The Philippines has announced a ban on Korean noodles after South Korea’s Food and Drug Administration discovered that they could contain a cancer-causing substance and ordered a recall. The ban follows a similar step by Vietnam.
The Bureau of Customs said it would not allow new shipments of Nongshim noodles to enter the country and directed all ports nationwide to “closely monitor shipments of several brands of South Korean noodles manufactured by Nongshim Co. Ltd.,” BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon told AFP.
It was reported that although the amount of benzopyrene, a cancer-inducing substance, found in the noodles’ seasoning packets was lower than permissible limits and not harmful to human health, the company had used a particular raw material that violated the South Korean Law of Food Hygiene. The World Health Organization has also determined that the affected products have a “low risk”.
The South Korean embassy in Manila announced that it had ordered the company to voluntary remove six brands of the instant noodles from the market.
