(HHS: Washington) -- As part of an ongoing strategy to address the food safety issues in China and the United States, and to share ideas to address global food safety, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened its first office in Beijing, China, on Nov. 19, 2008. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Michael O. Leavitt, and FDA commissioner, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, will then proceed to open FDA offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and will introduce some of the new FDA staff members assigned to China.

“A permanent FDA presence in China will help us address the challenges presented by globalization,” says von Eschenbach. “We look forward to working with the Chinese government and manufacturers to ensure that FDA standards for safety and manufacturing quality are met before products ship to the United States.”

During the second workshop, technical and scientific experts from FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Chinese Ministry of Health, as well as the Chinese General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, will address the evaluation of, response to, and treatment of melamine contamination and other food-borne outbreaks. They also will exchange the latest scientific data on the toxicity of melamine in humans.

In December 2007, U.S. HHS/FDA officials signed two Memoranda of Agreement on the safety of food, feed, drugs, and medical devices with agencies of the Chinese government. The agreements, signed by Secretary Leavitt, contain a framework for closer collaboration between HHS/FDA and its Chinese counterpart agencies to help assure that Chinese products that come to the United States under HHS/FDA jurisdiction will be safer. As a result, the transmission of information between the agencies of the two countries has especially improved, and they have worked more closely to address safety concerns.

Establishing a permanent HHS/FDA presence in China will greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness of regulatory cooperation and efforts to protect consumers in both countries. HHS/FDA officials will also assist the Chinese government, as requested, in its ongoing efforts to improve its regulatory systems for exports to help assure product safety.

“We’re opening up a new era, not just new offices,” says Leavitt. “By having a presence in other parts of the world, we can work more closely with manufacturers and other governments, better share best practices, and further ensure that quality and safety are built into food and consumer products at the point of manufacture.”

The China offices will have eight FDA staff members, including inspectors and senior technical experts on regulation, policy, food, medicine, and medical devices. By leveraging their respective resources, both countries can share information and increase quality standards. The goal is to establish common standards, common certification, and shared inspections, creating safer products and lower costs.

For further information, visit www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/11/20081118a.html.

To view photographs from the ribbon cutting ceremony, visit http://english.sina.com/china/p/2008/1119/199149.html.