How much of the RSV we consume is made in China?
I lived for several years in Hong Kong. This experience left me with a very negative view of the quality of many Chinese products, especially those destined to be ingested. In particular, I became aware that:
• There is no effective consumer protection legislation in China
• There is no effective separation of legislature, administration and judiciary in China; indeed many local judges are appointed or hold office by virtue of their connections with local businesspeople (who are often local Party officials)
• There is no effective independent audit of the quality of goods produced for human consumption
• Claims of organic food production are often completely bogus
• Tens of thousands of people each year die in China of food contamination related causes
Until we have evidence to the contrary we should regard China as a kind of wild frontier of Party-dominated capitalism where independent enforcement of standards that we take for granted is still years away. At the risk of labouring the point, here are some examples of what I’m talking about:
19 November 2004
China's boom take toll on staple food
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/4006889.stm17 May 2007
China grapples with food contamination credibility crisis
http://www.iht.com/a...iness/trade.php23 May 2007
Consumer Worries Over China
http://news.bbc.co.u...stm?bw=nb&mp=wm2 June 2007
US warns over Chinese toothpaste
http://news.bbc.co.u...cas/6714257.stmOn Thursday, Nicaraguan health authorities seized 40,000 tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste after they were found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG).
The Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica had already removed thousands of tubes of toothpaste from store shelves.
'Low but meaningful risk'
In addition to being used as a coolant, DEG is sometimes used as a low-cost but potentially deadly substitute for glycerine sweetener commonly used in medicines.
It was found in the cough syrup and other medicines blamed for last year's deaths in Panama.
The FDA issued its alert after its inspectors identified and detained a shipment of toothpaste at the US border, containing about 3% DEG.
30 June 2007
Chinese anger over US seafood ban
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6256382.stmThe FDA said it had found that Chinese seafood tested between October 2006 and May 2007 was repeatedly contaminated with antimicrobial agents.
Some of the substances included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which, according to the FDA, may help build up a resistance to antibiotics when used in food animals.
4 July 2007
Fifth of China goods sub-standard
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6269318.stm10 July 2007
China Food Safety Head Executed
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6286698.stmCHINESE FOOD SCARES
May 2007 China probes reports that contaminated toothpaste was sent to the Americas
March 2007 Melamine is found in wheat gluten exports from China for use in pet food, prompting a recall of at least 100 pet food brands
Nov 2006 A dye farmers fed to ducks to make their eggs look fresher is found to contain cancer-causing properties, and 5,000 ducks are culled
August 2006 About 40 people in Beijing contract meningitis after eating partially cooked snails at a chain of restaurants
So if we are to take large quantities of RSV produced in China we owe it to ourselves to ask our suppliers a few simple questions:
1. Do you have in place a frequent program of independent audit of the nature and quality of the RSV supplements you obtain from China?
2. Where is that audit conducted and by whom?
3. How often do you perform the audit?
4. What do you do if the results of the audit are not consistent with the product you ordered or with human safety?
We should also place quality assurance above price in comparing suppliers, something which we sometimes overlook when jumping over ourselves to accuse one supplier of charging $1 or $2 or $5 more per mg than another.
Anthony,
Can you describe your quality assurance program at RevGenetics?
