FOOD AND DRUGS ADMINISTRATION WARNING ABOUT FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

FDA THROWS FULL SUPPORT BEHIND DOH AND SECRETARY CABRAL ON HERBALS A.O.
Press Release/ 16 June 2010

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the government regulatory arm tasked to ensure the safety and quality of food products, drugs, cosmetics and other devices in the country, today reiterated its “full and unequivocal support” for the Department of Health’s issuance of Administrative Order No. 2010-0008 which requires the translation of the cautionary statement “No Approved Therapeutic Claims” into Filipino.
“DOH Administrative Order 2010-0008 was issued mainly to inform the public that food/dietary supplements are not drugs and should not be used to treat disease. As the State’s main arm in the task of promoting and protecting the health of the people, the DOH must explore all possible means to fulfill its mandate. We are of the staunch belief that the DOH was well within the bounds of reason and authority in the issuance of the questioned Administrative Order”, said the FDA in an official statement.
The issuance of the aforesaid A.O., which will now require herbal food supplement manufacturers to use the statement “HINDI ITO GAMOT AT HINDI DAPAT GAMITING PANGGAMOT SA ANUMANG URI NG SAKIT” on all their advertising and promotional materials has raised a howl of protest from the multi-billion peso herbal food supplements industry. The industry responded by dragging Secretary Esperanza Cabral before the Court and the Office of the Ombudsman.
“The regulation of claims attributed to all health products in general is imbued with public interest as such claims can influence a person’s belief regarding a particular health product. Reliance on false and misleading claims regarding a health product may have harmful consequences to a person’s health”, the FDA further said.
The FDA cited laws and regulations such as the Consumer Act of the Philippines, Codex General Guidelines on Claims and Guidelines on the Use of Nutrition and Health Claims, apart from the law that created the FDA itself, in illustrating the State’s commitment to ensuring that no false and misleading claims are made for health products such as herbal food supplements.
The herbal industry has recently been granted a preliminary injunction by the Court that effectively stalled the implementation of the A.O. in the meantime. While the FDA complied with the Court’s orders by maintaining the status quo, it remained “unfazed and solidly behind the DOH and Secretary Cabral”.
“We have the utmost trust and confidence that the Court will render a judgment that will protect and promote the general welfare”, the statement concluded.