US-based Pinoys face shortage of lechon sauce, other Filipino condiments

Some Filipinos in the US have been anxious over the past days on where to buy a popular brand of lechon sauce and other Filipino condiments as they have been in short supply or have been absent on the shelves of stores known to sell Philippine products.

This developed after 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, and Mother's Best mixes and sauces.

On Facebook, Filipino and Asian goods seller Sari-sari Store said on October 19 that there are "not a of Filipino Spaghetti Sauces, UFC & Jufran Banana Sauces and Mang Tomas Sauces in all of the grocery store shelves nationwide."

"It is because of new FDA regulations the manufacturers need to adhere to be able to export overseas once again. So for now, what we have is what we can get," the Washington-based shop said. 

"Maybe it’s time to make pancit and adobo for the holiday potlucks," it added.

A Filipino restaurant in New York has also advised its customers of a challenge involving some of its ingredients, referring to the import alert.

Dr. Xavier Kee, a doctor based in Virginia, shared that an online store was selling a 19-ounce bottle of Mang Tomas for $29.97, or roughly P1,750. 

His post indicated that the online seller only had nine bottles left.

The US FDA published on October 25 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 demonstrate that the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation," it added.

Sought for comment, NutriAsia—the manufacturer of Mang Tomas, UFC, and Jufran products—said it complied with all regulatory requirements of countries to which it exported its products.

It said the reformulated products have been shipped in August but encountered delays in the course of global shipping.

"We understand that these regulations are periodically updated based on new research, local health trends, and the public health needs of their citizens.  We have made the necessary reformulation of our US-bound Mang Tomas, UFC and Jufran products following the requirements set by the US FDA," NutriAsia said in a statement.

"The reformulated products were shipped last August. However, unfortunate delays occurred because of issues with global shipping, and the products arrived only last week. 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.

GMA News Online has sought comment from HDR Food Corp., manufacturer of Mother's Best Sauces, and will publish it as soon as it is available. —NB, GMA Integrated News