And now, from the folks who poisoned our pets

From Medscape.com:

"May 8, 2007 — Healthcare professionals and others who compound medications using glycerin are being reminded of the importance of testing for diethylene glycol (DEG) contamination before use, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned yesterday. DEG, a solvent, is a known poison used in antifreeze.

Although the US supply of glycerin is not known to contain DEG, contaminated glycerin is known to have caused deaths in other countries over the past several years, according to an alert sent yesterday from MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse-event reporting program."

And we import glycerin from China. Didn't see a word about that in the Medscape article. Other medical sites aren't being so cautious, citing "lack of transparency" of Chinese officials. The first quiet, back page warnings about glycerin came out about 6 weeks ago; then NYT had an article a few days ago; then Medscape and some medical sites finally alerted their readers--they probably saw the NYT article. Glycerin is used in many products from toothpaste to cough medicine. Tell me again why the Federal Government should be in charge of all aspects of our health care.