I watched and read the reports about the countries’ recent clamor about banning liquid and powdered milk, candy, biscuits, chocolate bars and drinks, and yogurt with dairy components from China. Four children already died and more than 50,000 got sick because of milk products after the Chinese government found out that the milk was mixed with the industrial chemical melamine.

Imagine this: 22 of China’s dairy companies have been found mixing melamine in infant formula and other milk products. This is to try to cut cost and to add more protein content in the milk because maybe milk from this companies do not pass the required nutrient for milks.

According to Philippine Daily Inquirer, in an advisory, BFAD Director Leticia Gutierrez directed all importers and distributors of “registered milk products from China to immediately stop temporarily from further importing, distributing, selling and offering for sale the aforesaid products.”

The ban stays “until it is assured that (these) are safe for human consumption,” Virginia Francia Laboy, BFAD Policy, Planning and Advocacy Division officer in charge, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It just seems to be quite late for the government or any department of the government will issue this advisory when in the first place, these products are already circulating in the market long time ago and others are illegally smuggled in the country. So what will happen to those children who already consumed this milk or any other China made products? Who will be held liable to this where in the first place, it is the government’s responsibility to test all products for safety for human consumption before companies will be given permit to be distributed in the market.

Second, it is the government’s responsibility to check all of those products circulating in the market if this is BFAD approved or if companies have all the complete permits and documents before it could be permitted to be out in the market. Why is that there are still products in the market that don’t even have brand names?

Third, if the government cannot issue a list of those products that are not tested, its is their duty to issue the list of those products that they already checked and found out to be safe for consumption not rather than to rely on those seal that said BFAD approved to products packages because for all we know, it could be a fake or just a manufactured seal.

I am sure government agencies concerned will just say that they don’t have enough budget and personnel to attend to those hundreds of thousand of products in the market. But have they checked and saw the daily activity reports of their inspectors? If they conducted inspections, have they been doing this on a regular basis in all of the companies and product to be inspected?

Fourth, it is the government duty to check all of those products coming in the country. Have they penalized all smugglers and recommended additional sentences to those government employees who are corrupt and those who engage in smuggling?

Fifth, any government head or personnel of agencies concerned who have been found out neglecting his or her duties must be liable in court not just civil but criminally in court.