PURE OR NOT? Honey placed in bottles of an alcoholic beverage is now a subject of discussion at the Baguio City Council after Councilor Lilia Fariñas proposed the imposition of fines on persons found selling adulterated honey. The measure is just one of the many that the city government is implementing to rid the markets of deceiving, mislabeled and adulterated products. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The city government has launched a crackdown on goods and products sold at the city market and other selling areas here which are mislabeled, deceiving and adulterated as the legislative body tackles the possibility of imposing fines on persons for certain violations.
“Parati tayong nagre-remind tungkol sa honesty sa mga paninda kasi ‘yun ang dapat sa pagnenegosyo at yun ang tamang gawin. Gusto rin natin na ang mark ng Baguio na honest ang mga tao ay hindi mawawala (We always remind traders about honesty because it is what doing business should be. We also want to retain Baguio’s mark of having honest people),” Alan Abayao, chief of the Permits and Licensing Office, said in a phone interview on Monday.
He said the city started the apprehension and closure of stalls selling mislabeled “Sagada orange” and went on to conduct a surprise inspection of stalls selling strawberries after a tourist complained about having bought berries that were mixed with rotten ones.
Both products are sought-after items, especially by tourists.
On the sidelines of the flag raising-ceremony on Monday, Councilor Lilia Fariñas also said her proposed ordinance imposing a fine on traders selling adulterated honey has been approved on first reading.
She said the proposal focuses on impure honey that contains other substances such as sugar syrup, honeydew, glucose, dextrose, or molasses to increase its quantity or enhance its flavor but which reduces the quality.
“Honey adulteration is a fraudulent act used to deceive consumers,” Fariñas said.
She said the measure was a request from the City’s Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) to ensure that the honey products being sold in the markets are 100 percent pure and not adulterated.
A person found selling adulterated honey products shall be fined PHP500; PHP1,000, and PHP2,000 for the first to third and subsequent offenses, respectively, apart from the confiscation and disposal of the item.
Honey in big gin bottles is usually sold here from PHP350 to PHP400. (PNA)
