The Food and Drug Administration warned the public against buying unregistered drug, food and beauty products from online sellers or suppliers, saying most of them have no FDA-issued license to operate.
“I am urging the public to be vigilant or wary of the products they peddle in the Internet, particularly on Facebook,” FDA Regulatory Enforcement Unit officer-in-charge Allen Bantolo said.
The agency issued the warning after recently conducting a series of raids in Quezon City resulting in the confiscation of unregistered beauty and skin-whitening products worth P50 million.
Bantolo said “these online suppliers often do not issue receipts, their identities and offices are unknown, and cannot be held accountable in case their products cause harm or ill-effects to the consumers.”
Bantolo said while most of the products might be registered in other countries but they still had to undergo evaluation and certification of the Philippine FDA to ensure their safety and efficacy.