If you want to be a passionate lover, or at least a noticeably hyper one, of course you should drink a lot of coffee before hitting the sheets. That’s just common sense. But the FDA says that a specially marketed aphrodisiac coffee, Magic Power Coffee, can interfere with prescription drugs and cause a dramatic loss of blood pressure. [More]
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You Still Can't Trust Trust Sunscreen SPF, Waterproof Claims
By 6.20.10
Sunscreen makers can say almost anything they want about their product’s sun protection factor or water fighting ability because the FDA’s sunscreen regulations are a just a teensy bit late. Well, they’re actually thirty-two years late, but the FDA swears that they’re going to publish final regulations by October. Except maybe not. So what can consumers do in the meantime? [More]
Female Answer To Viagra Just Can't Stand Up To Testing Says FDA
By 6.17.10
Sad news for the world of gettin-it-on today: A drug that had been intended as a female analog to Viagra has not only not shown promise in tests, but has actually demonstrated some quite non-sexy side effects. [More]
Johnson & Johnson Hired Fake Shoppers To Buy Up Bad Motrin, Avoid Public Recall
By 6.14.10
Ever since the FDA and Congress started asking Johnson & Johnson to explain why it keeps recalling medicine, there have been references to an unpublicized “recall” that happened in November 2008. Last month, at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a J&J executive swore that the company didn’t mean to mislead anyone. It turns out that wasn’t exactly accurate: Bloomberg has obtained emails from J&J’s company, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, that show executives knew the secret recall would trigger an FDA reaction if the agency got wind of its full scope. [More]
FDA Cracking Down on DNA-Test Providers
By 6.12.10
After scaring Walgreens out of the genetic-testing business, the FDA has now decided to crack down on the entire industry, and will be subjecting DNA tests to the same rules that it applies to medical devices such as blood-glucose meters. [More]
Study: Overwhelming Number Of Kids' Drinks & Snacks Contain Lead
By 6.11.10
In a newly released report from the Environmental Law Foundation, nearly 150 varieties of beverages and fruit snacks marketed to children were tested for lead levels — and the results were not exactly good. [More]
Um, Shouldn't The FDA Have The Power To Recall Dangerous Food?
By 6.9.10
If you thought the FDA had the power to recall dangerous food already, you’d be mistaken. Apparently, they need to “coax” the company into it. Changing this and increasing the agency’s budget are among the changes recommended by a new report by The Institute of Medicine, says Reuters. [More]
Tylenol Recall Factory Was Staffed With Undertrained Temps
By 5.31.10
The manufacturing plant that has been the cause of Johnson & Johnson’s latest in a string of recalls has already been described as dirty and poorly maintained. It turns out that it was also staffed with temps and contract employees who weren’t properly trained, according to tax records and an FDA inspection report filed earlier this year. [More]
Criminal Charges Are Possible For Tylenol Recall Scandal
By 5.27.10
CNN is reporting that the FDA has referred the Tylenol recall case to their criminal division for investigation. At issue is a pattern of non-compliance with FDA warnings and failures by management of McNeil to investigate and provide a timely resolution to serious problems with the product. These problems include excess amounts of the active ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen. [More]
Want More Lead Or Pesticide In Your Body? Try Dietary Supplements
By 5.26.10
Lead has a deservedly bad reputation when it comes to human health and development, but because it’s classified as a heavy metal it will always be kind of awesome. Well, to me. Pesticide, not so much. If you dislike ingesting either type of toxin, you might be interested in a new study being released today by the Government Accountability Office that found trace amounts of “lead and other contaminants” in every sample of 40 health supplements tested. [More]
Study Finds Sunscreen May Help Cancer Develop Rather Than Prevent It
By 5.25.10
The advice for the Class of 99 was to wear sunscreen, but the Environmental Working Group doesn’t think that’s such great advice, concluding that sunscreen does little to prevent skin cancer and in fact may speed up the rate at which cancer develops and spreads. [More]
Some Skin Lightening Creams Are Full Of Banned Mercury
By 5.22.10
The Chicago Tribune bought 50 creams used to lighten skin and fade age spots and had them sent to an outside lab for testing — and got troubling results. Six of the creams were found to contain amounts of mercury banned by federal law. Five of the creams had enough of the toxic metal to cause kidney damage over time, the Tribune reports. [More]
FDA Announces Widespread Investigation Of McNeil After Tylenol Recalls
By 5.19.10
Remember the recalled liquid Tylenol and other children’s medicines last month? Or the stinky drugs that were recalled back in January? Or the children’s Tylenol that was recalled last September? The FDA remembers, which is probably why it’s “conducting a company-wide investigation of McNeil Consumer Healthcare’s drug manufacturing practices to determine whether similar problems exist throughout the company.” Also, a date has now been set (May 27) for the House Committee hearing where the CEO and chairman of parent company Johnson & Johnson are expected to testify. [More]
Lettuce-Borne E.Coli Outbreak Hits Fourth State
By 5.13.10
Infected romaine lettuce from a single processing facility has been linked to the sickening of at least 23 people in four different states, NY, MI, TN, and OH, says the Center for Disease Control (CDC). [More]
FDA Wants To Know Which Labels You Read When You Shop
By 5.7.10
The Food and Drug Administration is looking into adjusting labeling regulations and wants to know what you’re looking for to ensure a food item’s healthiness when you’re digging through supermarket shelves. [More]
Congress Opens Investigation Into Children's Tylenol Recall
By 5.6.10
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — the same crew behind the Toyota recall hearings — has announced that it has opened an investigation into the recent recall of Children’s Tylenol and several other brands of kids’ medicine. [More]
FDA: McNeil Plant That Made Recalled Tylenol Is A Dirty Stinkpot With No Quality Control
By 5.5.10
One of the implied promises of a brand name, especially when it comes to drugs, is you can expect higher quality, but maybe that doesn’t apply when it comes to McNeil products.The FDA says the plant that produced the recently recalled children’s Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl, was using raw materials that were contaminated with bacteria. The plant also lacked adequate quality-control procedures and was dirty. So far none of the recalled medicine has tested positive for bacterial contamination, but the FDA report suggests that the contaminated material was used to make the recalled lots. The plant has been shut down indefinitely. [More]
Lay's Says Redesigned Salt Molecule Won't Need FDA Approval
By 4.22.10
Want to eat lots of salty potato chips without overdoing the salt? Frito-Lay thinks it has the answer. Apparently, because of the way salt crystals form, most of the salt you eat doesn’t have time to dissolve on your tongue — but instead is digested. Now Frito-Lay/PepsiCo, the maker of Lay’s potato chips, says it has redesigned salt to melt more efficiently — allowing them to cut back on the amount you eat without sacrificing taste. [More]
