Saipan Tribune

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Thursday, November 01, 2012

218 cases of recalled cereals removed from CNMI stores

The Bureau of Environmental Health said yesterday that its inspectors found and recalled from CNMI stores a total of 218 cases of Kellogg's products after weeks of thorough inspection.

However, the agency is not taking any action yet on the latest recall of some Korean ramen and noodle products, many of which are available in many stores on island.

Lily Kapileo, inspection and enforcement unit staff, bared that a total of 4,813 lbs of recalled Kellogg's items will be disposed of this week by the distributor in the presence of bureau inspectors to ensure that everything will be destroyed.

Saipan Tribune learned that the bulk of items removed from store shelves came from Saipan establishments.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued weeks ago a recall notice for Kellogg’s Frosted & Unfrosted Mini-Wheats bite size due to possible presence of fragments of flexible metal mesh from a manufacturing part. The voluntary recall also included Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size.

Kapileo, meantime, said that BEH is not aware and has yet to act on any recall order for some Korean ramen and noodle products. She said BEH only recalls products based on orders from the FDA, World Health Organization, or Centers for Disease Control.

South Korea's national food and drug agency recalled nine types of noodles from stores since Oct. 25 after discovering that they contain a substance called benzopyrene, known in the United States as a probable carcinogen.

Some of the affected Korean-manufactured ramen products are Nongshim’s Mild Neoguri, Spicy Neoguri, large and small Neoguri Cup Noodles, large Saewootang Cup Noodles, and Seng Seng Udong, among others. Since the recall, many products have been pulled out from stores in countries like the Philippines, Taiwan, Mongolia, and China, among others.

Kapileo told Saipan Tribune that the bureau will “examine” the issue and communicate with the FDA about the recalled products from Korea.