17
November 2008
US FDA to open first China offices
this week in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai;
EU also signs agreement with China on consumer safety.
On
Thursday, 13 November, the US Government’s Department of Health and Human
Services (
Two
bilateral conferences on global food safety are scheduled in Beijing for
November 18-19. Topics on the agenda
include fresh produce-related foodborne disease outbreaks in the USA, and
melamine contamination of dairy products in China. The Minister of Health in
China, Chen Zhu, will meet with Leavitt and von Eschenbach to “discuss policy
and governance reforms aimed at improving the safety of food and other consumer
products in China and the United States” on November 18.
After
opening the Beijing office, Secretary Leavitt and Dr. von Eschenbach will
travel over the next two days to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province
in SE China, and to Shanghai on the east coast, to open FDA offices there in
collaboration with their Chinese counterparts.
In
a related development, the China Daily newspaper reported the arrival of the US
delegation this week in Beijing. In addition, the China Daily reported that the
European Union (EU) and China signed an agreement on November 17 to enhance
cooperation on consumer safety. As part of this accord information exchange
will be expedited on potentially “tainted food and other dangerous goods”.
Daniel
R. Lucey, MD,
EROne
Institutes, Washington Hospital Center
Adjunct
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Georgetown
University Medical Center
Washington,
D.C.
Website
for this newsletter: www.BePast.org
Email:DRL23@Georgetown.edu
(Posted
from Beijing, PRC)