The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the government agency in charge of the regulation, classification and registration of any kind of product entering in the Philippines market, is becoming stricter with regard to consumer products. The main goals of the FDA remain the same: to protect the health of the consumer by ensuring the safety and quality of food, food supplements, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices as well as to regulate and control the manufacture, sale, distribution, and advertisement.
Consumer products refer to any product produced, and subsequently, consumed by the consumer, to satisfy its current wants or needs.
For a long time, the FDA faced huge difficulties in measuring the quantity, the quality, and the destination of the different products entering the Philippines market. One of the main reasons for this deficiency is the lack of communication between the FDA, the local government and the bureau of customs. Most of the products enter the Philippines without any permit or certificate of conformity and the different agencies had not been communicating effectively to control the situation. This obviously lead to fraud and illegality in the general business practices of the Philippines.
As the Philippines evolves to a more business friendly country, the situation is now changing slowly but surely. The FDA, the local governments and the bureau of customs are working together closely in order to fix the gap between what is regulated and what is entering in the country. The different business actors such as the importer, distributor and manufacturer are now required to follow the FDA rules and regulation in order to obtain a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) for each and every product they would like to market in the country. Organizations that are now trying to import goods without any certification from the FDA will be penalized severely. Their shipments will be locked up in customs and absolutely no release will be possible unless they show an act of conformity. Depending on the specific situation, the imported products may be confiscated or totally revoked from the market. In the worst case scenario, all products will be seized and their establishments closed down.
It is now essential for all companies dealing with food, food supplements, cosmetics, drugs or medical devices to follow the new FDA regulations. By doing so, a perfect consumer protection level will be achieved and the Philippines will start to be recognized as a clean business environment by removing businesses engaging in unfair or faulty practices. It is clear that many investors are actually reluctant in coming to the Philippines due to some of the practices of the Philippines government. Certainly, the improvements being implemented by the FDA will attract many foreign and local investors and reinforce the Philippines and its status in the international business arena.
Unfortunately, dealing with the FDA does not always mean a straightforward process. Additionally, obtaining different licenses or certificates of product registration from this government agency still remain complicated and extremely time consuming for most of the companies complying.
Triple i Consulting’s Regulatory Affairs Department is headed by one of the most experienced FDA consultants in the country and as such, we are able to provide our clients with one of the fastest and most efficient registration and approval process in the country. For our FDA services, Triple i will not only prepare and submit your application, we will liaise and represent you with the FDA as well.
With a 100% track record in product registration for numerous of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the region, Triple i is surely a great partner of the FDA and our team of experienced pharmacists are keen to help any company willing to export and market its products in the Philippines.
