Manila: The city government unleashed a crackdown on food and beverage establishments in the national capital a week after the death of two people and the hospitalisation of a third victim after consuming mixed milk tea from a stall
According to Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, personnel from the city’s bureau of permits have been making rounds since Thursday to ensure that food and beverage stalls and restaurants have necessary permits from the city health office.
He added the incident last Thursday, April 9, that resulted in the death of customer Suzaine Dagohoy and Ergo Cha Milk Tea stall owner was a “wake up call” for business owners to observe proper health and safety standards.
“We are not just focusing on establishments that sell milk tea, but also other food and drinks. These [measures] are for the safety of the consumers,” he said.
The crackdown is confined in Manila, where the incidents took place.
In a tropical country accustomed to consuming steaming cups of coffee, chilled milk is a welcome refreshment to beat the heat, especially during the summer months from March to June.
During 2005, milk tea, which originally came from Taiwan, made a big splash in the country. Roadside stalls and mall-based stores mushroomed. Now some business owners are faced with the dilemma of continuing with a bleeding investment.
Speaking to Gulf News, milk tea franchise operator Lourdes Deyto said that when she started serving the beverage at her shop in Taytay, east of Metro Manila, customers were quickly enamoured to its taste and began asking for it.
“It was selling very well over the past four years in our four stall in Taytay,” she said, adding that after the incident where two people died after drinking the beverage in Sampaloc (a district in Manila), sales had nosedived, going down by about 60 per cent.
Deyto sells iced milk tea from ChDo, a rival brand to Ergo Cha.
She said customers tend to generalise all milk tea brands and the stigma left from the incident April 9 that left two people dead and a third person, Arnold Aydalla, confined to the hospital, has left a stigma for customers that would be difficult to erase or overcome.
T.J. Bagadion used her savings to set up a ChDo franchise. She now operates dozens of stalls in Metro Manila. According to her, business had been seriously affected by the Ergo Cha milk tea incident.
“I am now contemplating selling the shop, in case anyone is interested in buying it,” she lamented.
Earlier, Health Secretary Janette Garin warned Filipinos against jumping to conclusions and making sweeping generalisations concerning milk tea deaths.
“The situation appears to be an isolated event, pointing to a possible case of poisoning. Let me emphasise that this is isolated. In fact, this is the third time the couple bought milk tea in the same food establishment. No untoward incident happened during the previous intake” she said.
“We appeal to the public not to generalise the situation as many small and medium scale enterprises are dependent on the sale of milk tea and similar beverages,” she said.
But as experts continue tests to determine the actual cause of incidents involving three people who drank the milk tea, people are stumped over slow action by the government in confronting the issue and preventing further deaths. Till date, officials have not yet conducted tests on products being sold in similar establishments.
