Only a few weeks after it was revealed that FDA incident reports linked Monster Energy drink to five deaths in recent years, it’s come out that the heavily advertised 5-Hour Energy “shots” have been cited in 13 deaths and dozens of hospitalizations since 2009. [More]
FDA Incident Reports Link Monster Energy Drink To Five Deaths
By October 23, 2012
Last week, a mother in Maryland sued the makers of caffeine-heavy Monster Energy drink, alleging that the beverage was not only behind the death of her teen daughter, but that the company knew of possible health risks and failed to warn consumers. [More]
Why Isn’t Jif’s Natural Peanut Butter Spread Labeled Just ‘Peanut Butter?’
By October 18, 2012
Kate was confused at the grocery store. Side by side on the shelf were regular old Jif peanut butter and Jif’s “natural” peanut butter. Only the “natural” stuff was labeled “peanut butter spread,” while the standard, presumably less natural, Jif got to call itself peanut butter. “It makes me wonder, what about ‘natural’ makes it less than true peanut butter?” she wrote to us. “Why does it need to be called ‘peanut butter spread’, when traditional, sugar filled, jiff can be called ‘peanut butter’? Shouldn’t the natural product version be truer to the genuine article?” That would be the intuitive answer, wouldn’t it? It’s the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration that keep the “natural” variety of Jif from being declared plain old peanut butter. Here’s the relevant part of the FDA standards for peanut butter: [More]
8 Horrifying Things We Learned From Bloomberg Report On Inept, Ineffective Food Inspectors
By October 11, 2012
During recent mass recalls of eggs and cantaloupe because of salmonella and listeria contamination, you heard a lot about FDA inspectors not catching this or that, and “How could no one notice all that filth?” Now a new report in Bloomberg Markets Magazine sheds a huge light at the sad state of food inspection in the U.S. [More]
FDA Tells Hershey's It Has No Right To Claim Chocolate Syrup With Vitamins Is Nutritious
By August 14, 2012
Listen — we all know that gooey, sweet chocolate syrup is very delicious. But nutritious? Now that is a bold claim, and one the Food and Drug Administration is warning Hershey’s not to make on its labels. It told the company in a warning letter that it can’t just go around calling things fortified and such just to make its syrup seem healthy. [More]
FDA Finally Decides That BPA Doesn’t Belong In Baby Bottles
By July 17, 2012
Nearly four months after deciding not to listen to science or common sense and ban the use of controversial chemical bisphenol-A (you may call it BPA around your household) in food packaging, the Food and Drug Administration has decided that we should at least keep BPA out of the mouths of babies. [More]
FDA Approves First Pill For Preventing HIV Infections In High-Risk Patients
By July 16, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a major first today, approving Truvada, a drug intended to prevent HIV infections for people at high-risk of contracting it. It’s the first pill approved to reduce the likelihood of getting HIV for people having sex with infected individuals. [More]
Shortages Force Paramedics To Use Expired Drugs
By July 13, 2012
Many of us have probably popped a pill or two that we knew had passed its expiration date. But when you get medical care from professionals, there is usually the expectation that you’re getting the freshest stuff available. But a conspiracy of conditions has led to some emergency responders stocking their ambulances with out-of-date drugs. [More]
Maker Of OxyContin Believes Children Are The Future (For Extending Its Patent)
By July 3, 2012
The company that makes OxyContin has a good thing going, with lots of free PR from shows like Intervention and Justified and no exact generic equivalent to undercut its market share. But there are dark clouds on the horizon for the OxyContin brand, as its patent is set to expire in April. Now, in a ploy to extend that patent, the Oxy folks are going through the motions of pretending they actually care whether or not children can take the drug safely. [More]
Big Pizza: Calorie-Count Menu Boards Make No Sense For Our Product
By June 20, 2012
With the FDA still fiddling with rule changes that require chain restaurants to post calorie information for the products on their in-store menu, the country’s largest pizza chains have stopped fighting each other and banded together to fight federal regulators. [More]
Why The Math On Your Soda Bottles & Cans Doesn’t Always Add Up
By June 15, 2012
In the two years since we first covered the complicated rounding involved with soda bottle nutrition labels, some changes have been made with the goal of clearing up things like calorie count and serving size. But some questions still keep popping up, so it’s probably time for a refresher course. [More]
Introvale Birth Control Pills Recalled For Shuffled Pill Order
By June 11, 2012
The short description on the Food & Drug Administration website says that the contraceptive pill Introvale is being recalled due to a “packaging flaw.” Well, that’s true, but that flaw is that the pills are in the wrong order. A three-month pack contains 84 “active” pills and seven placebo or “hey, it’s time for your period” pills. Some packs have the placebo pills in week 9 instead of week 13. Manufacturer Sandoz is recalling the affected lots, but since the pills are different colors, it’s not hard to tell whether your pills have been scrambled. [More]
Study Says FDA Could Be Doing Better At Publicizing Drug Recalls
By June 5, 2012
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalls drugs that could be harmful around once a month, a new study says the agency has room for improvement when it comes to publicizing those recalls and informing doctors and patients about them. [More]
Big Corn Still Believes We Are All So Very Confused About HFCS
By May 31, 2012
Yesterday, the FDA concluded its 20-month review of a petition by the Corn Refiners Association to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to “corn sugar,” with a pretty solid “no.” Not surprisingly, the CRA says regulators have done you, the American consumer, a disservice by denying the petition. [More]
FDA: High Fructose Corn Syrup Isn't "Corn Sugar"
By May 30, 2012
Dealing what is surely a mighty blow to those in the corn industry hoping to improve the image of high fructose corn syrup, the Food and Drug Administration has denied the Corn Refiners Association’s petition to rename HFCS as “corn sugar.” [More]
FDA One Step Closer To Approving First Drug For HIV Prevention
By May 9, 2012
The battle against AIDS continues, with a favorable review by the Food and Drug Administration of a pill that has been used to treat HIV. The hope is that the pill could be used to prevent people from contracting the virus that causes AIDS. [More]
Consumer Groups Ask FDA To Stop This "Corn Sugar" Silliness Already
By April 17, 2012
It’s been nearly two years since the Corn Refiners Association began running ads referring to High Fructose Corn Syrup as “corn sugar,” in spite of the fact that the Food & Drug Administration hadn’t yet approved this name change for food labels. The FDA still hasn’t gotten around to making a decision on the matter, and a number of consumer groups are tired of waiting for a decision. [More]
FDA Decides Against Banning BPA In Food & Beverage Containers
By March 30, 2012
Bisphenol A — better known as “BPA” — is a chemical used in the epoxy resin linings of a lot of food and beverage containers. Studies have linked BPA to everything from increased risks of certain cancers to diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, and heart disease. But the Food and Drug Administration says there is not enough evidence yet to ban its use in food packaging. [More]
