Drug Importation and the Deadly Challenge of Screening 275 Million Packages a Year

October 30, 2018

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their report U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Mail Facilities (IMFs), describes the daunting job that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces when attempting to weed out counterfeit medications and packages containing illicit fentanyl. In 2017, IMFs received 275 million packages. Of these, 10,000 were screened by CBP, and of those 86% contained drugs. The investigation of a suspect package is incredibly time-consuming; an experienced FDA investigator might take as long as 20 minutes to process a package containing just on product.

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Counterfeit Medicines And Fentanyl Pills in Top Ten of Seized Items by CBP

August 17, 2018

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection work hard to keep counterfeit medicines and fentanyl pills out of the U.S., they do still get in. Fake pharmaceuticals and personal care products were the seventh most frequently seized item in fiscal year 2017, and the increase of illicit fentanyl is only mirrored by the increase in the number of deaths caused by synthetic opioids…

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