MANILA — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called on the public not to be misled by false information circulating in social media that canned food products from Thailand had allegedly been contaminated with HIV.
“In the interest of truthfulness and consumer rights protection, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration would like to inform the public to be wary of the following circulating unverified, misleading, and false information online and text messages concerning canned food products from Thailand allegedly not safe for consumption due to contamination with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),” the FDA said in its Advisory No. 2018-029, dated Feb. 6 and signed by Director General Nela Charade G. Puno.
The online and text messages claim that some 200 people with HIV had been instructed to contaminate the products of a canned food factory in Thailand with their blood.
According to the false messages, this was confirmed by the Thai government, warning the public against consuming canned longgan, lychee, rambutan and mango pudding from Thailand.
The FDA said it had coordinated with the Thai Department of Agriculture, which said there was “no credible evidence” to support such claims.
The agency called on the public to avoid sharing the false information to avoid panic and hysteria. (FDA)
