Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, toured Perrigo Company PLC’s state-of-the-art packaging plant Tuesday and met with company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Papa as part of a celebration of the passage of the Drug Quality and Security Act.

H.R. 3204 was introduced by Upton, who is also chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and won bipartisan support due to its commonsense approach to the security of the finished drug supply chain, keeping counterfeit drugs off store shelves and providing a national standard to avoid a patchwork of different state regulations. The legislation was in part the result of a thorough year-long investigation led by Upton’s committee in the cause of the deadly meningitis outbreak of 2012.

President Obama signed Upton’s bill into law on November 27.

“Drugs going to Americans need to be safe regardless of whether they are prescription or non-prescription products,” Upton said. “We need to make sure all drugs are safe and that the companies that make them are protected.”

Perrigo employees and executives applauded the passage of the new law. Perrigo the largest private-label non-prescription products maker in the world. Its North American headquarters is located in Allegan.

“The Drug Quality and Security Act will help ensure consumer safety and trust,” Papa said. “This law will help the entire Perrigo team continue its mission of providing uncompromised, quality affordable health care products.”