational Office
Ports and Seaports Caterers – Bureau of
Quarantine and International Health Service
of the Department of Health,
Household Food Consumption: Consumers
have the responsibility in proper handling and
storage of food at home.

10. Water Safety. National standards for drinking water and criteria
for surface waters are set by the Local Water Utilities.
Surveillance of Foodborne Diseases National Epidemiology
Center
Research Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) the
Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department
of Science and Technology (DOST), the Philippines Council for
Health Research and Development (PCHRD).
Food Development Center under the National Food Authority
the Department of Agriculture is another government agency
that undertakes research work on food usually serving the
industry.

11. Food Industry Consumers
PHILIPPINES FOOD SAFETY FRAMEWORK
Food Scientist Government Regulators
SAFE FOOD FOR ALL

12. FOOD CONSUMPTION DATA
Usual diet of Filipino households is rice-fish-vegetables.
Intake of Cereals (364g) constitutes 41.1% of the total food consumed per capita
per day (886g).
Intake of fish and products is 104g per capita per day, while it is 81g for meat and
poultry and their products.
Intake of vegetables is 111g per capita per day.
Intake of fruits amounts to 77g per capita per day.
Consumed in small amounts are milk and milk products (49g), starchy roots and
tubers (19g), sugars (24g), fats and oils (18g) and dried bean.

13. “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,
if one has not dined well”.
-- Virginia Woolf

14. Thank you and may we have a
fruitful seminar!

15. BFAD’s jurisdiction
Food processing sector
Regulatory Tool
1. cGMP is mandatory to food industries.
2. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).
The seafood industry has adopted this system and is
by a MOA between BFAR-DA
and BFAD-DOH.

16. FOOD SAFETY ISSUES IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. Pesticides
2. Heavy Metals (Lead)
3. Aflatoxin
4. Histamines
5. Allergy
6. Red Tide
7. Physical Contamination in Processed Food
8. Microbiological Contamination

17. Discipline risk type Example Cause and motivation Effect Public Health risk type Secondary Effect
Food Quality Accidental bruising of
fruit
Mishandling Unsalable product or
possible additional
contamination with E.
O157:H7
None or Food Safety Reduced brand equity or
Food Safety incident
Food fraud Intentional adulteration
of milk with melamine
Increased margin Toxic poisonings Food Safety Public fear and possible
lower prices industry-
wide.
Food safety Unintentional
contamination of raw
vegetables with E. coli
O157:H7
Limited field protection
and control during
harvesting and
processing
Illness and/or deaths Food Safety Damaged industry, recall
expense, and public fear
Food defense Intentional
of ground beef with
nicotine
Revenge intent against
the store/manager
through injury to
consumers
Nonlethal poisoning Food Defense Adulterated product,
damaged industry, recall
expense, and public fear
Food Security When all people at all
times have access to
sufficient, safe, nutritious
food to maintain a
healthy and active life
Droughts, shipping
disruptions, fuel
shortages, economic
instability and wars.
Undernourished /
starvation / illness and /
or death
Food Security