15 inspectors are not enough to ensure product safety in China!

Filed in archive Point of view on August 30, 2008

A recent article in Bloomberg which was also covered by Supply Chain Matters has revealed the FDA plans to send 15 inspectors in three Chinese cities to scrutinize exports to the world's largest economy, responding to concerns over the safety of China-produced food, toys and pharmaceutical ingredients.

While this might be a good move by the U.S. government, I also share this opinion like many others that 15 people is not enough to assure the quality in a big offshore destination like China.

While deployment of FDA inspectors is a positive step toward addressing concerns, 15 inspectors can hardly keep track of all of the present export volumes. The responsibility for product quality and safety must always remain with manufacturers and brand owners, and processes that identify, track, and foster collaboration among extended value-chain participates is the more important announcement to anticipate