A private DA charges Cavite trader with onion misdeclaration DA charges Cavite trader with onion misdeclaration trader is facing charges of misdeclaration of imported onions as A private trader is facing charges of misdeclaration of imported onions as processed food, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement Sunday.processed food, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement Sunday.
The Chastity Consumer Goods Trading has been charged before the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office, the DA said through its Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
The Cavited-based Chastity violated the Food Safety Act and the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
DA explained the complaint stemmed from the inspection of two container vans of imported goods consigned to Chastity, which arrived at the Port of Subic last August 2024.
The goods were declared frozen fish egg balls, a processed food item not under the jurisdiction of the BPI.
However, upon inspection, the containers yielded thousands of cartons of yellow onions, which fall under BPI’s regulations.
The DA said that Carmela Rivera, BPI’s national plant quarantine services division area manager at the Port of Subic, inspected the container vans after receiving “derogatory information” that the shipments might contain agricultural products not declared in the importation documents.
DA said the Bureau of Customs confiscated a total of 6,395 stacks of yellow onions with tests conducted by BPI also revealing high levels of microbiological contaminants, including E. coli.
The onions were unsafe for human consumption, the DA said.
The agency said the onion shipments were also found to lack the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, a permit required to prevent the spread of harmful pests that could threaten local crops and ecosystems and those that may endanger public health and safety.
The complaint pointed out that Chastity is not a registered BPI importer and also named a certain Lina Bang Talan as the owner and president of the company and as a respondent in the case.
Based on available information from the Food and Drug Administration, Chastity is based in Bacoor, Cavite engaged in the distribution and importation of household and urban hazardous substances.
Chastity was also among 10 companies blacklisted by the DA last December, as part of intensified efforts to combat agricultural smuggling, profiteering, hoarding, and cartel activities that drive up food prices and destabilize the local market.
