Nearly P1-M expired food, goods seized in Quiapo, 5 vendors nabbed

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly P1 million worth of allegedly expired food and other goods were confiscated by the police in Quiapo, Manila, leading to the arrest of five vendors, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Thursday.

This came through an operation near the corner of Villalobos and Palanca streets in Barangay 386 last Tuesday, following a report on health concerns stemming from the allegedly expired products, according to the NCRPO in a statement.

“In the operation conducted, officers caught the suspects selling to the public different food and merchandise that were way past their expiration date,” the police explained.

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“Through careful analysis of the products being sold, operatives discovered that some of them had expiration dates that were altered or tampered with so they could still appear safe for consumption or use,” it added.

The total worth of various expired food items and other merchandise confiscated reached P950,000, not including three units of devices purportedly used to change the seized products’ expiration markings, the regional police noted.

The arrested suspects were only identified as three male individuals and two female individuals.

The five await the filing of cases against them before the Manila Office of the City Prosecutor, prticularly the violation of Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act; and RA No. 10611 or the Food Safety Act.

The NCRPO also noted that the operation was conducted with surveillance and validation by operatives of the Manila Special Mayor’s Reaction Team as well as the Manila Police District Plaza Miranda Police Community Precinct. /cb

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