Health
FDA opens oversight offices in China
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 15, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration has opened offices in three Chinese cities to strengthen oversight of the production of medicine, food and other consumer products destined for the United States.
The agency intends to open offices in India and in the regions of Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The FDA's Middle East office will be headquartered in Amman, Jordan.
This expanded U.S. presence in foreign nations resulted from the discovery of tainted medicine and other contaminated products from China over the past few years. Heparin from China was linked to deaths and illnesses in this country earlier this year.
The permanent FDA presence in China is expected to provide more protections for consumers in both countries, the agency said. Most recently, milk in China that was contaminated with toxins caused thousands of infants in that country to develop kidney stones and resulted in recalls of some suspected contaminated products in the U.S.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/12/15/hlbf1215.htm.
