DSWD: ‘Expired’ tuna samples to be submitted to FDA

MANILA, Philippines — Secretary Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ordered the immediate recall of the reportedly “expired” canned tuna which became part of the agency’s family food packs and sent samples to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing.

Gatchalian recalled the tuna after some of those who received them in Oriental Mindoro complained that they could not eat it because of foul smell. The May 5 report of DSWD in Region 4B, covering Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, showed the complaints range from having “unacceptable and unusual taste” to being “unpalatable” and “smells like rotten eggs.”

Gatchalian noted that the FDA will serve as the “third party that will determine whether the canned tuna is safe for the consumption of DSWD beneficiaries.”

The FDA route was upon the recommendation of the fact-finding board that Gatchalian created for purposes of verifying reports that the canned tuna had been contaminated prior to distribution in the Mimaropa region.

Initial feedback gathered by the Mimaropa field office indicated several complaints against Ocean’s Best Tuna from DSWD beneficiaries from the City of Calapan and the municipalities of Naujan, Bulalacao and Roxas.

Gatchalian reiterated that the Ocean’s Best Tuna products were not expired but the FDA tests will validate if the expiry date stamped on the cans correspond to the tuna flakes’ quality.

During a fact-finding meeting, it was found that the DSWD’s stockpile of canned tuna was not expired, as samples of the canned goods showed that its expiration is in 2025, or a good two years from the present year.

“The FDA test will also determine if the expiration date stamped on the cans really corresponds to the state and quality of the tuna flakes inside cans,” DSWD spokesman Rommel Lopez pointed out.

The agency claimed it was “unfortunate that Ocean’s Best Tuna, one of the items included in the DSWD’s Family Food Packs, has been the subject of numerous complaints from recipients and beneficiaries.”

“The DSWD secretary also directed concerned officials to study all options including sanctions on the supplier, withholding of payment and even blacklisting from the list of accredited suppliers,” it added.

“The DSWD will wait for the results of the FDA tests as this will determine objectively and scientifically whether the questioned canned tuna flakes are really safe for the consumption of the beneficiaries or not,” Lopez said.

“Until we have the full report of the FDA, we cannot categorically say if the complaints were due to taste preference or if there is really contamination in the cans of Ocean’s Best Tuna,” he added.