Food Stalls : BFAD Sets the Rules on Food Stalls
Setting up a food establishment can be a good investment for venture seekers indirectly because, as Filipinos, we have a particular penchant for food-from fine dining to on-the-go chow, or even the simple turo-turo. The relatively steady rise in the food manufacturing and establishment can also indicate many things. For one thing, 17.8% of the manufacturing establishments in the country comprises of food establishments (excluding beverages), and the 13% year-on-year growth of the food manufacturing industry last summer may be a good thing for the workforce. This is because as the food establishment industry shares 14.4% in the total distribution of employment in the manufacturing industry. One notable thing is that, at regions IV-A and IV-B have been collating almost 430,000 employees, while Metro Manila has 270,000.
Productivity-wise, the almost Php460B revenues of the industry can be plausibly said to directly affect our economy’s path to improvement. It was the second top grosser (in value of output) last 2005, just Php12.2B short compared to the evenly growing industry of electronic components, with the latter having Php456.4B, and the former Php444.2B; in terms of value added for manufacturing, it is the industry’s top grosser with Php106.4B.
According to Adeliza Ramos and Christmasita Oblepias of BFAD-DOH in their FAO/Who report, food establishments manufacture, process and distribute a diversity of agricultural materials, from fruits and vegetables to fisheries and livestock; the processed ones, like flour, condiments, snacks, beverages and even supplements are also derivative from agriculture. Our fondness for food aside, we cannot discount the kind of importance that the industry has in our economy. Its ties to agriculture, fisheries and livestock may as well be noted, for after all, almost every raw material from food establishments comes from this fundamental sector.
And so come two imperatives: quality and safety. But how can the consumers rest assured that where and what they’re dining are healthy, wholesome and spoil-free? With food security being a global concern, we need, to guarantee that our productivity, in terms of the materials they process and use as well as the products the establishments will be selling, can keep up with the ever-changing trends of the industry; and at the same time minimizing business and product hazards. With Filipinos being more and more aware of the soundness of diet and healthy lifestyle, consumers should also be aware of what they can do to ensure the quality and safety of what they’re eating.
As an obvious truism, specific standards are ensured to be implemented in order to manage danger-free foodstuff that’s coming to our plates. Food establishments are required by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to have their products registered and tested before they are given a license to operate (LTO).
While the Bureau of Fisheries and Agricultural Product Standards (BFAPS) are taske~ to draft, maintain and implement guidelines for better public markets, BFAD is involved in site inspections and official registrations of food products that the establishments will be serving its end-users. Its guidelines are focused on licensing, registration and monitoring.
Mandated by Sec. 12 Article XIII of our law, the bureau multitasks into outlining standards against malpractice of manufacturing procedures, regulating irradiated food, and requiring establishments to package and label their products accordingly. With more and more establishments claiming more benefits than what their products actually contain, the government is doing its best in pointing out non-sequiturs in their labels.
This is mostly important to the fisheries since export inspections are, according to the FAO/WHO Global Forum report on Food Safety Regulators (Food and Agriculture Organization of U.N., and World Health Organization, respectively), are mostly applied to such products. Moreover, seeing that GMO materials are being deliberated on a very controversial manner, BFAD, non-government organizations and the consumers themselves cooperate to consult and review towards better and updated standards, more areas inspected, as well as acutely survey and assess materials. Because of major concerns to food poisoning and misleading information, the National Food Safety Committee can now be seen as an integral part in communicating with the end-users. The Food Safe Network Philippines, on the other hand, is an NGO with diverse groups working towards food safety.
But what about cleanliness? One of the procedures implemented by the government unit is the Hygienic Safety Manufacturing Practices (GMP) where food establishments are required, to comply when their infrastructures do not pass its guidelines. On the other hand, concerns are being addressed by the small and medium companies which do not have the financial freedom to expend their investments in their facilities; something that the government may need to update. Joint seminars and interactive forums from the Department of Health (DOH) and BFAD are being instigated and organized to inform the owners about good industry practices, and alleviate negative attitudes about the guidelines.
Currently, BFAD has 30 food inspectors (central) and 77 inspectors at the regional levels. They have more than 39 chemists, 10 bacteriologists and 35 technical bacteriologists to analyze preservatives, contaminants and pathogens like aflatoxin and heavy metals, molds and yeast, and other contaminants like salmonella, one of the major causes of food poisoning in the country.
