From China to Panama, A Trail of Poisoned Medicine

In 1937, more than 100 people in the US died, after taking medicine that contained diethylene glycol, a solvent used in some anti-freeze products that looks and tastes like glycerin syrup, a common base for cough syrup and other medical products. The tragedy led to tough regulations and the start of the modern Food and Drug Administration. Decades later, counterfeiters in China tried the same substitution, resulting in thousands of deaths throughout China and at least six other nations. In one case, a tailor got into the chemical business, after testing a small amount of his substitute himself. “The counterfeit glycerin passed through three trading companies on three continents, yet not one of them tested the syrup to confirm what was on the label,” reports journalists Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker for “The New York Times.” The FDA has warned US pharmaceutical firms and suppliers to test all glycerin shipments. In a modern world, with products moving through multiple locations, trading nations must regulate the quality of products moving both in and out of their borders. Free trade depends on trust – and profits for many can vanish instantly when a few unscrupulous characters rely on dangerous counterfeit products for quick profits. – YaleGlobal