Reformulated lechon sauce already shipped to US, says manufacturer

Lechon sauce and other Filipino condiments that have been either scarce or unavailable over the past weeks in the US have been reformulated to comply with the US Food and Drug Administration's requirements.

In a statement, NutriAsia said it already shipped the reformulated products as early as August.

"However, unfortunate delays occurred because of issues with global shipping, and the products arrived only last week," NutriAsia said.

"The shipment is currently going through the routine US FDA inspection, and we expect them to be available for commercial release soon," it added.

"We would like to assure our US consumers that their favorite NutriAsia products, such as Mang Tomas, UFC, and Jufran, will soon be back in stores with the same quality and taste they have grown to love over the years," NutriAsia said.

The US Food and Drug Administration included in a recent import alert variants of the Mang Tomas All-Purpose Sauce, Jufran banana and chili sauces.

On October 25, the US FDA released Import Alert 99-45 on the detention without physical examination of food products that are or contain an unsafe food additive.

"Divisions may detain, without physical examination, shipments of identified products from firms on the Red List of this Import Alert," the US FDA said.

"In order to remove a firm's product from the Red List, information should be provided to the Agency to adequately demonstrates that the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation," it added.

NutriAsia said it complied with all regulatory requirements of countries to which we export our products. 

"We understand that these regulations are periodically updated based on new research, local health trends, and the public health needs of their citizens," NutriAsia said. —NB, GMA Integrated News