• The Department of Agriculture has filed a formal complaint against Chastity Consumer Goods Trading for allegedly smuggling fresh yellow onions by misdeclaring them as processed food
• The complaint was filed with the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office for violations of the Food Safety Act and the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978
• Two container vans consigned to Chastity arrived at the Port of Subic in August 2024, declared as frozen fish egg balls, but upon inspection, authorities found thousands of cartons of yellow onions
• Chastity Trading is not a registered BPI importer, violating importation regulations, authorities said
The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), has filed a formal complaint against Chastity Consumer Goods Trading for allegedly smuggling fresh yellow onions by misdeclaring them as processed food.
The case was lodged with the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office, citing violations of the Food Safety Act and the Plant Quarantine Law of 1978.
The complaint stems from an August 2024 shipment at the Port of Subic, where two container vans consigned to Chastity Trading were declared as frozen fish egg balls, a product not under BPI regulation. However, a joint inspection by BPI, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and port authorities revealed thousands of cartons of fresh yellow onions instead.
BPI-National Plant Quarantine Services Division Area Manager Carmela Rivera initiated the inspection after receiving “derogatory information” that the shipment contained undeclared agricultural products.
The onions were found without a valid Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC)—a crucial permit designed to prevent the introduction of pests and diseases that could threaten local crops.
Further laboratory tests conducted by BPI detected high levels of microbiological contaminants, including E. coli, making the onions unsafe for human consumption.
Authorities highlighted that Chastity Trading is not a registered BPI importer, violating agricultural importation regulations. The BOC confiscated 6,395 stacks of smuggled onions, reinforcing the government’s crackdown on illicit agricultural trade.
The complaint also named Lina Bang Talan, owner and president of Chastity Trading, as a respondent in the case.
READ: BPI, BOC confiscate 25MT of undocumented yellow onions
