Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/507696
22 PalletCentral • March-April 2015 palletcentral.com Has progress been made? The timing of this article provides the opportunity to 1) revisit this issue that was a primary focus of the pharma industry for about four years and 2) allow both the pallet manufacturer and pharma (and food/beverage, etc.) manufacturers to review the controls put in place and assure themselves that they haven't been undone. As noted above, the impetus behind this collaboration between the wood packaging and pharma industry was the recall of OTC products in 2009. Since then, and the writing of the previous articles in 2012, several other recalls relating to TBA/ TCA taints have occurred (summarized in Table 2). The positive takeaway from this information is that there hasn't been a reported recall due to a TBA/TCA taint since May of 2013, which may indicate that precautions being taken by both industries are working to prevent the anisole contamination. Summar y The issue of TCA/TBA taints hasn't been completely resolved, considering that U.S. FDA recalls have occurred as recently as 2013. Nonetheless, education on and implementation of best practices (within both the pharmaceutical and wood packaging industries) will help control or even eliminate taints from the pharmaceutical supply chain. PC INDUSTRY David Ulrich is quality assurance director, supply chain compliance at Abbvie. Jorgelina González is management engineer at Paleteras Unidas, Inc. Dr. Brad Gething is NWPCA's technical and PDS manager. Brad can be reached at 703-519-6104 or follow @NWPCATech on Twitter. PalletCentral.com Digital Hub NWPCA's website is a powerful new way to reach out and share information. Here are just a few benefits that PalletCentral.com provides as a registered user: • Easily search for pallet manufacturers, recyclers or industry suppliers, or find any individual member. • Share best practices and business processes. • Gain access to document libraries, standards, business articles. • Comment and discuss critical business issues and receive input. • Network with other industry experts, upload a picture. More instructions on how to maximize the benefits of PalletCentral.com are available from the "Sign-In" tab. Please explore our site and let us know if you have any questions or other ways to enhance your browsing experience by contacting Annette Ferri, NWPCA at 703-519-6104 or aferri@palletcentral.com. Nonetheless, education on and implementation of best practices (within both the pharmaceutical and wood packaging industries) will help control or even eliminate taints from the pharmaceutical supply chain. Resources The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides easy access to safety alerts, market withdrawals and enforcement reports, including all recent recall information by product area, including food, drugs, biological products, devices and cosmetics. Search www.fda.gov with keywords such as mold, musty, odor, pallet, fungicide, tribromoanisole (TBA), tricholoranisole (TCA).