Topic: fda

FDA Approves Belviq Weight Loss Drug, Putting Business Over Health Yet Again In Obesity War

The FDA just approved Belviq, the first weight loss drug to get their green light in 13 years. The agency claims that its safety standards were set high (because of weight loss drugs’ sketchy history), but it’s hard to shake the feeling that their approval was made in the best interest of public health. In the war on obesity, the FDA just helped business score big time, but it’s hard to believe that consumers will benefit nearly so much. More »

FDA Pushes Back New Sunscreen Guidelines (So Consumers Will Be Protected…Next Winter)

Last summer, the FDA gave sunscreen manufacturers a new set of sunscreen label guidelines—which included updates to better protect consumers—but last week, they announced that they’d pushed back the deadline another six months. So labels should be more accurate by…next winter. More »

What Is ‘Clean Beauty,’ Anyway?

Like our diets, beauty products have become a huge market opportunity for companies who want to cash in on consumers’ health concerns—so is it any surprise that they’ve also become just as confusing? In the past decade, there’s been a boom in the production of “natural,” “organic,” and even “raw” beauty products, all claiming to improve your health—if only superficially. But very few of us can figure out what’s safe (let alone desirable) to smear on our faces, paint on our nails, and rub into our bodies’ largest organ: skin. What’s emerged as a moniker for smart beauty consumption is “clean beauty“—a term that we think could still use some explaining. More »

The Real Reason Farm Animals Consume Antibiotics–And What The FDA Is Trying To Do About It

Good news: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that they are calling on our nation’s pork, beef, and poultry farmers to reduce the use of antibiotics in these animals. Bad news: Some watchdog groups say this recommendation doesn’t go far enough. And worse yet: The real reason these animals are fed antibiotics is not what most people think. More »

Coca-Cola And Pepsi, Fearful Of Being Labeled As Carcinogenic, Are Making Changes

Coca-Cola keeps their top-secret recipe close to the vest, never sharing their exact ingredients or measurements. But at least one of their ingredients is being ousted from the company’s shadowy cupboard–the caramel coloring ingredient, known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI. Also found in Pepsi‘s original cola, Dr. Pepper, and a Whole Foods version, the ingredient, according to a consumer watchdog group, may cause cancer. More »

FDA Might Ban BPA; Campbell’s Already Plans To Ditch It In Soup Cans

French lawmakers banned Bisphenol-A (BPA) from all food packaging in February, and now the FDA is planning to rule on the same decision for the U.S. by March 31. But whatever they decide, some companies are getting a head start on ditching the toxin altogether, with Campbell’s playing the unlikely leader at the helm. Even if you don’t chow on chicken noodle soup, Campbell’s decision is great news: If big companies like Campbell’s are finally giving way to consumer demand for safer products, there’s hope that more companies will make decisions that put consumers’ health first. More »

FDA Panel Approves Qnexa: Yet Another Dangerous Weight-Loss Drug

In a highly-questionable move, an FDA panel voted yesterday to recommend approval of Qnexa–a weight-loss drug with some pretty serious side-effects and risks. It’s yet another pill for our pill-popping society who is always looking for a quick and easy fix when it comes weight loss–even if it means risking their health for it. Plus, this one can easily set someone up for failure. More »

The Brazilian Not-Superfruit: FDA Finds Cancer-Causing Pesticide In Orange Juice Imports

Brazilian orange juice sounds like something that Whole Foods could sell for $8 an ounce, but it’s actually just pesticide-laden OJ—or at least that’s the worry of the FDA. They’ve halted all orange juice imports (from Brazil and elsewhere) and is testing them for carpendazim, a prohibited fungicide that was found in orange juice from Brazil last month. It promises to destroy or halt the import of any products that contain the pesticide, which causes liver tumors in animals. More »

Poll: Which Is More Important, Personal Freedom Or Food Safety?

Yesterday, I wrote about GOP-hopeful Ron Paul‘s call for less government control over raw and unpasteurized milk and milk products. And apparently, people had something to say about it. We received more comments on any article in a long time–but few of the commenters seemed focused on the actual health risks of commercially-produced raw milk products…or on food safety issues at all. Instead, many voiced their concerns and disdain for regulation and government intervention when it comes to food. More »

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4 Important Lessons That 2011′s Biggest Food Safety Scares Taught Us

While reflecting back on 2011′s many food safety scares, listeria in cantaloups probably leaps to the top of your list, followed closely by ground turkey. Which is fair–massive recalls of whole and cut cantaloups and Cargill’s ground turkey were huge, scary headlines. But being afraid of food isn’t going to help folks stay healthy in 2012. Instead, we have to learn from these events. So what did we learn? That what we already knew, but may have a hard time putting into practice, still holds true: industrially-produced meat and produce spread disease more quickly and can be less safe, and canned and processed items aren’t just less nutritionally sound fresh, whole food (when fresh, whole food isn’t teaming with bacteria); they’re also more likely to be tainted by food-borne illness or unlabeled allergens. More »

Halloween Buzzkill: Black Licorice Overdose Could Cause Heart Failure, Says FDA

The FDA is mum on the side effects of certain preservatives and food colorings, but when it comes to Good & Plenty, they’re not messing around: It turns out that a toxin found in black licorice could kill you. Or, more likely: Increase your risk of hypertension, heart swelling and lethargy, and at worst, congestive heart failure. More »

Never Miss A Product Recall Again With This FDA-Approved App

With the listeriosis outbreak that’s pulling cantaloupes and lettuce from grocery shelves around the country, a lot of people are thinking about food safety, and what they can do to make sure they never miss a recall. Unfortunately, even with the Internet on our side, by the time information about a recall is circulated, you may have already purchased–or even eaten–a recalled product. But of course, there’s an app for that. More »

It’s Time: Step Away From The Brazilian Blowout

When the Brazilian Blowout first blew onto the scene, it seemed, to many women, too good to be true. Now, the facts are stacking up, and it turns out, it totally way. And it’s time to admit that to ourselves, and stop seeking out this sketchy treatment. More »

Sun Protection Factor: FDA Posts New Sunscreen Rules

The FDA first announced plans for sunscreen rules in 1978, and they were finally released yesterday. It’s about time: Did you know that under previous rules, sunscreen manufacturers don’t have to test how well products protect against UVA rays, the type of rays most implicated in skin cancer (and wrinkles)? They’re only required to test protection against sunburn-causing UVB rays, which is what SPF measurements are based on. More »

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