Beijing, 9 sep (EFE).-the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer will develop, manufacture and distribute vaccines for animals in China, where demand for a secure supply of pork, beef and dairy products is growing, said the agency Xinhua.
Through the creation of a joint venture between its subsidiary, Pfizer Animal Health, and the Chinese company Jilin Guoyuan Animal Health, the American brand will strengthen its presence in China through expanding its market in livestock.
Usual cases of poisoning or death by eating meat and dairy products contaminated and the resulting loss of consumer confidence has led to the organizations representing the latter to ask a food supply more secure.
Among others, scandals recently as milk adulterated with melamine to increase their proteins, pork with nitrite to preserve its color, strawberries scented with chemicals or chickens fed with paintings and plastic to increase its weight have triggered alarm among the consumers unprotected Chinese.
In the case of melamine, six infants died in 2008 and other 300,000 are suffering various kidney diseases, while a syrup adulterated with brake fluid and exported to Panama killed in 2007 to 142 people.
These scandals prompted the authorities to change the law this year to punish those responsible of intentional poisoning with death penalty and has made attempts to regulate more efficiently the procurement and distribution of food
Pfizer and Jilin Guoyuan have encrypted the Chinese market in this field in 800 million dollars a year, and although they have not revealed the keys of the agreement, have brought forward its first objective will be to develop vaccines for pigs, that China is the largest producer of beef and pork.
Despite the announcement, the agreement is still subject to approval by the competent authorities, which will give a verdict in the coming days to approve or not the creation of the joint venture. EFE
