Consumer Alert - Contamination

For those of you who are traveling abroad, be warned that any medication that you might purchase over the counter could potentially have fatal effects. A fine, if lengthy, piece in the International Herald Tribune discussing the effects of ingesting diethylene glycol (antifreeze) which is often substituted for the more-expensive glycerine in cough medication, antipyretics, analgesic syrups, and toothpaste.

Not that you're safe if you're buying such things in the U.S., either.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned drug makers and suppliers in the United States "to be especially vigilant" in watching for diethylene glycol. The warning did not specifically mention China, and it said there was "no reason to believe" that glycerin in America was tainted. Even so, the agency called for all glycerin shipments to be tested for diethylene glycol and said it was "exploring how supplies of glycerin become contaminated."

This article was published in May of this year. It is not clear that the FDA has done much since then, other than warn.

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