The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

In regards to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detecting cyanide in products packaged by the Tianjin Tianyao Pharmaceutical Company, all websites strictly adhere to information from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration and the Tianjin municipal government. Do not hype, do not exaggerate. In addition, media from other regions are not to go to Tianjin to cover this story. (December 23, 2015) [Chinese]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned this week that shipments coming from Tianjin may be at risk of contamination after the regulatory agency detected hydrogen cyanide in products coming from a Tianjin company. The port of Tianjin experienced deadly explosions after a chemical storage warehouse caught fire in August. Zachary Brennan reports for the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society’s Regulatory Focus:

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday alerted compounders and drug manufacturers that shipments from Tianjin, China may be at risk of chemical contamination following two massive explosions in August at a chemical warehouse there.

The agency has already detected hydrogen cyanide contamination in two shipments of drugs from Tianjin-based Tianjin Tianyao Pharmaceuticals Co., approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the explosion site. The contaminated shipments have been stopped and will not be allowed in the US, the agency said, noting that it is working with the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) on this issue.

“While information related to the explosion is limited, more than 40 different types of chemicals were discovered at the blast site,” FDA says, noting it has increased monitoring to prevent the import of drugs that may be contaminated by these toxic chemicals.

Since the explosion, Tianjin Tianyao also sent two other drug shipments for compounding to the US that were tested and released after hydrogen cyanide was not detected in the shipments. [Source]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.