The U.S. Food and Drug Administration flagged Pinoys’ favorite sauces and condiments in the U.S. for containing harmful ingredients as reported by the FDA’s Import Alert (99-45) on October 25, 2024.
Products such as Jufran Banana Sauce, UFC Sweet Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce, and Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce were reported to have food additives such as BHA and potassium iodate, which pose cancer risks.
The products are not outright banned in the country but will be flagged at the border for further review and inspection.
“When [clients] do ask for these very specific products, we do have to inform them that we cannot bring it in anymore,” Sky Guam Distributors Inc. Manager Jay Agabao told a Guam-based news outlet.
Sky Guam, a family-owned corporation, distributes both food and non-food products from the Philippines, the U.S., Taiwan, and Indonesia, to Guam, where most of the population relies on imported cooking products.
“As distributors, and I’m sure other distributors would share this, we can’t bring it in because we have to be compliant with all the different governing agencies that apply here. We have to comply with their rules and regulations,” Agabao said.
Meanwhile, affected local restaurants and stores expressed their frustration over the restrictions.
“It’s definitely frustrating, and it really takes a big hit on the products,” Espino said. “I don’t take it away from [the FDA] to do the job that they’re doing. It’s just, we need a better understanding as to why. For years, these were brought in, why only now? To me, that’s just my opinion on things,” Neil Espino, manager of Ben and Yan’s BBQ Place and Ben and Yan’s Mini Mart, said.
Other Philippine food products that will no longer be available are Kare Kare Stew Mix, Mother’s Best Hot All Purpose Sauce, Andok’s Litson Sauce, UFC Sweet Chili Sauce, UFC Banana Sauce Regular, UFC Banana Sauce (Hot), and Jufran Sweet Chili Sauce.