Look how govt checks drugs

This scary fact is an admission made by the state’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a confidential report, a copy of which is in possession of The Indian Express.

Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Food (Prohibition of Adulteration) Act, it is the responsibility of the FDA to check each product and certify its quality.

So forget about checks on Coke and Pepsi samples for a minute. The administration is incapable of checking thousands of medicines and foodstuff before it gives them licences to be sold in the Indian markets.

Here’s why.

• The FDA has just one laboratory—only for checking medicines. Their limit is 6,000 samples (that leaves us with 34,000 unchecked drugs floating around in our markets).

Excise and Food and Drug Administration Minister Anil Deshmukh and FDA Commissioner Uttam Kbobragade don’t mind admitting that.

On Coke and Pepsi samples, Deshmukh said: ‘‘We don’t have our own laboratory (to check foodstuffs). So, we have forwarded the samples to the Pune laboratory.’’

The Pune laboratory belongs to the agriculture department.

‘‘Unless the government sets up regional laboratories at Pune and Aurangabad, there will be no improvement in the situation,’’ a former FDA commissioner said refusing to be named.

As far as checking of food products is concerned, the situation is more dangerous. ‘‘So far as the corporation areas are concerned, it is the responsibility of the civic organisation to ensure the implementation of the law. While in rural parts, the FDA is the competent authority. But in the absence of effective coordination between FDA and civic organisations, large-scale adulterated items are openly sold in the market,’’ a former commissioner pointed out.

• Severe manpower crunch. FDA’s inspection of medical stores is dismal. At the moment, there are a record number of 40,000 shops in Maharashtra, while the number of drug inspectors is 130.

As a result, there is absolutely no check on over 30,000 shops since the inspectors can inspect around 10,000 shops in a year.

‘‘We have completed ignored the FDA. In last 25 years, we have not made any investment, as a result, it has become a chronically sick unit,’’ the former FDA commissioner rued.

Says FDA Commissioner Uttam Khobragade: “We collect samples on a random basis and send them to laboratories for a quality check. I don’t think that there is a need to check all food products and medicines.’’