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Curing the China Syndrome

Bob Vosburgh March 18th, 2008

Talk all you want about health and wellness. Safety comes first. That’s why we were interested to read that the Food and Drug Administration is planning to open offices in China, staffed by eight full-time regulators.

The officers will be attached to diplomatic posts in the country, specifically the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The announcement comes in the wake of significant recalls involving pet food, medication and toothpaste, among other products.

“Our efforts to fill permanent FDA positions in China are a significant step toward ensuring access to safe food, drugs and medical devices in the global market,” said Murray Lumpkin, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for international and special programs.

Boy, did he get that right. China has emerged as an important, critical resource for imports, including organic commodities. Yet its products are capable of killing unwitting consumers (both animal and human).

The timing is good. China is under tremendous pressure to clean up its act in advance of the 2008 Summer Olympics. If it wants the good will to continue after the flame is extinguished and the athletes return home, it’s going to have to start opening up a bit more.

2 Comments to “Curing the China Syndrome”

Sam Horton Says:

March 19th, 2008 at 7:22 am

Opening up FDA offices are a good step, and should open discussions for improved quality. Three things to remember - 1) most recalled food and drug are produced here in the states. Until we improve the performance and oversight of the FDA AND the USDA here in our own backyard, how effective do we expect to be where we have no authority.
2) China’s production is a series of contractors, sub contractors, and can I say sub-sub-contractors. It’s a very complex network - see concern #1
3) China is state run, and if the state doesn’t want you looking over the shoulder, you won’t get close to the shoulder.
Food for thought (pun intended)
Bob Vosburgh Says:

March 19th, 2008 at 9:04 am

To be sure, the FDA and USDA have many critical areas to cover. They continue to be critically underfunded and Congress has yet to act on combining the responsibility for food safety under one agency. So, these two continue to flounder along, doing the best they can with the limited resources available to them. The benefit of the China offices will become more valuable down the road. We’re becoming a nation of outsourcers, with more and more commodity materials coming from overseas. As the balance continues to shift in favor of imports, these types of outposts will gain importance as on-site safety intercepts.