In response to a spate of food safety controversies in recent years, the U.S. FDA will set up its first overseas office in China. From AP:
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, speaking on the eve of opening of an FDA office in Beijing, said a new strategy was needed because the United States imported $2 trillion worth of goods a year, equal to four times the size of the Brazilian economy.
“When one sees the enormity of that, it becomes clear you cannot inspect everything … we have to change our strategy from one of simple inspections at the border. We have to build quality into every product in every step of the process,” he told a news conference.
The FDA office will be the first outside the United States and will be followed by two more in China this month and another one in India next month.
Read also Xinhua’s report on this news, which says that China is also planning on setting up its own counterpart office in the U.S., though no date or location has been set yet.
