P300-M rice iron fortifier stocks in NFA warehouses expired - COA

MANILA, Philippines - At least 48,584 bags of rice iron fortifier worth P299.9 million stored in warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Metro Manila and the provinces, have expired due to prolonged storage, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in a report released yesterday.

In the report, state auditors, who conducted an inspection of NFA storage facilities, said non-utilization of the Iron Rice Premix (IRP) “may result in wastage if not immediately used for its intended purpose.”

IRP is a fortifier that is added to raw rice to become iron-fortified rice or I-Rice pursuant to Republic Act 8976 or the Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000.

State auditors also discovered that two units of rice fortification equipment and blender worth P5.435 million purchased by the NFA Central Office and transferred to the NCR South District Office in 2008 and 2009 for the iron fortification project, have remained idle.

They said the NFA should prepare action plans to dispose of or use the expired IRP stocks to avoid wastage, and request for laboratory analysis from the Food and Drug Administration to make sure that the products are still fit for human consumption.

NFA officials though gave assurance that based on a certification from the Food Development Center, the IRP stocks can still be used even after one year and seven months from its expiration date as indicated in the label.

The NFA management added that the rice fortification equipment was unutilized due to low sales of I-Rice.

Meanwhile, COA proposed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development or the Office of the President that instead of giving the entire amount of conditional cash to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, 50 percent or part of it be given in the form of I-Rice.