E-Drug Transparence of origin (cont)
------------------------------------
Dear Mahmood HM Daya
I read with interest your edrug regarding transparency of origin of
pharmaceuticals.
As a recognised international supplier of essential drugs, ECHO
International Health Services has long been concerned about misleading
labelling. ECHO buys products throughout Europe and also buys a limited
range of products from inspected suppliers in India. ECHO only buys
products which are clearly labelled with the country of origin and
manufacturer. Many of our products are labelled with the manfacturers'
labels. We have some of our products labelled with ECHO labels.
All these labels also clearly state who the manufacturer is and
where the manufacture takes place, in addition to the ECHO name and address
details.
We know that there are products purporting to be made in the UK but
are clearly of Indian origin sold by other suppliers in the UK. These can
easily be recognised by the Indian registration mark on the pack e.g.
MH/105 with MH indicating the state of manufacture i.e. Maharashtra. This
is often the only indication that the goods are Indian in origin. There
is a loophole in the law in some countries which allows the country of
origin to be defined as part of a reprocessing activity.
Therefore after repackaging it is possible to label the goods with
the European country in which they were repackaged. This is particularly
common with goods of German origin.
ECHO as a reputable supplier is keen to ensure that the labelling on
pharmaceuticals ensures transparency of origin and does not buy from
sources where the origin is not clearly marked. We would encourage all
purchasers of pharmaceuticals to do the same as only by pressure from all
involved parties can we stop misleading labelling.
Sincerely,
Maggie Pryce
M. PRYCE BPharm MRPharmS
Sales Manager
ECHO International Health Services Limited
Ullswater Crescent
Coulsdon Surrey CR5 2HR
UK Charity Reg No: 264681 Company No: 1059894 (England)
Tel: +44 0181 660 2220 Fax: +44 0181 668 0751
email: sales@echohealth.org.uk
--
Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.