A soup of pharmaceutical waste spews from the faucets supplying drinking water to 41 million Americans, according to a disturbing study from the Associated Press. At least 24 major cities are affected, including New York, Washington, Boston Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:
The Senate finally voted last week to send the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needed funds, staff, and powers. The overdue reform bill passed with bipartisan support on a 79-13 vote.
Aldi is recalling three flavors of its Fit and Active frozen dinners after an Omaha family found a steel clamp sealed in a sesame chicken frozen entree.
“If’ it’s from a machine. If it’s a practical joke. Well, it’s not really funny just because if there’s small pieces,” explained mom Karen Kader
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If you keep a gun in the house, don’t use the Stack-On P-B 201 Pistol Box sold by Walmart to keep it safe and out of sight. A local news investigation found the pistol safe can be opened with a normal filing cabinet key. [WMCTV]
Yesterday the FAA sought $10.2 million in civil damages from Southwest Airlines for neglecting to inspect the fuselages of 46 of its planes.
On Tuesday, the city of Los Angeles and the FDA charged the heads of two U.S. importing companies with 14 counts each of “receiving, selling and delivering an adulterated drug,” for their roles in importing and distributing over 70,000 tubes of toothpaste containing diethylene glycol (DEG) instead of glycerin. “Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.”
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A TSA screener contaminated a 14-year-old boy’s sterile backup feeding tube in the name of national security: “If I can’t open it, I can’t let you on the plane.” [WFTV via BoingBoing]
Martin Bennett is a 69-year-old former inspector for the Consumer Product Safety Commission who retired over six years ago.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today drug counterfeiters may have added a foreign ingredient into Chinese shipments of Baxter’s blood-thinner heparin which has been linked to 19 deaths and 800 illnesses.
The Quaker Oats Co. said Tuesday it is recalling a limited number of Aunt Jemima Pancake & Waffle Mix products because of potential salmonella contamination from raw or undercooked ingredients.
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H.J. Heinz Co. is recalling approximately 40,000 cases of Boston Market brand lasagna with meat sauce after realizing that it contained that sketchy recalled cow abuse beef from Westland/Hallmark. [BizJournals]
Here’s something sort of weird. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is saying that two products, “Aunt Jemima Complete Pancake Mix” and “Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix” have been “recalled and are under investigation for a possible health risk, according to a press release given out by Dierbergs grocery stores.”
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A gas leak at the Plymouth, New Hampshire Walmart has lead to the hospitalization of three workers. [Boston .com]
Here’s a weird recall that you might care to know about: Fred Meyer and QFC supermarkets have recalled bottles of bleach that could potentially explode when opened, says the Seattle Times.
The Airborne dietary supplement, which claims to help ward off the cold and flu, has reached a tentative settlement in a class action lawsuit that the company misrepresented its product. You can file online or by mail here. Boxes of Airborne used to cite a study by “GNG Pharmaceutical Services Inc” that said it tested 120 people and 47% showed little or no cold flu symptoms, versus 23% of a placebo. However, an ABC news investigation revealed that GNG was a two-man operation started up just to make the Airborne study, and had no clinic, scientists or doctors. Following the negative publicity, Knight-McDowell Labs removed references to the GNG study from its packages. Maybe people just weren’t reading the box carefully and failed to apply directly to the forehead.
Gorton’s said it ordered the recall as a precaution while a laboratory conducts tests to determine the nature of the pills. Those tests should be complete early next week.
Terrible news for anyone afraid of flying: the FAA is reporting that the newest passenger planes are held together with “substandard” parts. The oversight at several supplier factories was so shoddy that workers were caught using rulers made of scotch-tape and paper.
A shredder is an indispensable tool for keeping your identity safe and secure. If you receive credit card offers or have old bank statements littering your files, then you can’t do without a cross-cutting shredder to slice and dice your personal information into an indecipherable medley of confetti. Frugal For Life points out a few of the many reasons we all should be devout shredders.
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