MANILA, Philippines — The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association declared as an attempt to undermine the country’s economy the alleged tampering of the tropical fruit exported to Japan that was found to have contained a three-centimeter long wire.
PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig on Thursday said the organization was already investigating how the wire got into the product, which prompted Dole Japan Inc. to recall 9,000 bunches of banana it imported from the Philippines.
READ: Dole Japan recalls PH bananas after it found a wire in a fruit
“This is a clear act of economic sabotage. We will definitely get to the bottom of this,” Antig said.
“We cannot let this pass because it will have very significant repercussions to the industry most specially now when worldwide competition is at its highest,” he added.
The PBGEA official said it was possible that a “disgruntled party” had caused the tampering of the banana “upon (its) arrival” in the market or the storage area.
“That is why we are doing a very thorough investigation right now,” said Antig.
