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Misc. News
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L.etter to E.ditor
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Nov 3, 2006, 10:45
D.iet & H.ealth
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C.ancer
Nutritionist: Drinking too much milk promotes cancer growth After 27 years of animal studies, Dr. T. Collin Campbell, Emeritus professor from Cornell University, came to a shocking conclusion that drinking too much milk promotes cancer growth. The details were revealed in his book titled "China Study". Dec 8, 2006, 22:47
F.ood & H.ealth
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T.echnologies
Mushrooms Have a Future in Fighting a Fowl Parasite Wide use of a mushroom extract to protect poultry against a major parasitic disease is now closer, thanks to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her South Korean colleagues. Dec 8, 2006, 09:38
F.ood & H.ealth
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Agri. & Environ.
Pesticides linked to high risk of pediatric cancers Rare pediatric cancers have been found not so rare in a potato-farming community of 14,000 residents on the western tip of Canada's Prince Edward Island, Global and Mail reported Wednesday Dec. 6. Dec 7, 2006, 21:34
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
Congress Passes Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act Passage of the STOP Act represents a long-overdue acknowledgement of the need to do more as a nation to address the harm caused by underage drinking. Unlike illicit drugs, for which we have a comprehensive government-wide strategy, there has been no credible national plan to combat alcohol problems, Dec 7, 2006, 19:01
D.iet & H.ealth
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C.ancer
High Protein Diets May Boost Cancer Risk Eating a low-protein diet may protect against certain cancers, while a diet high in protein may increase the risk for malignancies, a new study suggests. Dec 7, 2006, 14:36
Misc. News
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C.onsumer A.ffair
Cereal prices surge to highest levels in decade Cereal prices, particularly for wheat and maize, have reached levels not seen for a decade, according to FAO’s latest Food Outlook report. Dec 7, 2006, 14:32
D.iet & H.ealth
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B.ody W.eight
Nasal spray intended to treat obesity A Boston company named Compellis Pharmaceuticals said that it obtained an initial patent for a nasal spray that aims to treat obesity by blocking the olfactory activity in the nose, Boston.com reported Wednesday Dec. 6. Dec 7, 2006, 11:17
Misc. News
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C.onsumer A.ffair
Not to pile on Taco Bell, but how many times does lightening need to strike? In early December, 2000, Lake County Florida Health Department (LCHD) learned of seven hepatitis A cases, including five hospitalizations, in Lake and neighboring Sumter Counties in a two week span. During the previous two years, the total number of known hepatitis A cases in Lake County was twenty-two. Dec 7, 2006, 10:34
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
FDA investigating E. colo 0157 infections linked with Taco Bell The Food and Drug Administration is assisting in the investigation of an outbreak of E. coli O157 infection in consumers associated with eating food from several Taco Bell restaurants in Northeastern states. Dec 6, 2006, 23:31
D.iet & H.ealth
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C.hildren & W.omen
Infants & Fluoride: New Warning from Dentists In a little-noticed but dramatic turnaround, the nation's leading fluoride advocate, The American Dental Association (ADA), issued an alert on November 9th urging parents to avoid fluoridated water when reconstituting infant formula. Dec 6, 2006, 15:46
Misc. News
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C.onsumer A.ffair
Taco Bell Removes Green Onions From Its Restaurants (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary tests have linked the E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell restaurants in three northeastern states to samples of green onions possibly contaminated with a harsh strain of the bacteria. Dec 6, 2006, 13:04
D.iet & H.ealth
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C.ancer
Eating greens may cut skin cancer risk Skin cancer survivors may halve their chance of relapse by eating lots of leafy green vegetables, a new Australian study suggests. Dec 6, 2006, 11:50
Misc. News
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C.onsumer A.ffair
Schools Getting Raw Deal from Bottlers Most school beverage deals aren't very lucrative, raising an average of only $18 per student per year, according to the first-ever multi-state analysis of school systems' contracts with beverage companies. Dec 6, 2006, 11:11
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
Raw milk advocate says government made a big mistake Michael Schmidt, living off nothing but raw milk and water for almost two weeks, was cited as saying the provincial government is messing with the wrong man, adding, "They made a big mistake. They should have known that I'm very determined, and that the public is too well educated to buy all their crap. Dec 6, 2006, 11:07
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
Give consumers choice in milk If consumers want raw milk so badly, then government should, according to this editorial, relax the rules and make it available. Dec 6, 2006, 11:00
Misc. News
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Non-f.ood Things
Minnesota Tops State Health Rankings For the fourth straight year, Minnesota has taken first place in state health rankings in the annual United Health Foundation report, which also found Americans 0.3 percent healthier in 2006 than they were last year. Dec 5, 2006, 16:47
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
FSIS to Hold a Public Meeting to Help Define 'Natural' Label The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced a public meeting to discuss a petition to establish a definition for the voluntary claim "natural" and to gather comments on conditions under which the claim should be allowed to be used on the labels of meat and poultry products. Dec 5, 2006, 16:38
Misc. News
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R.ecalls & A.lerts
Cleugh's Frozen Foods Inc. Recalls Frozen Strawberries Sold to Jamba Juice Cleugh's Frozen Foods Inc., Salinas, CA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ-STKL) (TSX-SOY), today announced a voluntary recall of frozen strawberries sold exclusively to Jamba Juice for use in strawberry smoothies Dec 5, 2006, 16:21
Misc. News
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R.ecalls & A.lerts
Jamba Juice Issues Alert Regarding Strawberry Smoothies Jamba Juice of San Francisco, CA in consultation with the FDA is notifying the public that smoothies containing strawberries which were sold at its Jamba Juice stores in Arizona, Southern Nevada and Southern California between November 25 - December 1, 2006, may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Dec 5, 2006, 16:20
D.iet & H.ealth
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G.eneral H.ealth
Anorexia nervosa: what you need to know
A person with anorexia (a-neh-RECK-see-ah) nervosa, often called anorexia, has an intense fear of gaining weight. Someone with anorexia thinks about food a lot and limits the food she or he eats, even though she or he is too thin. Dec 5, 2006, 16:14
D.iet & H.ealth
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G.eneral H.ealth
Bulimia: What you need to know Bulimia (buh-LEE-me-ah) nervosa, often called bulimia, is a type of eating disorder. A person with bulimia eats a lot of food in a short amount of time (binges) and then tries to prevent weight gain by getting rid of the food, called purging. Dec 5, 2006, 16:09
F.ood & H.ealth
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L.aws & P.olitics
NYC Trans Fat, Calorie Labeling Initiatives Approved Congratulations to the New York City Board of Health, Health Commissioner Tom Frieden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for adopting these bold new measures to promote the public’s health. When New York City's major chain restaurants comply with these sensible new regulations, I hope they make the changes nationwide. Dec 5, 2006, 13:17
Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D. FDA Commissioner 7/18/2005 - 9/23/2005
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April 29 (foodconsumer.org) - Dr. Lester Crawford, ex-commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration is under criminal investigation by a federal grand jury over suspicions of financial skullduggery and for making false statements to the Congress. His lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, confirmed that Dr Crawford was the target of the investigation, but declined to go into the details of the charges.
According to a transcript, Ms Van Gelder told a federal magistrate in a telephone hearing that she would instruct her client to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination if he was asked to describe the decisions taken by the FDA in his tenure.
Dr. Crawford was due to be questioned under oath on Thursday, but Ms Van Gelder asked for a delay on Wednesday and said that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights, The New York Times reported.
Dr Crawford resigned from his post in September, less than three months after the Senate confirmed him. He had said at that time that it was time for someone else to lead the agency. One of the most controversial issues during Dr Crawford's tenure was the application by Barr Laboratory to market the emergency contraceptive Plan B as an over-the-counter drug.
Barr had applied for giving Plan B an OTC status three years ago and despite secretary of health and human services, Michael O. Leavitt's assurances that FDA would decide on the Plan B application by September 2005, the issue was allowed to slide.
A month after Dr Crawford resigned, financial disclosure forms released by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that in 2004 either Dr. Crawford or his wife, Catherine had dealt in shares of a company, which was under the agency's regulation. Dr Crawford was the deputy commissioner and acting commissioner of the FDA when these transactions took place.
The criminal investigation report was confirmed during a court hearing in a lawsuit over the F.D.A.'s inaction on Plan B. The Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy group had brought the suit against the FDA alleging that the repeated delays were politically motivated.
Such suits are generally quickly dismissed, but a federal judge allowed the case to proceed. He also granted permission to the center to interview top F.D.A. officials, including Dr. Crawford. Many abortion rights activists and lawmakers felt that the delay in Plan B's approval was political, but Dr Crawford and other FDA officials have maintained that the reasons were "scientific and legal."
Now Ms. Van Gelder has told Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York that Justice Department lawyers would represent Dr Crawford in the reproductive rights suit.
According to the aforementioned transcript, she added that the "issue of his financial disclosures is within the grand jury."
Commenting on the involvement of the Justice Department lawyers, Simon Heller, a lawyer for the reproductive rights center, said "It would be remarkable if the Justice Department was conducting a criminal investigation of Plan B and at the same time asserting in a civil case that everything done was normal."
Dr. Crawford did not respond to The Times' messages for comments, while FDA spokeswoman Kathleen Quinn chose not to comment on the issue.
Plan B is an emergency contraception pill that is designed to prevent pregnancy if a woman has forgotten to take more than 2 pills in a month. It can also reduce the chances of pregnancy after unprotected sex. It is a valuable backup in case of a condom breaking or forced assault.
Plan B is not related to the abortion pill RU-486 and does not work in already pregnant women. The pill works by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, or preventing the fertilization of the egg. It is made up of the hormone levonorgestrel, which has been used for birth control methods over the last 35 years. However, Plan B has a larger dose of levonorgestrel than found in an ordinary birth control pill.
The FDA approved Plan B for use as an emergency contraceptive, which has very few side effects. When present, these manifest themselves as nausea, abdominal pain, tiredness, headache, dizziness, or breast tenderness. It must be stressed that Plan B is just that - a second plan if your regular birth control methods fail.
