And today, the PUP's Jose Mai actually supported the government's stance against Jack Charles. He's from Orange Walk south where the greatest number of rice producers are concentrated and he's also a trained agronomist. He says that BAHA is the only one who should be handling samples, not Jack Charles:...
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"The question arises is where do this sample come from? Nobody knows where Mr. Jack Charles got this sample from."
Jules Vasquez
"He says he bought it off the shelf."
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"That's what he says. We have no way to prove that is accurate. What procedure did he use to extract the sample? So what methodology, what protocol did he use to get this sample?"
Jules Vasquez
"You are making the thing too complex Mr. Mai. He went to the store and he buys it the same way me or you would go buy these brands of rice and he took that same thing and he sent it. The same thing in the pack and you and I go buy. You don't have to be so high tech. That is what we are going to eat."
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"Okay good. In that case then at what temperatures were that stored? We don't know where that sample came from exactly on the shelf. Where was it before? We don't know. Now look at the results of the analysis. What does it say? You say it is less than 2micrograms per kilogram. Now Jules if you do some research you'll find that the US standards for Aflatoxin is not more than 20 micrograms for food consumption. I think in the SI, it says free of pathogens or contaminants. In this particular case free means the tolerance level of not more than 20 micrograms."
Jules Vasquez
"But that sound inconsistent because I'm saying when we say free of that means it doesn't have any."
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"For this purpose Jules, the term free means within the tolerance level. It is found in almost every single grain in the tropics. It is there. What is important is the levels of it. The amount of Aflatoxins that registered in that analysis is actually nil - nothing. It will not affect the human health."
Today, Charles told the media via text, quote, "The public should have access to the testing done by the authorities that guarantees that products are meeting the required standards on a semiannual basis.
The public should demand from the relevant authorities the latest official test results."
Indeed, Charles has been consistently pro public in his press statements. In fact he says he held out for over a week after he got the lab results to see if BAHA would respond or do something to take what he believes is tainted rice off the shelves. But Mai isn't convinced; he says Jack Charles is all about business:...
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"He is a businessman first and foremost. He has no interest in my being. He is interested in what I have in my pocket and what I can buy from his store. This is the bottom line - he is a businessman. He is no philanthropist."
Jules Vasquez
"But I can say that you are a politician and you are trying to make sure that your wealthy constituents, the rice farmers at least they'll vote for you in the next election because you are publicly sweating fever for them. How do you respond to that?"
Hon. Jose Mai, Area Rep. OW South
"First and foremost I am a farmer. That's the most important thing to me. 80% of Orange Walk South depends on farming directly or indirectly. The backbone of this country is based on agriculture. We have to look after our agriculture sector. Or else we'll be going down the drain. These people who you call wealthy are hardworking farmers. They owe the banks just like you and me, just like every other cane farmer. They employ hundreds of people and their families. We need to take care of them."
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