By: Christana Shakira Caparas
CLAIM: A Facebook page has claimed that Dr. Willie Ong endorses the Navitas Barley Grass Powder by providing a video as alleged proof.
RATING: FALSE
Celebrity doctor Willie Ong does not endorse Navitas Barley Grass Powder. A Facebook page made the false claim that the celebrity doctor is endorsing the said product.
“Doc Willie & Lizza Ong’s.Official,” an unofficial page on Facebook with 88 followers, is pretending to be the Filipino cardiologist, Doctor Willie Tan Ong, to fool people into buying an unregistered food product called “NAVITAS Barley Grass Powder,” posted on March 15, 2024.
The rating for this original claim is false because the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines (FDA) has found that the product is not registered and has not undergone safety checks, making it unsafe for human consumption.
The FDA Advisory No. 2023-1869 has been issued as a warning against this product, and consumers are advised to be cautious and only purchase registered food products that have undergone proper safety checks.
“Naaawa ako sa mga bumili ng 𝑵𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒔 𝑶𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒚 sa halagang 1299₱ noong nakaraang linggo. Hindi ko akalain na TODAY ay may magandang deal, 108₱/kahon lang kung mag-o-order sa tunay offical [official] website na ito,” the unofficial page stated.
It is alarming that they still have been promoting the unregistered product through the post, even impersonating Doctor Willie Ong with his picture and placing it on the products and their own website.
His official Facebook page is “Doc Willie Ong,” with 17 million followers and a verified badge does not contain any public statements or social media graphics indicating that he is an endorsement figure of the said Barley powder.
“Since this food product has not gone through evaluation process of the FDA, the agency cannot assure its quality and safety,” said the FDA.
It is recommended by the FDA that consumers do their research and seek out reputable sources when buying food products or supplements because they should be wary of offers that seem too good to be true or come from unknown sources.
“All concerned establishments are warned not to distribute, advertise, or sell the said violative food product until CPR is issued, otherwise, regulatory actions and sanctions shall be strictly pursued,” they stated.
The FDA has put in place various regulations governing the manufacture, transport, and sale of food products, and it is important that these regulations are followed to ensure the safety of consumers because they exist to actively conduct surveillance and monitoring activities to ensure that all food products sold in the market are safe.
LINK TO EVIDENCES:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/fda-advisory-no-2023-1869-public-health-warning-against-the-purchase-and-consumption-of-the-unregistered-food-product-navitas-barley-grass-powder/
https://www.facebook.com/DocWillieOngOfficial
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This article is De La Salle University – Dasmariñas’ (DLSU-D) contribution to the Asian Network of News and Information Educators (ANNIE) School Net’s campus fact-checking project of establishing and operating a student-driven fact-checking newsroom on campus. The ANNIE project is supported by a grant from Google News Initiative. Green FM is DLSU-D’s official media for the ANNIE project.
