Some food SMEs in CV have no FDA license

CEBU, Philippines - A number of small and medium enterprises in Central Visayas are not yet licensed with the Food and Drug Administration, a local official of the agency said yesterday.

FDA-7 Section Head Sarah Oriol said the agency is now expanding its awareness drive on FDA licenses and regulations with the help of other agencies and the Cebu-based Confederation of Food Manufacturers and Exporters Inc. (CoFMEI).

 "We understand that there are many SMEs that are not licensed with FDA," Oriol told reporters yesterday at the sidelines of a regulatory training of the agency.

 Oriol disclosed that more than 4,200 establishments in Region 7 are so far registered with FDA. However, she could not readily reveal the number of those unregistered.

 FDA registers and gives licenses to manufacturers of processed food, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices and hazardous substances, among others.

 Claiming that the agency faces manpower constraints, Oriol said it plans to augment its personnel who would monitor unregulated food firms. "We are targeting more or less a hundred establishments in a month," she added.

 FDA licensing had been identified as one of the hurdles faced by SMEs.

Timothy Moises, regulatory officer at FDA, said the agency had cut the processing time for license to operate (LTO) and certificate of product registration (CPR) from 114 to 53 days.

 It had also introduced the online system for the filing of licenses and product registration to address the lengthy processing period, he said.

 Moises added that all products regulated by FDA will be covered by its electronic registration starting November or December this year. "By next year all products will be under the e-registration," he said.

 In a separate interview, CoFMEI President Bess Gaw claimed there are food processors that lack information on the importance of getting an LTO and CPR from FDA.

 Some are also not keen on complying with the standards set by the regulator.

 Getting the required license, Gaw pointed out, would affect the positioning of local businesses amid the economic integration in South East Asia.

 Gaw said food processors need to be licensed if they want their products to be competitive both in the local and overseas markets.

 CoFMEI, which currently has 30 members, is a new food association composed of food manufacturers in Cebu. (FREEMAN)