The Ecowaste Coalition has expressed alarm over the increasing number of food poisoning victims that has reached 300 public school children nationwide.
The group called on local government units to enforce Republic Act 10611, or the Food Safety Act of 2013 after monitoring food poisoning incidents that victimized school children from June 7 to July 3, 2015.
“In just 27 days, 287 children fell sick after consuming foods that were either adulterated, contaminated or past their expiration date,” said Thony Dizon, Ecowaste Project Protect coordinator.
“That’s over 10 pediatric food poisoning cases per day. Luckily, there were no reported fatalities,” he added.
Dizon said the spate of food poisoning incidents should serve as a wake-up call to LGUs on the urgency of putting the Implementing Rules and Regulations the law into force. He added the departments of Agriculture and Health promulgated the law’s IRR on February 20, 2015.
Under Rule 15, “LGUs shall be responsible for the implementation of the food safety requirements of foods produced within their areas of jurisdiction, including primary, postharvest, processed and prepackaged foods marketed in traditional markets as well as restaurants and school canteens, catered foods, street vended, and/or ambulant-vended foods.”
“While the enabling city or municipal ordinances are being prepared, we appeal to all food business operators to adhere to basic food safety requirements and controls to protect consumers from food poisoning,” Dizon said.
Citing news reports, the group noted that 36 pupils of Doongan Elementary School were rushed to the Agusan del Norte Provincial Hospital on July 3 after eating expired chocolate candies.
Prior to this, 114 students from Guelew Elementary School in San Carlos City were brought to the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital and the Virgen Milagrosa Medical Center on July 2 after consuming expired fruit-flavored chewing gum.
On June 19, 17 students from Don Francisco S. Dizon Elementary School in Davao City fell ill after drinking suspected contaminated fruit shake.
On June 10, 41 students from Man-uling Elementary School in Cauayan, Negros Occidental experienced food poisoning after eating a local doughnut sprinkled with sugar that had oxalic acid, a bleaching agent, mixed in it.
On June 7, 79 children at the Manila Boystown Complex in Marikina City were admitted at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center after consuming spoiled boiled eggs and hotdogs.
“With support from the lead national government agencies, we expect all LGUs to rise to the challenge of protecting their constituents, particularly the young children, against poisoning risks from unsafe foods,” Dizon said.