"Live as if you
were to die tomorrow," says Mahatma Gandhi. "Learn as if you were to
live forever." So, I will allow you to drink your lambanog today, behaving
as if you were to die tomorrow, and you will allow me to learn about your
lambanog, behaving as if I were to live forever!
From my research, there have been 2 lambanog sellers who
have drunk from their own bottles, and these are the results:
Bulacan: 3 dead after
seller drinks to prove it was safe – Christian San Jose (12 December 2018,
"The Latest In Lambanog Poisoning Cases: 3 Dead After Seller Tries To
Prove It's Safe," Noli Soli, nolisoli.ph,
where above image comes from). 2 men bought lambanog from 1 seller "who
himself drank it to prove that it's safe" – all 3 died. Dead wrong!
Batangas: 0 dead after
seller drinks to prove it was safe – Chino Gaston (12 December 2018,
"Lambanog Maker Drinks Own Product To Show It Is Safe To Consume," GMA News, gmanetwork.com). Leonisa Iyas, maker of Jimmy's
Lambanog, drank from a bottle to prove it was safe to drink, and it was. Dead right!
In Tayabas, Quezon, Lito Mallari of Mallari's Distillery,
says "The bogus manufacturers just add a portion of highly concentrated
methanol… to produce the distinct lambanog aroma." Mr Gascon says the Food
& Drug Administration, FDA, reports that samples from a Quezon
Province-based distillery have been found to contain "high amounts of
methanol."
On the same subject matter, MSN's Barbara Marchadesch says
"High Levels Of Methanol Found In Lambanog Linked To Deaths" (06
December 2018, MSN, msn.com).
She says FDA Director General Nela Charade Puno said the methanol content of
the tested samples ranged from 11.7% to 21.8%, where it should be 0.1% only.
Those amounts, she said "will really cause multiple organ failure, blindness,
coma, and then death."
Here comes Inquirer
columnist Bernie V Lopez (24 December 2018, "Get To The Bottom Of
'Lambanog' Poisoning," Inquirer.Net,
opinion.inquirer.net)
frantically calling for "a
full-blown investigation on the Luzon-wide" poisoning, saying:
This is an urgent
matter, considering that the multibillion-peso lambanog industry that supports
millions of people nationwide is at stake. We need quick answers.
My Internet research on "Philippines lambanog death"
(without the quotes) yields me almost 10,000 words in 41 pages single-spaced in
Arial Narrow – and I find that I can
support only 10%.of Mr Lopez' certainties
& contentions. Thus:
Yes: 21 deaths
from lambanog poisoning is 21 too many.
No: Poisoning is not Luzon-wide; out of almost 40
provinces, it has occurred only in 5: Tarlac, Bulacan, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon
Province – plus Antipolo City and Quezon City.
Yes: It is
methanol poisoning; the reports on those who died jibe with the FDA Director's statement that methanol poisoning causes
multiple organ failure and blindness before death.
No: Neither cocolisap,
nor bacteria, nor neonicotinoids are involved, the last being my suspicion.
No: Thousands, not
millions benefit from lambanog.
Yes: This methanol
thing has been going on for years, and the FDA has been sleeping on the job of
policing food & drinks. Half-dead?
Comments
Post a Comment