Heparin investigation launched by Capitol Hill

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Capitol Hill lawmakers have launched an investigation into the events leading up to the distribution of contaminated batches of the blood-thinning drug heparin.

The lots of heparin, whose active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was made in China, have been linked to multiple deaths and hundreds of serious allergic reactions in the U.S. FDA has identified the contaminant as oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, a chemical that does not occur naturally.

A House Energy & Commerce Committee panel plans to hold hearings in April to examine issues surrounding the matter. Congressional investigators have been sent to Scientific Protein Laboratories (SPL) in Waunakee, Wis., to interview company officials.

SPL co-owns a production facility in Changzhou, China, and is a supplier of heparin API to Baxter Healthcare and B. Braun Medical, two U.S. companies that make and distribute the finished product. Baxter recalled nearly all of its heparin in February, and B. Braun said it was recalling 23 lots of the drug as a precautionary measure on March 21. There have been similar recalls of Chinese-sourced heparin in Germany, Japan, and several other countries.

"This latest development underscores our concerns that FDA does not have a robust enough presence overseas in conducting inspections in plants that make drugs for the U.S. market," Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) says. "Ongoing surveillance inspections are critical if FDA is to find shortcomings."

Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who leads the committee's panel on oversight and investigations, says contaminated heparin is the second instance in the past year of "what appears to be intentional adulteration of food and drugs coming into this country from China." Melamine was detected in Chinese pet food imports last year.

"We need better processes for inspecting all foreign-made food and drugs, but at a minimum we must address the China issue now," Stupak says. "FDA should establish a schedule by which all Chinese firms exporting to the U.S. that have not been inspected in the past three years are inspected in the next three."

Stupak says FDA officials should be prepared to submit such a plan to Congress when they testify before his subcommittee next month to assure the public that steps are being taken to ensure the safety of food and drug imports.

"The sad reality is that FDA's inability to inspect foreign facilities has put American lives at risk," Stupak remarks. "Our hearings will evaluate what went wrong leading up to the heparin recall and the role increased overseas inspections by FDA could play in preventing future incidents."

The Chinese facility where the heparin API was made had never been inspected by FDA because of a database error in which the agency confused the factory's name with another that already had U.S. approval, health officials said last month.



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US, China identify herapin contaminent

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U.S. health officials have identified a contaminant in batches of the blood thinner heparin associated with 19 deaths and are trying to determine how the chemical got into the drug.

The lots of heparin, whose key ingredient was imported from China, were recalled Feb. 28, and Food and Drug Administration officials said Wednesday that no new deaths have been reported since that time...(Read more)

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China cuts 2008 coal export quotas

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China, the world's largest coal producer, has approved exports of 31.8 million metric tons, amid efforts to ensure domestic supplies. The quota is for the first batch of authorized shipments for this year.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said in a statement that China issued its first batch of 2008 coal export quotas, but cut it by almost a quarter from the first batch last year. It was a larger cut than had been expected, at 24 percent...(Read more)



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BMW to raise auto parts sourcing from China

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BMW AG, the world's largest luxury car maker, will increase sourcing from China this year to buy RMB 4.4 billion (US$619 million) worth of spare parts from 150 domestic suppliers, compared with RMB 3.6 billion in 2007, according to Alfred Rupp, president and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd.

"The local sourcing is crucial for BMW in China, as we have to remain competitive price to attract buyers in the world's second-largest auto market despite the higher costs." said Rupp. The joint venture has been optimizing its operations for better production efficiency to offset surging costs of raw materials...(Read more)



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Climate change will hit import-exports

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Movement of people, products, and materials will be greatly affected by climate change in the near future, but transportation professionals have not adapted their planning to reflect that impact, according to a new study by the National Research Council.

The study predicts that a rise in sea level, higher temperatures, greater hurricane intensity, heavier rains, and more frequent flooding are likely to come about due to climate change...(Read more)



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China’s big wooden problem

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Throughout the tropics, illegal logging and unregulated land clearance are decimating tropical forests. Weak governance and law enforcement in many countries contribute to a climate susceptible to illegal logging...(Read more)



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Nike reports problems at China supplies

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Nike Inc, the world's biggest sneaker and sportswear maker, said it found falsified documents, underage workers and unpaid wages at suppliers in China, despite what experts say is one of the top social compliance regimes in the industry.

The company's shares were down nearly 2 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange...(Read more)



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Germany against EU plan to increase milk quotas

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Germany on Monday opposed a plan, being considered by EU farm ministers, to increase milk quotas by two percent this year, with France also voicing concerns owing to volatility in the sector.

"I will refuse" to back the measure, German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer, whose country is the main producer in Europe, told reporters as he arrived for the meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels...(Read more)



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Consumers to challenge junk-food makers

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Consumer groups around the world have urged food and drink manufacturers to further curb their marketing of junk food in a fresh bid to combat child obesity.

Consumers International, an NGO that represents consumer bodies in 115 countries, and the International Obesity TaskForce (IOTF) have drawn up a code for marketing products high in fats, sugar and salt (HFSS).

The proposed code, which was launched to coincide with World Consumer Rights Day on Saturday (15 March), would require "complete restrictions" on the promotion of junk food to children on the Internet...(Read more)



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Tougher ozone rules for chemical industry

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Latest industry news updates in the chemical sector, 17 March 2008.

US, China probe heparin blood thinner


China and the United States are working together to investigate the blood-thinner heparin, which has been linked to 19 American deaths, China's food and drug administration said Sunday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been widening its investigation into the hundreds of adverse reactions — including difficulty breathing, nausea and falling blood pressure — linked to U.S. health care company Baxter International's heparin injections...(Read more)

Tougher ozone rules for chemical industry


New ozone standard may help reduce smog that plagues cities like Los Angeles."America's air is cleaner today than it was a generation ago," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson noted when announcing the new standard on March 12. "By meeting the requirement of the Clean Air Act and strengthening the national standard for ozone, EPA is keeping our clean air progress moving forward."
Johnson said the agency based its decision on the most recent scientific evidence about the effects of ozone, the primary component of smog. The change means that the air in 345 U.S. counties will violate federal standards, four times the current number of violators...(Read more)



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China confirms bird flu outbreak

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China confirms bird flu outbreak


Chinese officials have confirmed that bird flu was to blame for killing chickens in poultry markets in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Hong Kong's health bureau Sunday.

China's Ministry of Agriculture notified the administration that the birds tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, marking the country's fifth outbreak among poultry this year, Hong Kong's Food and Health Bureau said in a statement...(Read more)



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EU ends anti-dumping probe of Chinese PVA

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 14, 2008.



Oil price breaks new record
Oil rose to a record high for the fifth day in a row on Wednesday, boosted by investor flows into oil and other commodities partly to hedge against inflation and the weak dollar...(Read more)


China to invest in Bangladesh EPZs
China has shown its keen interest to invest more in the country EPZs and textile sector. It was disclosed when a 24-member delegation of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export Textile (CCCT), led by Cao Xin Yu, visited Bangladesh...(Read more)


Tsingtao Beer toasts Beijing Olympics
As a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tsingtao Beer is preparing to raise its glass in a toast to the entire world...(Read more)


EU ends anti-dumping probe of Chinese PVA
DThe European Union (EU) announced Monday it will terminate its anti-dumping investigation of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) imports from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan... (Read more)


Asia wine market to grow 20% in 5 years
Asia’s wine market is expected to grow 10-20 percent per year in the next five years with regional consumption set to double, a study released by a Hong Kong trade body said Tuesday... (Read more)



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China FDI soars 75% to $18b

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 13, 2008.



China FDI soars 75% to $18b
China attracted US$18.13 billion (HK$141.4 billion) in foreign direct investment in the first two months of the year, up 75 percent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday...(Read more)


LNG fuel purchases to double
Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co, China's only LNG facility, may double purchases of individual liquefied natural gas this year, a company official said...(Read more)


Soybean imports being encouraged by China
China has a tremendous demand for soybeans and that has pushed futures prices steadily higher in recent weeks. Although the Chicago Board of Trade has lead Chinese vegetable oil prices higher in the past, since the first of the year cash prices seem to be the major factor in rising futures...(Read more)


Japan's China vegetable imports fall 40%
Japan's imports of vegetables from China fell 40 percent during the first three weeks of February from last year, the Asahi newspaper said, citing the Agriculture Ministry...(Read more)


Food imports to remain steady
Despite the snowstorms that devastated large swathes of farmland, and an increasing dependence on soybean imports, there will not be a significant jump in food imports, top Chinese rural policy-makers have said... (Read more)



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Crude oil price rises “not over”

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.



Crude oil price rise "not over"
Fueled by a continuing weak dollar, crude oil futures surged above US$108 a barrel yesterday — a new inflation-adjusted record and their fifth new high in the last six sessions...(Read more)


China: MOH to oversee food, drug safety
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will oversee food and drug safety by taking over the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), a government institutional restructuring draft bill presented to the NPC stated on Tuesday... (Read more)


Bangladesh-China trade deficit up $2.56b
Trade gap between Bangladesh and China is widening alarmingly and it crossed more than two and a half billion dollars in the last financial year, according to the statistics available...(Read more)


Japan's China vegetable imports fall 40%
Japan's imports of vegetables from China fell 40 percent during the first three weeks of February from last year, the Asahi newspaper said, citing the Agriculture Ministry...(Read more)


Food imports to remain steady
Despite the snowstorms that devastated large swathes of farmland, and an increasing dependence on soybean imports, there will not be a significant jump in food imports, top Chinese rural policy-makers have said... (Read more)



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Sinopec leads 7-month low in China stocks

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.



Sinopec leads 7-month low in China stocks
China’s stocks fell to the lowest in seven months after the U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs in February, raising concern...(Read more)


U.S. consumers favor Chinese products
U.S. consumers believe Chinese products have the second best value in the world, only after the American goods, a recently released survey shows... (Read more)


China: Food poisoning deaths up in 2007
Food poisoning deaths in China rose by about one-third in 2007, the state-run news agency reported Sunday amid ongoing scrutiny over the safety of the country's food production chain...(Read more)


China to "ban" non-green foreign investment
China has been reforming its policies in an effort to discourage overseas investment in energy-intensive, polluting and resource-based ventures — the so-called smokestack industries...(Read more)


Number of China cellphone users rises to 555m
In January 2008, mobile phone subscribers in China sent 54.64 billion short messages, averaging 3.17 per phone number a day... (Read more)



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