Tag: Monde Nissin

Manila, Philippines – Initiative, a media agency within IPG Mediabrands, has announced their appointment as the media agency of record for Philippine food and beverages company Monde Nissin through the launch of ‘Crave’, their dedicated team assigned exclusively to the company. 

Initiative’s appointment encompasses all media and buying duties for all brands across Monde Nissin and Monde M.Y. San. With resources and expertise from the IPG Mediabrands network, Crave is well-positioned to elevate the partnership.

Gen dela Peña, media communications head of Monde Nissin, said, “Initiative’s focus on business KPIs as the starting point for media decisions is exactly what we are looking for today. Given today’s complex media landscape, we are looking forward to how Initiative and Team Crave will guide us on how to plan media more efficiently and effectively, with a clear focus on achieving the right metric for success.”

Melody Laogan, managing partner, Initiative Philippines, added, “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Monde Nissin and launch Team Crave. This marks the beginning of an exciting journey of pushing boundaries and changing the game together.”

Meanwhile, Paul Atienza, managing partner, Initiative Philippines, also commented, “This epic win is testament to Initiative’s modern and outcome-driven approach to integrated strategic planning. We cannot wait to join forces and craft unparalleled consumer experiences to grow Monde Nissin brands through our Fame and FlowTM model.”

Manila, Philippines – Following the latest recalls of ‘Lucky Me’ noodle products in the European countries of France, Ireland and Malta, Philippine food and beverages company Monde Nissin has lost around US$340m in market value, according to Bloomberg.

Monde Nissin closed at PHP13.36 per share yesterday, marking a 10% dip since the stock went public in March 2021.

According to said European countries, several of ‘Lucky Me’ products contained high levels of ethylene oxide, a chemical compound which has been banned in Europe in 1991 as a pesticide and in 2011 as an output product in food and feed production.

Monde Nissin released a statement yesterday stating that ethylene oxide is not added in their products but rather used as a treatment in seeds and spices used in ingredients.

“Rest assured that all Lucky Me products are Philippine FDA-registered and comply with local food safety standards and even the US FDA standards for ethylene oxide,” the company stated.

Following the issue, netizen sentiment regarding ‘Lucky Me’ brands have shifted to a negative tone, with many commenting Monde Nissin’s lack of quality assurance of their products. This is after the company admitting that trace amounts of ethylene oxide may still be found in their products.

“Sad to say that every country has its own different high standards in regards with food safety measures. ‘Lucky Me’ should follow the standard food safety in other countries to retain its trust and confidence for safe human consumption for their products,” a netizen named Roy Tanquilan said.

Another netizen by the name of Edgard Andrew Hernandez said, “Even at manufacturing and testing where you can see high ethylene oxide levels on Lucky Me brands, [and] you still chose to sell it to the consumers. I think there’s something wrong with it.”

However, there are a few netizens that still support the brand, with some saying the noodle brands have been consumed by students while on a budget. Some netizens have even shared their own recipes involving ‘Lucky Me’ products.

Manila, Philippines – Lucky Me, a line of noodle brands in the Philippines under the Monde Nissin corporation, has been recently banned in the European countries namely France, Ireland, and Malta due to the presence of a pesticide compound in said products.

According to multiple reports, the said batch of noodles contain ethylene oxide, a hazardous carcinogenic gas that has been reported to cause headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, among others. Said batches were reportedly manufactured in Thailand, with an expiration date of July 20, 2022.

In a statement published by Malta’s Environmental Health Directorate, the ‘Lucky Me’ brands that are banned include ‘Pancit Canton Original Flavour’, ‘Pancit Canton Hot Chilli Flavour’, ‘Lucky Me Instant Noodle Soup Beef Flavour’, ‘Pancit Canton Kalamansi Flavour’, and ‘Pancit Canton Chilimansi Flavour’. The report noted that these noodle batches have high levels of ethylene oxide.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s Food Safety Authority published a statement of the recall of only the ‘Pancit Canton Original Flavour’ brand, saying that “although the consumption of the contaminated product does not pose an acute risk to health, there may be health issues if there is continued consumption of ethylene oxide over a long period of time”.

Lastly, France’s Rappel Conso noted the ban of flavours ‘Pancit Canton Original Flavour’, ‘Pancit Canton Hot Chilli Flavour’, ‘Lucky Me Instant Noodle Soup Beef Flavour’, ‘Pancit Canton Kalamansi Flavour’, and ‘Pancit Canton Chilimansi Flavour’ in their recent statement.

Ethylene oxide, aside from its pesticide use, has been used as a sterilising agent as well as in the production of other chemicals such as antifreeze. The chemical has been banned in the European Union since 1991 as a pesticide and since 2011 as an output product in food and feed production.

This was not the first time ‘Lucky Me’ has been banned for containing hazardous chemicals in their food products. Recently, Taiwanese authorities have seized ‘Lucky Me Curly Spaghetti’ products, alongside Indonesia’s Mie Sedaap cup noodles, for the same pesticide residue.

Following the health advisories released by said countries, Lucky Me published a statement on their Facebook page, noting that ethylene oxide is not added in their products but rather used as a treatment in seeds and spices used in ingredients. Once they are processed alongside seasonings and sauces, trace amounts of said compound are still left.

“Rest assured that all Lucky Me products are Philippine FDA-registered and comply with local food safety standards and even the US FDA standards for ethylene oxide,” the company stated.

This article has been updated.