Members of the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force (RBATF) of NCR composed of representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Ms. Vilma Marquez and National Nutrition Council – NCR’s Nutrition Officer I Bea Menorca visited the warehouse of McCormick Philippines, Inc. and Salinas Foods, Inc. as part of their monitoring and evaluation of the ASIN Law in the region.

The monitoring visit was conducted on October 24, 2018 at the warehouses located at Novaliches, Quezon City. They were also joined by members of the Local Bantay Asin Task Force (LBATF) of Quezon City: Nutritionist-Dietitians Misses Eva Perono and Adelfa Gajelloma and Sanitary Inspector Ms. Carmencita Karamihan.

Republic Act 8172 known as “An Act Promoting Salt Iodization Nationwide and for Related Purpose”, or commonly called “ASIN LAW” is an initiative of the government to address Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) ensuring that all food-grade salt for human and animal consumption and those used for processed foods and in food establishments should be iodized.
Part of the monitoring of the ASIN Law is the testing of iodine levels of salt products. According to the law, iodine levels of salt in production sites and market should be between 30-70 ppm and 15 ppm for the household level. Using the WYD iodine checker machine, the group took salt samples taken from the products stored at different levels in the warehouse.

McCormick is a re-packer of iodized salt and known producer of various food spices and sauces while Salinas Foods is the manufacturer of the Fidel Iodized Salt which has a salt plant in Pangasinan. Salinas Foods also imports salt from China.

The monitoring team visited the salt warehouses of McCormick Philippines and Salinas Foods, interviewed personnel, and tested salt samples from both warehouses using the WYD iodine checker machine. The warehouses in Quezon City only serve as a storage warehouse for both companies. No salt production is being done in the said warehouses. As such, a main concern is the possible iodine losses that occur during transport, packaging and storage.

The monitoring results will be used in identifying actions to be taken by the RBATF to improve the implementation of the ASIN LAW in the region.

(MABRM/TAR/NPC MEVF/NNC-NCR)