Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 3720)
The official title of RA No. 3720 is the 'Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.'
The primary policy of the State is to ensure a safe and good quality supply of food, drugs, and cosmetics and to regulate their production, sale, and traffic to protect public health.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was created to enforce RA No. 3720, operating under the Department of Health.
The FDA administers and supervises the Act and regulations, collects samples, inspects and analyzes foods, drugs, and cosmetics, establishes analytical data and standards, issues certificates of compliance and licenses, levies fees, and certifies batches of antibiotics and related drugs.
A food is adulterated if it contains poisonous or deleterious substances, filthy or decomposed substances, has been prepared under unsanitary conditions, contains non-permissible additives, or if valuable constituents are omitted or substituted with non-healthful equivalents, among others.
A drug is misbranded if its labeling is false or misleading, lacks required labeling information such as manufacturer and quantity, fails to provide adequate directions or warnings, is packaged misleadingly, or is sold with improper representations.
Violators may face imprisonment of six months and one day to five years, a fine of not less than one thousand pesos, or both imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court.
The Board consists of representatives from the Department of Health, Agriculture, Commerce, Customs, Solicitor-General, technical members, and presidents or representatives of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical associations. It conducts hearings and investigations on matters relating to food and drug standards and advises the Food and Drug Administrator.
If there is probable cause that the product is dangerous to health, or its labeling is fraudulent or materially misleading to consumers, the FDA may seize such products pending further proceedings without a prior hearing or court order.
New drugs require an approved application with the Secretary of Health through the FDA, including full investigative reports on safety, full ingredient lists, manufacturing methods, samples, and proposed labeling before they can be legally manufactured, sold, or transferred.