Tag Archives: fda

Slowly Hunting Down Bad Tomatoes

The recent outbreak of salmonellosis from tomatoes has officially affected 228 people in twenty-three different states. I say “officially” because there may be other cases that were not reported. Some experts estimate that for every reported case of food poisoning, another forty go unreported. Look back at the next most recent veggie problem: the contaminated spinach in 2006. The FDA was aided in that case by patients who still had bags of spinach with UPC codes that led from the store to the supplier and eventually to the field where the greens had been contaminated. Now think about tomatoes. Most … Continue reading →

What You Need to Know about Contaminated Tomatoes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about a salmonella outbreak related to tomatoes. Right now, the FDA does not know for sure where the contaminated tomatoes are coming from. As of the posting of this article, tomatoes from Florida and Mexico are NOT on the FDA’s safe list. Since mid-April, the FDA has received reports of 167 cases of salmonellosis associated with eating raw tomatoes. Twenty-three of those cases required hospitalization and one patient has died. Infections have occurred most often in New Mexico and Texas. The FDA issued the first warnings about contaminated tomatoes on … Continue reading →

Is Pet Food Regulation Coming?

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It has been more than a year since contaminated pet food from Menu Foods killed hundreds of beloved pets. It’s been even longer since contaminated pet food from Diamond Pet Foods sickened and killed dogs and cats around the country. So what’s happened since then to protect our pets from contaminated food? The good things: Pet food safety legislation has been passed. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 will set up an early warning system to help quickly identify contaminated food and outbreaks of associated illness. This should be happening by September 2008. A pet food industry commission has made … Continue reading →

The FDA Black Box

Have you heard about the other kind of black box? Not the kind in an airplane, but the kind on your prescription medications. A black box on the label or printed materials with your prescription medications can indicate the potential life threatening side effects. Let’s keep things in perspective here — if transportation was labeled like medication, lots of methods of travel would earn black boxes. And NOT taking a black box medication may be even more deadly than taking it. Avandia (a diabetes medication) received a black box warning in May 2007 for slightly raising a person’s chances of … Continue reading →

The FDA May Get The Power To Regulate Tobacco

A bipartisan group led by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and U.S. Representatives Henry Waxman of California and Tom Davis of Virginia hope to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco. This joint effort from the House and Senate is supported by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and many more organizations around the country. If this legislation is approved, here’s some idea of what would change. The 1996 FDA Rule on youth access to tobacco and tobacco advertising would return. This rule bans tobacco … Continue reading →

FDA Medication Recalls

All drugs containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA) are being recalled. You might want to try calling the 800 customer service number on the side, which is listed on most boxes. They can help you get a refund for your medication. You should stop taking any medication containing phenylpropanolamine immediately. Medications containing phenylpropanolamine have been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in the brain) among women from the age of 18 to 49 within only three days after taking this type of medication. Although problems have not been found in men the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) is advising everyone (including … Continue reading →