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]
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Big Pizza: Calorie-Count Menu Boards Make No Sense For Our Product
By 6.20.12
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 6.15.12 — Updated: 6.3.14
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 6.11.12
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 6.5.12
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 5.31.12
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 5.30.12
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 5.9.12
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 4.17.12
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 3.30.12
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]
Tobacco Companies Required To Report Levels Of Dozens Of Chemicals
By 3.30.12
The Food & Drug Administration says there are more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco and tobacco smoke. And now the FDA says consumers have a right to know about the levels of 93 harmful or potentially harmful chemicals that are in the products they smoke and/or chew. [More]
Court Orders FDA To Investigate Use Of Antibiotics In Animal Feed
By 3.23.12
Back in 1977, the FDA proposed a ban on putting penicillin and other antibiotics in animal feed solely for the purpose of promoting growth. Amazingly, that proposal has been gathering dust long enough to begin losing its hair and regretting its life choices. That is until yesterday, when a federal court ordered the FDA to finish what it started 35 years ago. [More]
Believe It Or Not, People Want More Oversight Of Implanted Medical Devices
By 3.20.12
It seems almost silly to think that anyone would want to scale back the amount of regulatory control on the safety of medical devices, and a new poll shows that an overwhelming number of Americans believe in strong oversight of these products. Yet members of the House and Senate are considering legislation that could allow potentially unsafe items to hit the market. [More]
Appeals Court Rules Graphic Cigarette Labels Don't Violate Free Speech
By 3.20.12
The latest battle over those graphic anti-smoking labels on cigarette packaging has been won by the FDA, after a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that requiring the warnings does not violate tobacco companies’ First Amendment right to free speech. [More]
FDA Warns Makers Of Inhalable Caffeine Against False Labeling
By 3.7.12
The Food and Drug Administration is issuing what amounts to a “hey, hey, not so fast, guys,” to the makers of a new inhalable caffeine product called AeroShot Pure Energy. They’ve been under the FDA’s eye for awhile, since Sen. Chuck Schumer brought up his concerns that the canisters could be used as a kind of party drug. [More]
Should The FDA Inspect Non-Meat Food Plants More Than Once A Decade?
By 3.5.12
Back in the day, slaughterhouses were the ones grabbing the attention when it came to health concerns and the need for inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a regular basis to ensure food was safe. Now, the Food and Drug Administration checks in on most of what we eat — and they only inspect plants around once a decade, says one report. [More]
Judge: Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels Violate Right To Free Speech
By 2.29.12
Remember those graphic, sometimes gory, cigarette warning labels the FDA came up with? Well, a U.S. District Judge has sided with the tobacco companies and ruled that the warnings violate cigarette-makers’ right to free speech. [More]
FDA Adds Diabetes & Memory Loss Warnings To Statins
By 2.28.12
Widely used cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor (atorvastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Simcor (simvastatin/niacin extended-release), Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe) and many others will now have additional warnings on their packaging, according to an announcement from the Food & Drug Administration. [More]
