FDA opens offices in China
As food — and food ingredients — imports from China grow, and as China’s lax health and safety standards become more apparent, the FDA is trying to spot problems at the source by opening three offices in China
Not a moment too soon. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is this week officially opening offices of its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shangai in the People’s Republic of China. HHS secretary Mike Leavitt and FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach will travel to the three cities this week to meet with manufacturers and Chinese government officials to discuss policy and governance reforms aimed at improving the safety of food and other consumer products. They will also mark the opening of the three offices, and introduce some of the HHS/FDA officials who will work there. “We’re opening up a new era, not just new offices,” Secretary Leavitt said. “By having a presence in other parts of the world, we can work more closely with manufacturers and other governments, better share best practices and further ensure that quality and safety are built into food and consumer products at the point of manufacture.”
“A permanent FDA presence in China will help us address the challenges presented by globalization,” Commissioner von Eschenbach said. “We look forward to working with the Chinese government and manufacturers to ensure that FDA standards for safety and manufacturing quality are met before products ship to the United States.”
HHS is working on a broader plan to have an FDA presence in five geographic regions: China, India, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Establishing a permanent HHS/FDA presence in China should enhance the effectiveness of regulatory cooperation and efforts to protect consumers in both countries. HHS/FDA officials will also assist the Chinese Government, as requested, in its ongoing efforts to improve its regulatory systems for exports to help assure product safety. FDA said it has selected eight senior experienced FDA officials to work in its offices in China. The employees are inspectors and senior technical experts in foods, medicines and medical devices. The HHS/FDA office in Beijing will be located in the US Embassy. In Guangzhou, it will be located in the U.S. Consulate General, and in Shanghai it will be part of the U.S. consular mission there, but will be situated in the Shanghai Center, a well-established business complex in the city where several other U.S. government agencies have staff.
