An FTC writer warns that some car dealers inflate buyers' stated income on credit applications, leaving them with loans they cannot repay. The advice: arrange financing elsewhere first, check the dealer's complaint record, and walk away if asked to overstate income.
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Advisories
FDA and USDA advisories and warnings.
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Advisories
Fresh and Frozen Seafood: Selecting and Serving it Safely
FDA guidance on buying and handling seafood safely: choose fish kept refrigerated or on a thick bed of unmelting ice, check that the flesh is firm and shiny and the eyes clear, avoid anything smelling fishy, sour or ammonia-like, and look for tags on live shellfish.
Advisories
4 Tips for a Healthy and Stress-Free Lunchbox
FDA nutritionist Leila Beker's advice for packing school lunches: plan a week of meals at a time, build around fruit, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein, follow MyPlate, and get children involved. “If you don't plan, you become a victim of convenient foods.”
Advisories
FDA, EPA recommend pregnant women eat more fish
Draft FDA and EPA advice urges pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children to eat 8 to 12 ounces of lower-mercury fish a week, such as salmon, shrimp, pollock, light canned tuna, tilapia, catfish and cod, and to avoid Gulf tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel.
Advisories
FDA warns consumers about fraudulent Ebola treatment products
The FDA says it has received complaints about products sold online that claim to prevent or treat Ebola, and warns that no approved vaccine or drug exists and none is available for purchase on the internet. Sellers must drop the claims or face agency action.
Advisories
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Tropical Storms Iselle and Julio
With Tropical Storms Iselle and Julio approaching Hawaii, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service urges residents to prepare for power outages: keep thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer, freeze water in small containers, and freeze perishables ahead of the storm.
Advisories
'Gluten-Free' Now Means What It Says
As of August 5, 2014, any food labeled gluten-free, without gluten, free of gluten or no gluten must contain under 20 parts per million of gluten under an FDA rule issued in 2013. Celiac disease advocates welcomed the standard, since diet is the only way to manage the disease.
Advisories
Nutrition Basics Help Fight Child Obesity
FDA dietitian Shirley Blakely tells parents to read two things on packaged food: the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient list, which runs in descending order. A grain listed first on a cereal is a good sign; sugar first means added sugars are displacing more nutritious ingredients.
Advisories
Toledo, Ohio warns residents not to drink public drinking water
Toledo told more than 400,000 residents not to drink tap water after two samples from one treatment plant showed microcystin, a toxin produced by Lake Erie algae, above the standard for consumption.
Advisories
Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures - Tips from USDA
USDA lists the internal temperatures needed to destroy pathogens: 160°F for ground meat, 165°F for poultry, stuffing and leftovers, and 145°F with a 3-minute rest for beef, veal, lamb and pork cuts. Color alone does not reliably show doneness, and rest times matter.
Advisories
Treat Your Pets Like Family
The director of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine explains that pet food is regulated much like human food, and offers advice: wash food bowls between meals and water bowls every day or two, refrigerate or discard leftover wet food, and keep dry food somewhere cool and dry.
Advisories
FDA consumer advice on powdered pure caffeine
The FDA warned on July 18 against bulk powdered caffeine sold online, after an Ohio teenager died in May. A teaspoon of the near-pure powder equals the caffeine in 25 cups, and overdose can bring erratic heartbeat, seizures, vomiting, disorientation and death.
Advisories
USDA Proposes Rule to Enhance Consumer Protection; Ensure Retailers Can Track Sources of Ground Meats
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service proposes requiring retailers who grind raw beef to record the source, supplier and materials used, saying current recordkeeping has not worked well and better traceback would speed recalls when outbreaks occur.
Advisories
FDA’s Advice: Know the Risks of Feeding Raw Foods to Your Pets
FDA says raw meat, bones and organs fed to dogs and cats are likelier than cooked food to carry Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, which can sicken pets and the people handling the food. The agency recommends cooking meat and poultry before giving it to animals.
Advisories
13 Best Grilling Tips
The EatingWell Test Kitchen recommends preheating a grill 15 to 25 minutes to reach 250-450 degrees F depending on the heat level, notes gas burns cleaner than charcoal though neither is proven healthier, and warns that conventional briquettes may contain additives.
Advisories
Weight loss: Fact vs. Fiction
The FTC warns that pills, powders, patches, belts and creams promising effortless weight loss mostly thin your wallet, and some may harm your health. It points readers to its Weight Loss Challenge game and says diet changes and exercise remain the keys.
Advisories
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Weather
FSIS issued food safety guidance for Midwest and Great Plains areas hit by tornadoes, high winds, hail and flash floods: keep thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer at 40F and 0F or lower, and freeze water in quart bags beforehand to help keep food cold during an outage.
Advisories
"My Medicines" ... This Brochure Can be a Lifesaver
The FDA's Office of Women's Health offers a free My Medicines brochure with a chart for recording prescriptions, doses and refills. Coral Thomas of Clarksville, Tennessee credits the filled-out card in her purse with helping doctors adjust her care after a heart attack at 66.
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