FDA

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>

Senate Poised to Pass Tough New Tobacco Law

Bill will give FDA authority to regulate marketing, content of tobacco products

(Newser) - The Senate is expected this week to pass sweeping new legislation to regulate tobacco, reports USA Today. The bill, which may go to a vote as soon as today, gives the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco and will require larger health warnings on packets, end the use of claims...

Untested Stem-Cell Treatments Lure Americans Abroad

FDA says they're untested, unsafe

(Newser) - Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Americans have defied federal warnings against seeking untested—and often expensive—stem-cell therapy abroad, CNN reports. Though they lack scientific backing, such treatments for terminal diseases are popular in China, where the parents of one 8-year-old seek to treat her spinal muscular atrophy. “We are...

Controversial Chemical Leaches From Bottles to Water

BPA levels jump 69% in H2O drinkers

(Newser) - One aspect of the bisphenol A controversy can be put to rest: drinking from clear plastic bottles does increase the amount of the chemical in the body. The extent of BPA's effects on healthy adults is still not well known, but the FDA says existing exposure levels aren't high enough...

FDA Warns Cheerios to Ease Off Health Claims

(Newser) - The FDA has a message for Cheerios: You're a cereal, not a wonder drug. The agency says General Mills must tone down its health claims or risk having its product yanked off shelves, the New York Daily News reports. The cereal box makes all sorts of claims about lowering cholesterol...

US Recalls High-Profile Diet Pill
US Recalls High-Profile
Diet Pill
May 1, 2009 11:03 AM CDT

US Recalls High-Profile Diet Pill

'Natural' supplement Hydroxycut caused liver damage: FDA

(Newser) - US government health officials are announcing the recall of a popular weight loss pill, after reports of liver damage and other health problems. Food and Drug Administration officials said Friday the manufacturer of Hydroxycut has launched a recall of the dietary supplement, used by people trying to shed pounds, and...

FDA Slaps Strictest Warning Label on Botox

(Newser) - Botox will now carry the Food and Drug Administration’s strictest warning for pharmaceuticals after the agency raised concerns over the risk of botulism last year, Bloomberg reports. The approval of a rival botulinum toxin for cosmetic purposes prompted the review. The toxin can cause muscle weakness and breathing difficulty,...

Why Our Brains Want What's Bad for Us
 Why Our Brains Want 
 What's Bad for Us 
INTERVIEW
Apr 30, 2009 1:46 PM CDT

Why Our Brains Want What's Bad for Us

(Newser) - Former Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler thinks Americans are victims of “conditioned hyper-eating,” and he’s written a book about it: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. The Wall Street Journal poked him for some answers about how food can “...

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat
 USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat 
Apr 27, 2009 1:17 PM CDT

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat

(Newser) - Fear of swine flu is a good reason to wash your hands, but not to take pork off the menu. Federal health officials say the virus that has triggered fears of a flu pandemic is not transmitted by food, and that all food-borne germs are killed when pork is cooked...

FDA Will Let 17-Year-Olds Get 'Morning After' Pill

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration will allow 17-year-olds to get the "morning-after" birth control pill without a doctor's prescription. The agency said today it would not appeal a federal judge's recent order overturning restrictions imposed during the Bush administration. The judge had ruled that Bush appointees let politics, not...

Big Tobacco Suffers Big Setbacks in DC

Despite massive lobbying, regulation looks likely to pass

(Newser) - After years of winning its fights in Washington, Big Tobacco is steeling itself for a major defeat: Not only did Congress pass an excise tax hike of 62 cents a pack of cigarettes, which went into effect this week, but the House voted overwhelmingly to submit the industry to FDA...

Obama's FDA Cracks Down on Food Industry

Sweeping pistachio recall rejects slow pace of peanut crisis

(Newser) - Under President Obama, the Food and Drug Administration is taking on a tougher, more preventative role, the New York Times reports, leading, for example, to product recalls before anyone’s been sickened. The change is evident in the agency’s handling of the pistachio scare: It warned against eating them...

Pistachio Co.: Kraft Knew About Salmonella Last Year

(Newser) - Kraft Foods detected salmonella in a California nut company's product over 6 months ago but didn't notify the firm until last week, a rep for the parent company said today. Roasted nuts from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., the company at the heart of the nationwide pistachio recall, failed...

Salmonella Triggers Pistachio Recall

Huge pistachio recall issued after salmonella found at processor

(Newser) - Consumers have been warned to steer clear of pistachios and any product containing them until the FDA probes the extent of salmonella contamination, reports WebMD. A million pounds of possibly tainted pistachios from a California processor have been recalled and authorities expect that more recalls will follow. Affected products range...

American Salt Intake Is 2X Too High

(Newser) - Most Americans eat way too much salt, and people with salt-sensitive medical conditions consume twice as much as they should, Scientific American reports. The American average is 3,456 milligrams per day. The FDA guideline for someone not at risk is 2,300 milligrams, or one teaspoon. For older people,...

FDA Ordered to Relax Age Rules on Morning-After Pill

(Newser) - A federal judge today ordered the Food and Drug Administration to immediately relax age restrictions on the morning-after contraception pill, and reconsider whether there should be any restrictions at all, the Washington Post reports. Since 2005, the pill has been available without a prescription only to women over 18; within...

FDA OKs Drug for Kids Despite Justice Probe

Firm wooed docs to illegally prescribe antidepressant: feds

(Newser) - The FDA has approved an antidepressant called Lexapro for kids, just weeks after the Justice Department accused its maker of marketing it illegally—for kids. Prosecutors say Forest Laboratories for years sweet-talked pediatricians into prescribing Lexapro and the similar Celexa by offering spa visits, event tickets, and fishing trips, even...

Obama Promises Food-Safety Overhaul

Cites 'public health hazard,' names FDA picks

(Newser) - President Obama announced a food-safety overhaul in his weekly radio address today, describing a new panel that will review the issue and naming his choices for FDA heads, the New York Times reports. “In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as your president, but...

Baby Bath Products Have Carcinogens, Group Says

(Newser) - Common baby shampoos and lotions contain trace amounts of two carcinogens, a public safety group says. Big-name products such as Johnson & Johnson shampoo and Baby Magic lotion tested positive for the cancer-causing chemicals, apparently produced as byproducts during the manufacturing process, reports the Washington Post. Johnson & ...

Ex-NYC Health Chief Picked to Head FDA

Bioterror expert tapped for tough task of reforming agency

(Newser) - Bioterror expert and former New York City health commissioner Margaret Hamburg has been picked to head the FDA, insiders tell the Washington Post. Hamburg—who still must be confirmed by Congress—will be taking charge of an agency shaken by a series of high-profile failures that many lawmakers say is...

Food Hazards Elude Private Inspectors

Food poisoning outbreaks traced back to dangers cut-price auditors missed

(Newser) - The job of monitoring America's food plants is falling more and more to private inspectors who often miss hazards, a New York Times investigation finds. Plants hire such auditors to reassure customers and reduce liability, but the companies often pick the cheapest and least rigorous audits available. Some of the...

Stories 461 - 480 | << Prev   Next >>