European Health and Food Security - Ensuring Quality and Safety for Patients and Consumers
July 10, 2007
Whether the goods we buy are counterfeit or contaminated - there are clearly no winners only losers if the current upward trend is not stopped. Consumers and patients suffer from health problems or worse still, death; the environment suffers from pollution and other hazards; employees suffer from poor working environments; innovation suffers from piracy; industry suffers from distorted competition and the economy suffers from loss of revenue.

During a high level round table conference in Brussels yesterday, former Norwegian Health Minister Dr. Werner Christie - currently Technology Counselor at the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing - proposed countermeasures that will assist Europe and China as well as other countries in achieving health and food security. Such measures will also ensure that trade and economic development in these vital industrial sectors is facilitated - which will be for the benefit of all: a real ‘win-win' situation.

According to Dr. Roger Skinner, co-rapporteur of the June 2007 SFDA/ADB/WHO report on food safety in China, up to 17 agencies are responsible for food safety issues. While referring to the lethal infant formula cases in China, he concluded that 'everyone and thus no one is responsible for food safety in China. It will take years before there is an effective food safety regime in place across the whole country-. While expressing his fears that 'it will take a catastrophe to bring about the necessary change-, a representative of the European Commission said that the Commission was ready to help. But Dr. Christie advised stronger inspection measures including in Chinese production facilities. While agreeing that first steps were taken, a grey area was identified: the Ireland based FVO (EU Food and Veterinary Office) is currently not mandated to inspect pharmaceutical, food and health ingredients production facilities. A European Commission representative indicated that it was for DG Enterprise and Industry to broaden this mandate and provide the required budget. Dr. Christie advised that FVO inspections in China could lead to an enforceable certification or licensing standard for export quality control.

Chris Merchant, Security Director at MSD Merck & Co., referred to WHO data that estimates counterfeit drugs to grow to a value of $75 billion by 2010. This is the end of a dramatic open circle that starts with the outsourcing of entire high-tech projects from Europe to China as described by Dr. Ivan Baines of the German Max Planck Institute. Dr. Baines stated that Europe is rapidly losing its innovation. CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council) representative Ms. Severina Scarnecchia confirmed this development that is caused by the lack of a level playing field for industries. This is a.o. caused by illegal subsidies and price dumping practices. Dr. Christie added that such practices were promoted by Western industries seeking the lowest prices for ingredients, without due regard for either the environment or human health. Martijn Adorf of DSM Nutritional Products emphasised that sustainability and quality are interwoven. This requires substantial investment that is often lacking in developing countries.

Nevertheless, competition is often driven by price instead of quality. Chinese price dumping combined with forms of protectionism force European players either out of the market or into China. As a consequence, a strategic deficit has developed, leaving the EU dependent on India and China. This also applies to Japan with a 60% dependence of China in many key food ingredients. In the US the recent issue of contaminated wheat gluten in pet food has focused attention on imports from China. As a consequence the US recently appointed Dr. David Acheson as the Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who contributed to yesterday's discussion by outlining the current situation in the US and concluding on the need for more effective risk-based approaches and liaison with international counterparts to improve performance in monitoring food imports.

Gijs de Vries, former EU Anti-Terrorism and Security Coordinator, demonstrated a link between counterfeiting and criminality. From there, the step to bio-terrorism is not far away. He criticized the lack of awareness of the EU leadership of these threats to health security. 'EU countries are forewarned but not forearmed-, he concluded. This was confirmed by Dr. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, German Member of the European Parliament. Describing the rapidly growing vulnerability of European consumers and patients for counterfeited and contaminated products, he stated "That must stop". TNS NIPO Director Henk Foekema underlined that this is indeed the wish of around 80% of the public in six EU Member States. Polls in Germany, France, the UK, Poland, Finland and The Netherlands indicate that large majorities prefer medicines and health ingredients from Europe. Majorities are also against the outsourcing of innovation from Europe to China. Almost 90% of the respondents want Governments and politicians to act now.

The President of the Polish Consumer Federation, Ms. Malgorzata Niepokulczycka, responded 'with panic-. 'Consumers have two basic rights: the right of choice and the right of safety of food and medicines. It seems we have neither-, she said. She demanded the earliest possible action on the part of EU authorities but also criticized Western capital for investing in China without checking the consequences of dependency, counterfeiting and contamination.
About the Press Release
Whether the goods we buy are counterfeit or contaminated - there are clearly no winners only losers if the current upward trend is not stopped.


 
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