Probe Into Painkiller Import From China: Thailand

[webfact]

Probe into painkiller import from China
Pongphon Sarnsamak,
Suriyan Panyawai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry has launched an inquiry with the state drug maker after the Defence Pharmaceutical Factory found that the raw material to be used in producing paracetamol is of poor quality.

Paracetamol is an over-the-counter pain relieving drug.

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) will hold a press conference tomorrow to explain to the public its procedures in producing paracetamol and storing the raw materials which are purchased from China.

Public Health Minister Pradith Sinthawanarong said he had instructed GPO managing director Witit Artavatkun to clarify doubts surrounding the raw materials.

"If the GPO's managing director cannot give a clear answer on this issue, I will set up a committee to investigate what really happened with the raw material," Pradith said.

The GPO purchased more than 130 tonnes of the raw material used in paracetamol production - or about 19 batches - during 2011-2012.

However, so far it has been unable to produce the paracetamol because work on its new factory is not finished and it was not expected to be ready until the end of March.

In the meantime, it hired the Defence Industry and Energy Centre's pharmaceutical factory to produce paracetamol and a private storage to keep the raw materials.

Meanwhile, the Defence Pharmaceutical Factory has conducted a test to study the quality of raw material bought by the GPO and found that many batches did not meet standard requirements.

Witit previously insisted the GPO had carefully random-tested all raw material it had purchased from China and found no problems.

However, he said he had already asked the Chinese supplier to return all the raw materials.

"So far, we have not used this raw material to produce any paracetamol. So don't worry," he said.

The Public Health Minister's assistant Pasit Sakdanarong said the minister last week had asked Withit to explain what really happened with the quality of the raw material purchased from China - but Withit did not give a clear explanation to Pradith.

"Withit could not answer why the GPO had made a decision to import more than 130 tonnes of raw material to produce paracetamol and keep it in storage. It was not necessary to keep this raw material by itself as at that time as the GPO did not need to produce any paracetamol," he said.

"Why did the GPO not release this raw material to other pharmaceutical factories producing paracetamol, instead of hiring a private storage to keep this raw material for two years?" he asked.

To resolve the problem of drug stockpiles in the long term, Pradith said the GPO must make a raw material management plan and production plant to estimate the amount of raw material needed to be stocked in Thailand.

As for compensating the Chinese supplier for returning the raw material, Pradith said the GPO had insisted it could get all the money back from the purchase.


-- The Nation 2013-02-26

[EyesWideOpen]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life.... The baby milk scandal was simply beyond belief.It is ALL about money.... From the article below.

"The chemical appeared to have been added to milk to cause it to appear to have a higher protein content."

So if something is labeled as a Chinese product, easy to protect yourself by not buying it. However if Thai companies are using raw products from China, then there is no way to see that.... :-(

Edited February 26, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[Thai at Heart]

What an absolute joke.

Importing huge volumes of substandard base material for medicine. What the hell are these people up to. How hard can it be for the GPO to get a proper test done on delivery?

[Pimay1]

"Why did the GPO not release this raw material to other pharmaceutical factories producing paracetamol, instead of hiring a private storage to keep this raw material for two years?" he asked.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...............

Why am I not suprised?

[who]

.

...the GPO's managing director cannot give a clear answer...

Sounds sort of Thai doesn't it.

.

[alchik]

About 80% of the world's raw pharmaceutical materials come from China. Each country importing these materials has stringent tests by the Ministry of Health to ensure that the quality is up to standard and there is no biological contamination. It seems in this case something went wrong and smacks of corruption. Don't automatically put the blame on the Chinese supplier before the facts are established. It is also possible that this material was classified for use in veterinary products and passed off by the importer for human consumption. Long term storage also has an adverse effect on the materials.

[how241]

About 80% of the world's raw pharmaceutical materials come from China. Each country importing these materials has stringent tests by the Ministry of Health to ensure that the quality is up to standard and there is no biological contamination. It seems in this case something went wrong and smacks of corruption. Don't automatically put the blame on the Chinese supplier before the facts are established. It is also possible that this material was classified for use in veterinary products and passed off by the importer for human consumption. Long term storage also has an adverse effect on the materials.

+1

[Halion]

Very simple methodology as long as you keep in mind whom you are dealing with.

Money is released to buy a hugh consignment of this product from China, regardless of the fact that there is no shortage and also no production facility nor compliant storage facility. Initial sample of the product is within buying specification. Deal gets the rubber stamp from those who are intellectually challenged and the scam begins. China suplier supplys sub standard grade and saves a significant sum on the deal which is then split between him and the buyers ( Thai Government officials). Just another working day in Thailand .Fraud, cohersion and collusion. Only to be expected when the whole dam country are sub standard.

[Thai at Heart]

Defence Pharmaceutical Factory

The army makes paracetamol?

[remobb]

Chinese products are well known for sub standard quality. Try to sell cement or fertilizer and other products from China, most of the world will tell you it's c**p.

[vijer]

Well it sounds like the Thai's bought and took delivery of the ingredients two years ago. If that is the case and the Thai's are now testing the materials then it is definitely possible they have degraded substantially since then. I don't recall ever seeing Tylenol with an expiration date of more than a year at the most.

Don't worry, they can just make the paracetamol and label the bottles with this warning; "This product is substandard, take 4 pills instead of 2."

Also, why would you buy raw material when you don't even have a facility yet? Then having bought the material and having it stored by a third party, why would it take you two years to then begin thinking about producing pills? Maybe they thought they could build the new factory in a couple months. Wait a minute, did the same contractor that built the new police stations pilings get the pharmacuticl factory contract too? Oh never mind TiT.

Edited February 26, 2013 by vijer

[Credo]

It will take more than the Thaivisa sleuths to get to the bottom of this. Whose worse China or Thailand? Whose more corrupt?

[jackspratt]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life....

Xenophobic nonsense - as a billion+ people around the world could testify.

Edited February 26, 2013 by jackspratt

[jamhar]

i'm going to get my meds from the US when ever possible!

[slapout]

It would not surprise me that the same extended family was working from both ends on this boondoggle.This will be like the contaminated powered milk importered a few years back, prolonged silence after the intial report. The same applied to the dead chickens which were sold from the broilers facilities and ended up being butchered and eventually sold to the public.The only time I have seen the Health Department show any presence in CM is when they come around to varify your not serving booze during non drinking hours, have no serving glasses with advertising and no smoking signs are displayed.

Another bunch hoods who are after the small business for the baht fine potential, with no real concern for the health of the people.

[Locationthailand]

.

...the GPO's managing director cannot give a clear answer...

Sounds sort of Thai doesn't it.

.

Good thing I am colour blind and can't read this quote...

[Locationthailand]

As to drugs of any description coming from Chinese origination...

[jamhar]

"Don't automatically put the blame on the Chinese supplier before the facts are established. It is also possible that this material was classified for use in veterinary products and passed off by the importer for human consumption. Long term storage also has an adverse effect on the materials."

It is widely known that the Chinese will sell you sh*t as gold, if you're willing to buy sh*t as gold. It is up to the buyer to verify.

on a recent trip to Cambodia a buddy showed me a bracelet and told me it was silver and for 200baht. I told him, its too shiny (silver tarnishes quickly) and too light in weight to be silver. He then said, but its only 200baht. I told him if he wanted to buy a tin bracelet for 200baht, knock him self out. He took it back.

one of 2 things happened. Thia's bought sh*t and didnt verify what they were buying. (someone should be fired), or Thai's knowing bought sh*t (possibly at a discount, and pocketed the difference) and passed it off as the genuine article. If its the latter, the perp needs to be put away to prevent an even more serious issue he may cause in the future. The latter type of person is a threat to public health.

[Maestro]

I have deleted a nonsensical hub post.

[EyesWideOpen]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life....

Xenophobic nonsense - as a billion+ people around the world could testify.

Either you are Chinese, or you have not done a lot of research on food scandals in China.... Let me repeat this for you. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY......

Putting the chemical melamine into milk to increase the apparent protein content, which caused the poisoning of thousands of Chinese babies including deaths, would be a good research start for you.

What is up with the billion people reference? That they have so many people they can afford to lose a few to bad food ??

Ok here is what the Chinese people think about their food safety.

Who would know better than them ??? You ??

"But the run on formula is not the result of a local baby boom. Instead, it is being attributed to Chinese visitors, who are apparently concerned about domestic food safety standards and are believed to be buying in bulk and carrying it home."

Link here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/infant-formula-shortage-in-australia-tied-to-chinese-hoarding.html?ref=foodsafety&_r=0

Edited February 27, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[jackspratt]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life....

Xenophobic nonsense - as a billion+ people around the world could testify.

Either you are Chinese, or you have not done a lot of research on food scandals in China.... Let me repeat this for you. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY......

Putting the chemical melamine into milk to increase the apparent protein content, which caused the poisoning of thousands of Chinese babies including deaths, would be a good research start for you.

What is up with the billion people reference? That they have so many people they can afford to lose a few to bad food ??

Ok here is what the Chinese people think about their food safety.

Who would know better than them ??? You ??

"But the run on formula is not the result of a local baby boom. Instead, it is being attributed to Chinese visitors, who are apparently concerned about domestic food safety standards and are believed to be buying in bulk and carrying it home."

Link here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/infant-formula-shortage-in-australia-tied-to-chinese-hoarding.html?ref=foodsafety&_r=0

Ah! - so you were talking about the melamine scandal.

When I read your previous post, I thought you were referring to "every consumable product" from China.

As I said, xenophobic nonsense, or to give you the benefit of the doubt, extreme hyperbole.

[EyesWideOpen]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life....

Xenophobic nonsense - as a billion+ people around the world could testify.

Either you are Chinese, or you have not done a lot of research on food scandals in China.... Let me repeat this for you. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY......

Putting the chemical melamine into milk to increase the apparent protein content, which caused the poisoning of thousands of Chinese babies including deaths, would be a good research start for you.

What is up with the billion people reference? That they have so many people they can afford to lose a few to bad food ??

Ok here is what the Chinese people think about their food safety.

Who would know better than them ??? You ??

"But the run on formula is not the result of a local baby boom. Instead, it is being attributed to Chinese visitors, who are apparently concerned about domestic food safety standards and are believed to be buying in bulk and carrying it home."

Link here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/infant-formula-shortage-in-australia-tied-to-chinese-hoarding.html?ref=foodsafety&_r=0

Ah! - so you were talking about the melamine scandal.

When I read your previous post, I thought you were referring to "every consumable product" from China.

As I said, xenophobic nonsense, or to give you the benefit of the doubt, extreme hyperbole.

Zzzzzzz ok one more attempt to awaken you from your delusional slumber. Then I leave the rest of the research to you. How about a Chinese produced drug , which would hit a bit closer to theme of this thread.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/health/20heparin.html?_r=0

" Federal drug regulators, in announcing Wednesday that the mystery contaminant in heparin was an inexpensive, unapproved ingredient altered to mimic the real thing, moved closer to concluding that Americans might be the latest victims of lethal Chinese drug counterfeiting."

Or read this article from the New York Times:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/series/toxicpipeline/index.html

"Stories in this Pulitzer Prize-winning series have examined how dangerous and poisonous pharmaceutical ingredients from China have flowed into the global market. Reporting on four continents, Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker traced the illicit ingredients through traders and middlemen that formed a supply chain stretching from small factories in rural China to consumers around the world. The stories detailed the devastating, sometime deadly, human cost of this toxic pipeline."

Ok now school is out for you. Guys like you crack me up. Are you a plant for the Chinese government, who scour message boards looking for any anti-Chinese sentiment, then go into attack mode? Too funny for words.....

[jackspratt]

Ok now school is out for you. Guys like you crack me up. Are you a plant for the Chinese government, who scour message boards looking for any anti-Chinese sentiment, then go into attack mode? Too funny for words.....

While most online pharmacies that peddle counterfeit drugs are foreign-run organizations, some

are based in the US. In October 2006, the DEA arrested eleven employees of a Georgia-

based drug manufacturer that was selling fake pharmaceuticals over the Internet to US consumers.

The group’s revenues topped USD 19 million................. http://www.aei.org/files/2012/02/27/-appendix-a-master-2_170026856632.pdf

and

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was a peanut-processing business founded in 1977 and headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. The company was forced out of business after being found to be the source of a massive salmonella outbreak in the United States during 2008 and 2009.

PCA operated processing facilities in Blakely, Georgia; Suffolk, Virginia; and Plainview, Texas. The company supplied peanuts, peanut butter, peanut meal, and peanut paste to institutional users such as schools and nursing homes, to food processors who used them in a wide range of products fromcookies and snacks to dog treats and ice cream, and to retail outlets such as dollar stores.

Peanut Corporation of America had 90 employees and did $25 million in sales in 2008. The company manufactured roughly 2.5 percent of the nation’s processed peanuts.

The company was sued by American Candy Company after the FDA discovered in 1990 that PCA's peanut butter exceeded the FDA tolerance level for aflatoxin, a mold toxin. American Candy had turned the peanut butter into 8,000 cases of "kisses" for Wal-Mart, which were not shipped. Another lawsuit was brought by Zachary Confections Inc. of Frankfort, Indiana, in 1991 after a 40,020-pound shipment of nuts from PCA was found to have an unacceptably high level of aflatoxin. There had been concerns about sanitation at the company since at least the mid-1980s.

On February 13, 2009, Peanut Corporation of America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. At least a dozen civil lawsuits have been filed while the federal criminal investigation continues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_Corporation_of_America

I can now propose, seemingly with a straight face, and without a hint of embarrasment, that people should:

"Never EVER eat any consumable product from the USA if you want a long and healthy life....

[h90]

Never EVER eat any consumable product from China if you want a long and healthy life.... The baby milk scandal was simply beyond belief.It is ALL about money.... From the article below.

"The chemical appeared to have been added to milk to cause it to appear to have a higher protein content."

So if something is labeled as a Chinese product, easy to protect yourself by not buying it. However if Thai companies are using raw products from China, then there is no way to see that.... :-(

I have a friend in China and he took the troubles to import baby milk from Austria. He didn't even trust the European brands that are made in China.

[EyesWideOpen]

Ok will make this issue clear in a simple way for those with cloudy vision.

Let's say you have a sick child at home here , and you need to buy a critical drug

to help her. So now when you are at the pharmacy, you see the drug you need.

So side by side on the shelf is the drug, with one version made in China, and the other

version made in USA. Which one are you going to reach for ?????????????????

I rest my case.....

Edited February 28, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[jackspratt]

Ok will make this issue clear in a simple way for those with cloudy vision.

Let's say you have a sick child at home here , and you need to buy a critical drug

to help her. So now when you are at the pharmacy, you see the drug you need.

So side by side on the shelf is the drug, with one version made in China, and the other

version made in USA. Which one are you going to reach for ?????????????????

I rest my case.....

Quite clearly, you never had a case for your original xenophobic/hyperbolic statement.

[EyesWideOpen]

Ok will make this issue clear in a simple way for those with cloudy vision.

Let's say you have a sick child at home here , and you need to buy a critical drug

to help her. So now when you are at the pharmacy, you see the drug you need.

So side by side on the shelf is the drug, with one version made in China, and the other

version made in USA. Which one are you going to reach for ?????????????????

I rest my case.....

Quite clearly, you never had a case for your original xenophobic/hyperbolic statement.

Thais have taught me xenophobia, and hyperbole is sometimes needed to jolt people from incorrect positions... :-)

[simple1]

It will take more than the Thaivisa sleuths to get to the bottom of this. Whose worse China or Thailand? Whose more corrupt?

China - approx US$3.8 trillion laundered in the past 10 years or so.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-china-dirtymoney-idUSBRE89O1RW20121025

[EyesWideOpen]

It will take more than the Thaivisa sleuths to get to the bottom of this. Whose worse China or Thailand? Whose more corrupt?

China - approx US$3.8 trillion laundered in the past 10 years or so.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-china-dirtymoney-idUSBRE89O1RW20121025

Oh no, this will be a new kettle of fish to jump into. :-) China defenders !!! Mount your horses !!! Thai GDP for 2011 was 345 billion. So on a rough numbers basis it appears that the Chinese corruption money removal from China exceeds the total GDP of Thailand on a year to year basis....

I believe that corruption and poor food/drug quality are closely tied. In essence it means that there is no real governance providing a layer of protection for the consumer. I am not talking about the maniac lawsuit system of America, but simply government employees tasked with making sure a good product is turned out. When the government employees take money and turn a blind eye to dangerous products, that is corruption at work.....

The Chinese have perfected corruption, and simply passed it onto Thailand.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Looks like the GPO got caught cheating doesn't it.