The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mounting its own investigation into Monde Nissin’s Lucky Me! noodles line following several product recall orders from the governments of France, Ireland and Malta.
The foreign regulators said the pancit canton and beef mami variants were found to have ethylene oxide, supposedly due to the use of chemical pesticides.
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FDA pointed out that the local supply is manufactured by bilyonaryo Betty Ang’s Monde Nissin Philippines, while those sent to Europe and subject of the product recall orders came from Thailand.
“For public information, ethylene oxide is a processing aid used to disinfect herbs and spices. In order to ensure that the public health is protected, the use of ethylene oxide for sterilizing purposes in food is not allowed in the European Union (EU),” the local FDA said. “However, there can still be traces from the ingredients or raw
materials. Hence the EU set a maximum residue levels at a very low level based on the type of commodity.”
“The FDA is currently investigating this matter and coordinating with the aforementioned food business operator to check its compliance. We shall provide updates on the result of investigation for public information,” FDA director general Dr. Oscar Gutierrez, Jr. added in a statement.
