News release: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will send the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff to China, India, Europe, and Latin America before the end of 2008, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today…“Increasing our presence overseas will provide greater protections to American consumers at home and benefit our host countries as well…opening these offices will mark a key milestone in the globalization of our efforts to enhance the safety of imported food and medical products.” The first overseas office will be in China. The U.S. government recently secured formal approval for the office from the People’s Republic of China. The first staff will be in place in Beijing this year, with additional staff to be posted in 2009. Staff is also scheduled to be posted in Shanghai and Guangzhou next year. The department anticipates a total of eight U.S. nationals in China. Secretary Leavitt is scheduled to travel to China in November to meet with Chinese health officials to review mutual efforts to ensure the safety of food and medical products consumed by the two nations, particularly imported goods…Increased collaboration and coordination with trading partners and companies exporting goods to the United States is a central component of the Import Safety Action Plan proposed in November 2007 by an interagency working group led by Secretary Leavitt. Previously, federal officials relied extensively on inspections at the border to ferret out unsafe goods, an approach that has not kept up with the exponential growth in global commerce. In addition to border checks, the plan called for partnering with producers of goods overseas to build in quality every step of the way.”