The head of the Food and Drug Administration wants to more than double the number of packages his agency inspects to stem an influx of opioids coming from overseas.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press that more inspectors are needed to help intercept opioids that are increasingly disguised as other drugs and supplements.
At a time of massive growth in postal shipments from China due to e-commerce, the FDA and other government agencies are struggling to intercept illegal shipments of fentanyl and other opioids to U.S. buyers.
Gottlieb says he would like the FDA to inspect 100,000 packages per year. That's more than double the agency's current capacity of 40,000 packages per year.
