BRUSSELS UPDATE
JRC suggests medicine bottle leaching tests
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Union (EU) has released tests and reference materials to help packaging companies test and measure alkali contamination leaching from pharmaceutical glass containers into liquid medicines applied by injection or drip. It is making available 10,000 vials of semi-durable glass for manufacturers, which can be re-used at least 19 times, after specified reconditioning. A JRC note said release of trace alkaline substances affects the water in which pharmaceutical substances are dissolved, with the solution being “very sensitive to the pH, so that these traces are sufficient to affect the properties of pharmaceuticals through a slight increase in pH.” http://bookshop.eu.int/eubookshop/FileCache/PUBPDF/LANA22537ENC/LANA22537ENC_002.pdf
EBRD in Russia glass container investment
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is planning a Euro 40 million loan to the Turkish-owned SiseCam group, aiding its further expansion in the Russian glass beverage container sector. This will help fund the construction of a plant near Ufa, central Russia, to be run by Ruscam-Ufa LLC, a subsidiary of SiseCam's Anadolu Cam, the largest producer of food and beverage containers in Turkey. A bank memorandum said the project would “provide the Russian market with greater choice and better quality of food and beverage packaging on a consistent and stable basis”.
US releases counterfeit packaging intelligence
The US Trade Representative office has released intelligence reports showing global hotspots for sophisticated fake packaging. One bulletin, from the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, has cited Paraguay and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as problem countries. “Counterfeit exporters in Paraguay…use sophisticated methods to produce accurate forgeries of labels and packaging that are difficult for both consumers and law enforcement to distinguish from genuine products,” it says, adding that UAE free zones Jebel Ali and Fujairah are major entry points for fakes into legitimate distribution channels. Another report, from America's Distilled Spirits Council, pushed for action over sophisticated counterfeit spirits from Bulgaria. *See http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2007/2007_Special_301/asset_upload_file676_10574.pdf and http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2007/2007_Special_301/asset_upload_file441_10560.pdf
