By Sheila Crisostomo
The Philippine Star
Sen. Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile has filed Senate Bill 3075 that seeks to regulate herbal medicine and food or dietary supplements that have been flooding the country’s markets.“While it is necessary to encourage the use of alternative medicine as well as the development of herbal and food supplements in line with our traditional medical practices, it is also imperative to protect the consumers and the public from possible health hazards,†Enrile said in his bill.
He said these products are currently not required to undergo testing by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
He also noted that there is no law or agency that regulates these food supplements, although random testing had shown that some of them actually contain chemical products and other drugs that are not clearly indicated on their labels.
“If left unchecked and unregulated, these alternative remedies may pose serious threats and cause dire medical consequences to public health,†Enrile added.
The veteran lawmaker’s bill seeks to “establish standards for and adopt measures to regulate the manufacture, importation, marketing/promotion and distribution of herbal medicine and food or dietary supplements to protect the consuming public against unscrupulous manufacturers, importers and distributors of the same.â€
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