FDA Warns of Counterfeit Blood Glucose Test Strips
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a warning that counterfeit blood glucose test strips are being sold for use with various models of LifeScan Inc., One Touch Brand blood glucose monitors. The counterfeit strips were distributed to pharmacies and other retailers primarily in Flordia, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Missouri. According to the FDA, the counterfeit test strips can give incorrect blood glucose values that could cause patients to take the wrong amount of insulin, resulting in serious injury or death.
The counterfeit test strips are branded "One Touch Basic Profile" (lot #272894A, 2619932 or 2606340)and "One Touch Ultra" (lot #2691191).
Also today, the European Union and China announced that they have started monitoring major seaports including Rotterdam and Shenzhen for counterfeit pharmaceuticals.
The rise in drug counterfeiting in recent years is truly alarming, reflecting the extent to which organized crime and other hardened criminals have turned to counterfeiting as a major source of revenue.