Heparin a blood thinner, a pharmaceutical product starts out in artisanal workshops like this in China, because the active ingredient comes from pigs' intestines.

So a couple of years ago, we had a scandal which killed about 80 people around the world, because of contaminants that crept into the heparin supply chain.

The following year, crude precursors of the blood thinning medication heparin were contaminated, causing hundreds of allergic reactions and 19 deaths in the United States, and at least 80 serious adverse health events in Germany.

In fact, perverse incentives throughout the supply chain facilitate the widespread, systematic contamination of food and drugs. Both milk producers and heparin precursor suppliers were motivated to add adulterants that would make their products appear to be of a higher quality than they actually were.

In fact, perverse incentives throughout the supply chain facilitate the widespread, systematic contamination of food and drugs. nbsp Both milk producers and heparin precursor suppliers were motivated to add adulterants that would make their products appear to be of a higher quality than they actually were.