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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
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July 10, 2007
China executes safety official
 Although this picture is bizarrely still up on the State FDA webpage today, China has executed Zheng Xiaoyu, its FDA commissioner, for taking bribes totaling at least $850,000 to approve dangerous products that caused numerous deaths. From state China View news site:
"Zheng's dereliction of duty has undermined the efficiency of China's drug monitoring and supervision, endangered public life and health and has had a very negative social impact," said SPC [Supreme People's Court]. The bribes taken by Zheng, including cash and gifts, were received either directly or through his wife and son, according to the court. The court said Zheng "sought benefits" for eight pharmaceutical companies by approving their drugs and medical devices during his tenure as China's chief drug and food official from June 1997 to December 2006. Zheng's very-publicized execution, of course, maintains healthy attention on the very thin wall protecting U.S. consumers from dangerous seafood, pet food, drugs, toothpaste and consumer products ranging from automobile tires to children's toys from China, which has finally recognized the implications of its lack of oversight, and, from anywhere. From the New York Times: The Chinese government has stepped up its efforts in recent weeks, announcing a series of measures aimed at strengthening food and drug safety and cracking down on counterfeiting. The government said Tuesday that it was preparing to release its first regulation on nationwide food recalls. The government also said it would initiate new rules to stop food products from being illegally exported, bypassing food inspections. Of course, the China syndrome displayed here merely highlights some of the worst threats to U.S. consumers from dangerous products, foods and drugs imported from countries with poor safety regimes. But our own regime is inadequate as well. We can only hope that Congressional oversight stimulated by the Chinese revelations leads to greater protections against consumer dangers both home-grown and imported. U.S. PIRG expects House action this week on improvements to the U.S. FDA's authority to regulate prescription drugs.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at July 10, 2007 05:55 PM
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