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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
10 July, (foodconsumer.org) - The Food and Drug Administration does not track the post-approval studies promised by many drug manufacturers and is unaware of their status, according to a new review by the inspector general for the Health and Human Services Department.
The report found that around 35 percent of status reports that drug makers were to file in 2004 were either missing entirely or did not contain the required information. The report said the FDA must improve its tracking system by asking manufacturers to provide better information.
The inspector general's report said most drug makers are happy to give a commitment to at least one post-market study for analyzing additional benefits or side effects of the approved drugs. At least 48 percent of drug applications approved from 1990 to 2004 gave such a commitment.
These post-approval trials are necessary to monitor how a drug behaves after it is used for a long time. The FDA does ask for mandatory clinical studies, but the number of participants involved is invariably small. Additionally a wider base of population is not included. Hence the FDA frequently asks drug makers to conduct postmarketing studies.
However the FDA does not have any knowledge of where these studies stand and whether they have indeed begun. "Monitoring postmarketing study commitments is not a top priority at the (Food and Drug Administration)," the investigators concluded. "FDA cannot readily identify whether or how timely postmarketing study commitments are progressing toward completion."
The FDA though is not willing to accept this indictment. "While we embrace several recommendations for improvement that are outlined in the report, we do not agree that FDA cannot readily identify whether or how timely postmarketing study commitments are progressing," said Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA's acting commissioner.
The report said the even completed studies were bereft of the really core information that could point to whether progress had been made or not. Andrew von Eschenbach said the FDA could not instruct drug applicants to include such information, “A provision for additional information would require that new regulations be written," he said.
He added that the FDA has hired an outside contractor to make recommendations on ways to make sure companies complete more the studies.
Postmarket studies have become very important in light of several drug failures. Most prominent among them is Merck's painkiller Vioxx, which was seen as a blockbuster drug. The drug had an almost immediate adverse effect on the heart and caused heart attacks in patients using it for a long time.
In April, a Government Accountability Office report said the Food and Drug Administration is doing an inadequate job as far as ensuring the safety of the drugs approved by it is concerned. The review added that the FDA does not follow clear guidelines on how to handle problems associated with drug safety and sometimes overlooks its best safety experts in these matters.
The report added that the Congress must think seriously about expanding the authority of the FDA so that the agency can compel drug companies to conduct safety reviews on the drugs already on the market.
"FDA lacks clear and effective processes for making decisions about and providing management oversight of, post-market safety issues," the report said. "We observed that there is a lack of criteria for determining what safety actions to take and when to take them."
The report said that this lack was acutely visible in the way the agency handled safety issues associated with the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol, the painkiller Bextra, the rheumatoid arthritis drug Arava, and the heartburn drug Propulsid.
All the above-mentioned drugs except Arava were pulled off the market, but the GAO review said that the process was delayed due to infighting and disorganization within the FDA.
Since 2000, around 10 drugs have been pulled from the market after safety issues arose. Critics say that these drugs should never have received approval in the first place.
The Bush administration's stand on the issue has been that the FDA does not require more powers. However, FDA officials have told many Congressional committees over the years that they need more power to hold drug companies accountable.
The GAO report said that the budget required by the FDA to commission its own safety studies was $1 million from 2002 to 2005 and was estimated to rise to $1.1 million till 2010.
