I think it's inarguable that generics have offered live-saving medication to millions, if not billions, around the world, much to the disgust of the pharmaceutical companies who would prefer a captive market like they've stitched up in the US.
The idea that the FDA can test every batch of every drug imported is ridiculous, they can however implement strict controls for the production of the drug.... but not abroad.
Why? I'm pretty sure that large scale manufacturers of electronic devices test every batch of components that they receive. Why should drugs be different?
It's not as if they have to test them for effectiveness, they just have to check that they contain certain compounds and don't contain others.
Also they could put that duty on the distributor.
>At Chen Qiang’s tilapia farm in Yangjiang city in China’s Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, Chen feeds fish partly with feces from hundreds of pigs and geese. That practice is dangerous for American consumers, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety.
>“The manure the Chinese use to feed fish is frequently contaminated with microbes like salmonella,” says Doyle, who has studied foodborne diseases in China.
So no, I don't instinctively think it's "racist" to be concerned that drugs and other materials imported from previously third-world countries might not be exactly what they say they are. We're not importing them because of their quality, we're importing them because they're cheaper. It's a race to the bottom, and anyone trying to reach the bottom is likely to take shortcuts.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-11/asian-sea...
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tilapia-consumption/
http://web.archive.org/web/20130308100945/http://@ers.usda.g...