School items in shops inspected for safety

CEBU, Philippines - Less than two weeks before the classes commence in June, the Food and Drug Administration has started yesterday the annual inspection on school supplies of four retail establishments in Cebu City.

FDA officer-in-charge supervisor Rica Aumentado said that the inspection is part of their post-market surveillance.

Aumentado said in time for the opening of classes, the FDA will monitor school supplies as part of their jurisdiction.

The agency visited LNSI Trading Centre, Unitop General Merchandise Inc., Best Buy Mart Inc. and Peoples Education Supply Inc.  The school supplies that the agency bought will be brought to its Central Office in Manila for chemical testing.

Aumentado said there is no fixed date yet for the release of the laboratory test results if the supplies will be proven to have toxic chemicals or lead content that are dangerous for children.

Among the supplies the agency bought for laboratory testing were pencils, crayons, pencil cases, correction fluids and water color.

Yesterday’s inspection was the first for the year and FDA will soon be doing more.

However, Aumentado said that due to lack of manpower, there is no exact schedule for future inspections yet.

“Kun mahimo, tanan unta nga establishments ang inspection-non pero due to kuwang og tao, nag-random inspection lang mi,” she said.

If an establishment is found selling harmful products, the FDA will issue an advisory to that effect and their legal department will impose sanctions on responsible parties.

She urged consumers to visit the FDA website to check on the legitimate products registered by the agency to ensure the quality of supplies.

Aumentado said in 2013, no establishment was found selling products with harmful chemicals.

She hopes the same this year.  — Jean Marvette A. Demecillo and Sherwin Oro Gabrinez /JMD