NBI uncovers mislabeling scam

MANILA, Philippines – Unscrupulous traders, beware.

This was the stern warning of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after it uncovered a multimillion-peso scam linking a Taytay, Rizal distributing firm to the mislabeling and violation of the intellectual property rights of popular energy drink Red Bull.

NBI agents swooped down on a warehouse on Ortigas Avenue, Taytay recently and seized Red Bull products with labels indicating these were brought into the country and marketed nationwide under questionable circumstances.

The seized products – Red Bull Supreme energy drink – bore the company name of exclusive distributor Energy Food and Drink (EFD) and the expiry date of September 2010.

“How could this have happened without our knowledge unless some people used illegal means?” asked EFD lawyer Gary Lauron.

Only EFD, according to Lauron, is authorized to import and distribute Red Bull in the Philippines. 

“Only EFD has a permit from the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to import Red Bull. As per our records, the products we have imported and marketed so far carry our company name and the expiry date of December 2009,” he said.

“So where did the Red Bull Supreme energy drink products with our company name and the expiry date of September 2010 come from? How did these products get into the country without our knowledge and without any record entry at the Bureau of Customs? According to our source, no less than 10 container vans of the product had been brought in and marketed nationwide,” he added.

Each container van carried Red Bull products worth P1.5 million, Lauron said.

The EFD has filed a formal complaint with the BFAD and the NBI-Intellectual Property Rights Division against the suspects behind the Red Bull scam.

Further investigation showed that mislabeled Red Bull Supreme energy drink products bearing the September 2010 expiry date had been distributed and marketed in Metro Manila, Cavite, Davao, Bicol, Pangasinan, Zamboanga and other parts of the country, including various supermarkets, drugstores and convenience store chains.

Section 168.2 of the Intellectual Property Code or Republic Act 8293 defines unfair competition as “any person who shall employ deception or any other means contrary to good faith by which he shall pass off the goods manufactured by him or which he deals or his business, or services for those of the one having established such goodwill, or who shall commit any acts calculated to produce said result, shall be guilty of unfair competition and shall be subject to an action therefore.”

Meanwhile, Republic Act 3720 or the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act states that “a food shall be deemed to be misbranded if its labeling is false or misleading in particular.”