Red bulb onions worth P1.4M, imported without permit from India, destroyed
By Elias O. Baquero
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Red onions, sometimes called purple onions, are cultivars of the onion with purplish red skin and white flesh tinged with red. These onions tend to be medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked with other foods, or added as color to salads. They tend to lose their redness when cooked.
Red onions are available throughout the year. The red color comes from anthocyanidins such as cyanidin. Red onions are high in flavonoids. They can be stored 3 to 4 months at room temperature.
The red onion from Turda (Cluj County, Central Romania) (Romanian: “Ceapa de Turda”) is a local variety of red onion with light sweeter taste and particular aroma. The area of cultivation encompass the lower Arie? valley and the middle Mure? valley. Turda onion bulbs are traditionally intertwined into long strings (1–2 m) for marketing purposes and can be found at the traditional markets all over central Romania. “Turda Red Onion” is usually served fresh, as a salad or part of mixed salads and especially as a compulsory garnish for the traditional bean-and-smoked ham soups. Red onions helps by not getting a heart attack or cancer. They are used as a medicine. They are treatments for colds, diarrhea, intestinal parasites, gallstones, and rheumatism.
The red onion from Tropea, Italy, (Italian: “Cipolla Rossa di Tropea”) is a particular variety of red onion which grows in a small area of Calabria in southern Italy named “Capo Vaticano” near the city of Tropea. This onion has a stronger and sweeter aroma and the inner part is juicier and whiter than other red onions and it is possible to make a marmalade with it. In March 2008, the European Union registered the Protected Designation of Origin mark for the onions produced in this particular area.
Illegal Importation
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu destroyed yesterday P1.4 million worth of red bulb onions from India, which were not covered by a phytosanitary certification from their port of origin.
The shipment of Red Creole onions arrived in Cebu from India last March 3 yet. The BOC said the cargo violated Presidential Decree 1433 or the Plant Quarantine Law of the Philippines.
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In his report to District Collector Ronnie Silvestre, BOC auction and cargo disposal unit officer-in-charge Dante Maranan said the imported onions were placed in a 20-foot container van.
Maranan said the onions were condemned and destroyed at the organic fertilizer division of the Bureau of Plant industry in Mandaue City.
Silvestre ordered the Customs Police Division and the Run After the Smugglers (Rats) team to investigate and file charges against those involved in the shipment of the onions.
Marina Hermoso, head of the Bureau of Plant Service, said the government does not allow the importation of onions. This makes all imported onions for sale in different markets and grocery stores illegal, she added.
Difficult
But she admitted it is difficult to determine whether an onion is imported or not, unless shipment documents are checked.
She said farmers in Luzon and Mindanao also grow Red Creole bulb onions.
Bernadith Bunado of the Plant Quarantine Service said Siquijor also has a seven-hectare Red Creole bulb onion plantation and its produce is sent to Cebu.
Hermoso said shipment contained two tons or 20,000 kilos of onions, valued at P60 to 70 per kilo.
“How we wish we could sell these onions through public auction so that the Port of Cebu will have non-traditional income. However, we cannot sell prohibited importations and we have no other choice but to destroy them,” Maranan said.
The destruction of the onions was witnessed by representatives from the Commission on Audit (COA), Intelligence Officer Rico Mongaya of the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) and the Bureau of Plant Service.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 24, 2012.
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