Like many of you, I plan on enjoying yummy french fries this weekend, because they taste good. But in doing so, I’ll have to ignore the downer of a reminder from the FDA about how fries and other fried foods may contain an animal carcinogen called acrylamide. [More]
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FDA Looking To Close Loophole That Slowed Safety Warnings On Generics
By 11.8.13
Imagine for a moment the tale of two friends, Jim and Joe. Jim takes Gleemonex, which makes it feel like it’s 72 degrees in your head all the time. Joe takes a generic form of the drug, which we’ll call walmonex. If the folks who make Gleemonex realize there’s a problem with the drug, they can immediately slap a warning on the product before getting FDA approval, but if the makers of the walmonex discover that same problem, they currently have to wait for the FDA and the brand-name drug makers to review the issue. This loophole is, quite obviously, a bad thing for consumers. So it’s good news that the FDA is now looking to close it. [More]
FDA Working On A Plan To Completely Remove Trans Fat From Our Food Supply
By 11.7.13
While some restaurants proudly tout the lack of artificial trans fat in their menu items and grocery store aisles are peppered with items labeled trans fat free, if the Food and Drug Administration has its way, no one will have trans fat in any food. The FDA has apparently had it up to here with the stuff, and is starting a process that will take trans fat out of our entire food supply. [More]
FDA: There Are Gross Things (Like Bug Parts) In 12% Of Imported Spices
By 10.31.13
It’s never going to be a fun read when a report from the Food and Drug Administration includes the words “pathogen,” “filth” and “insects.” Unless your idea of fun includes learning that 12% of the spices we import for food purposes are contaminated. [More]
FDA Suggests Tightening Access To Painkillers Like Vicodin
By 10.25.13
Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that the rules regarding drugs with hydrocodone, which is often in painkillers like vicodin, be a lot tighter. It suggests that the drug be reclassified along the level of other opioid painkillers like oxycodone and morphine. [More]
Should An FDA Advisory Committee Chair Be Giving Drug Companies Tips On How To Get Approved?
By 10.24.13
It would be generous to label federal regulatory approval processes as merely byzantine, as some agencies require multiple layers of vetting, along with years of sitting around and waiting. Knowing how to navigate these waters is helpful information for anyone hoping to make it through in a timely fashion. But should those currently working for a federal agency like the FDA be actively giving advice to businesses about the best way to work the approval system? [More]
We Are In The Era Of “Nightmare” Bacteria And Nobody Seems To Care
By 10.22.13 — Updated: 7.17.14
On March 5, 2013, the Centers for Disease Control issued a press released titled “Lethal, Drug Resistant Bacteria Spreading in U.S. Healthcare Facilities.” The warning that followed was dire. Drug-resistant organisms called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, were not only spreading more rapidly through U.S. hospitals, they were becoming more resistant to so-called “last-resort” antibiotics. “CRE are nightmare bacteria,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. How nightmarish? According to data from the CDC, 1 in 2 patients who contract a bloodstream CRE infection will die. That’s an ominous statistic, but it might not even be the scariest fact about CRE. [More]
FDA Needs Help Solving Outbreak Linked To Jerky Treats That’s Sickened Thousands Of Pets
By 10.22.13
There’s been a recent spate of pet deaths and illnesses connected to jerky treats made in China in the last few years — with almost 600 pets killed and 3,600 more sickened as of now — but federal animal health officials say they’re puzzled over exactly what’s actually causing the illnesses. [More]
Health Officials Ask Stores To Yank Fat-Burning Supplement Linked To Liver Failure
By 10.9.13
Hawaii health officials are asking stores to stop selling the fat-burning supplment OxyElite Pro after an investigation linked it to cases of liver failure and acute hepatitis in 29 people. Two of those people had to undergo liver transplants and one has died, says the Hawaii State Department of Health. [More]
Is Anything Being Done To Prevent Exploding E-Cigarettes?
By 10.3.13
While concerns about health effects and youth-targeted marketing have the attorneys general of 37 states asking the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes much like the agency regulates the sale of tobacco, there are numerous reports of the devices “exploding” or catching fire, which can be significantly more dangerous than simply inhaling nicotine. [More]
FDA Approves First Pre-Surgical Breast Cancer Drug
By 9.30.13
While many of the hundreds of thousands of people who are diagnosed each year with breast cancer go through radiation or chemotherapy before surgery, until now drugs aimed at treating breast cancer were not FDA-approved for use in the pre-surgery stage. [More]
40 Attorneys General Agree: E-Cigarettes Need To Be Regulated Like Tobacco
By 9.24.13 — Updated: 12.5.13
The use of electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly, not just among tobacco users seeking a smoke-free alternative, but also among those who’ve never smoked but still want to experience the effects of nicotine. Concerned about this relatively unregulated (at least compared to tobacco) market, the attorneys general of 37 states — plus AGs for Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — have written to the FDA asking for more regulatory controls on the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes. [More]
FDA Tests Confirm Presence Of Arsenic In Rice Products
By 9.6.13 — Updated: 4.1.16
Almost exactly one year after our cohorts at Consumer Reports found arsenic in a wide range of rice products — from instant rice to baby food to rice milk to cereal — the Food and Drug Administration has released the results of its own research on the topic, effectively confirming CR’s findings and suggestion that consumers vary the types of grains they eat. [More]
Do Food Regulators Care If Foreign Farmers Use Veterinary Drugs Banned In The U.S.?
By 8.21.13
Later this week, the United Nations food standards agency will be meeting in Minneapolis to discuss, among other things, standards for ten veterinary drugs that are banned for use in the U.S. but not globally. Fearing that continued use of these drugs by farmers in other countries could result in these banned chemicals still reaching the American market, a group of consumer advocates have called on federal regulators to not only take a tougher stance, but to stop encouraging the use of these drugs elsewhere. [More]
August Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Ginger Lead Candies And Drug-Packed Supplements
By 8.20.13 — Updated: 8.21.13
Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables. [More]
Studies Link Plastic Food Packaging To Diabetes, Obesity Risks In Kids
By 8.19.13
Because there are apparently not enough studies to convince the Food and Drug Administration that controversial chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) should not be used in just about every form of food packaging, yet another study has been published linking BPA to childhood obesity. Meanwhile, a separate study released today showed a possible connection between a widely used plasticizer and diabetes. [More]
Salads Sold At Red Lobster & Olive Garden Linked To Cyclospora Outbreaks In Two States
By 8.5.13
Taking some of the guess-work out of figuring out why your stomach may currently be turned inside out, the Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that salads linked to a cyclospora outbreak that’s sickened at least 400 people have been tied to four restaurants in Iowa and Nebraska, including Olive Garden and Red Lobster. [More]
FDA Links Acetaminophen To Nasty, Possibly Fatal Skin Reactions (But Try Not To Freak Out)
By 8.2.13
Because no weekend can get started without news of a possible scary drug interaction, the FDA has issued a consumer alert warning that, in extremely rare cases, use of the popular over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen (used in Tylenol and many others) can cause “rare but serious skin reactions,” including three serious skin diseases with symptoms like rash, blisters and widespread damage to the surface of skin. Yuck. [More]
