FDA opens 3 offices in China

FDA opens 3 offices in China The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will open three new offices in China, Nov. 19-21.
   The FDA offices will be located in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach this week will introduce some of the new FDA staff assigned to the new China offices.
   'Establishing a permanent FDA presence in China will greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness of our regulatory cooperation and our efforts to protect consumers in both countries, and to assist the Chinese government in its ongoing efforts to improve its regulatory systems for exports,' the FDA said in a statement.
   Leavitt and von Eschenbach will also meet with counterparts in the Chinese Ministry of Health and General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine this week to address mutual food safety issues, such as the recent outbreak of food-borne illness in the United States related to fresh produce and the melamine contamination of dairy products in China.