(UPDATE) MANILA - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it found synthetic acetic acid in 5 vinegar variants, and vowed to inspect the facilities of the vinegar brands' manufacturers.

In an advisory dated June 4, 2019, Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said these brands, with different expiration dates, were "found to contain synthetic acetic acid."

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"Any artificial matter such as synthethic acetic acid or any cloudifying agent deems the vinegar adulterated hence, it must not be sold to the public," the advisory said.

But it clarified that "the presence of synthetic acetic acid is not a safety issue and does not pose any health risk to consumers as this only means that the vinegar is of substandard quality."

"The presence of synthetic acid merely represents that the vinegar did not undergo fermentation, either through a slow process, quick process, or submerged culture process which is used for commercial vinegar production," the advisory added.

In its tests, FDA had 39 samples of vinegar from various sources.

"Inspection of manufacturing facility shall be done to further verify whether the producers of the above products use synthetic acetic acid," the advisory added.

In a separate statement, Tentay Food Sauces Inc said it will "discuss and clarify this issue with BFAD this week."