Tag Archives: fda

FDA Plans To Reduce Contaminants In Baby Food

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced Closer to Zero. It is the FDA’s goal to reduce dietary exposure to contaminants to as low as possible, while maintaining access to nutritious foods. The agency’s work to date has resulted in significant progress in reducing exposure to environmental contaminants from foods and Closer to Zero builds on this progress. The FDA has prioritized foods commonly eaten by babies and young children because their smaller body sizes and metabolism make them more vulnerable to the harmful affects of these contaminants. To meet the goals of Closer to Zero, they have focused … Continue reading →

FDA Warns of Risks of Teething Jewelry

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning about safety risks of teething necklaces, bracelets to relieve teething pain, or to provide sensory stimulation. USA Today reported that the Food and Drug Administration issued this warning after an 18-month-old was strangled by an amber teething necklace while taking a nap. In addition, a 7-month-old was hospitalized after choking on the beads of a wooden teething bracelet. The FDA warns that parents, caregivers, and health care providers should not use teething jewelry to relieve teething pain in children or to provide sensory stimulation to persons with special needs. Those special … Continue reading →

A Push for Safe Beauty Products

As I’ve warned before, your beauty products may be doing you harm.  Right now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve ingredients used in beauty products before they hit the shelves.  Instead, that responsibility of safety falls on the beauty product companies.  Still, there could be lead in your lipstick, lead acetate in your hair dye, and even formaldehyde and 1, 4-dioxane in you baby’s shampoo. But, that may change soon.  The Safe Cosmetics Act was introduced in 2011.  The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is hoping to convince the House of Representatives to support this bill, which would require … Continue reading →

Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has proposed a new idea. They say oral contraceptives should be made available over-the-counter without the need for a prescription. How would this affect your health insurance coverage? In August of 2011, the Affordable Care Act was expanded to include the coverage of women’s preventative health services. This means that all health insurance plans must cover the cost of those services, including all FDA approved forms of contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible. All health plans, whether they are individual or an employer sponsored health plan, must cover birth control in this … Continue reading →

The Controversy of Medical Marijuana

The use of medical cannabis (marijuana) has long been a sensitive subject. Research has shown that the use of marijuana can help relieve the suffering of terminally ill patients. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved medical marijuana for use. Seems pretty cut and dry, right? Not so much. Since 1996, fourteen states – Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – have approved the use of medical marijuana for patients who have a prescription for it. Okay, so now the patients with prescriptions in those … Continue reading →

At Home Laser Treatment For Wrinkles Approved By FDA

Many women, myself included, would like to look as youthful as we can for as long as we can. Although we can’t do anything about gravity, by exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and taking advantage of the latest anti-aging products, we don’t have to look old before our time. I have no desire to look 20 nor act 20, but I do want to feel confident in the fact that I’m doing what I can to hold back the hands of time. My kids think I’m a bit OCD when it comes to wrinkles, but I grew up in … Continue reading →

“Smart Choices” May Not Be So Smart After All

Don’t believe everything a box of cereal tells you. Lots of foods are packaged with little logos and stickers, telling us how healthy the stuff inside is. But is it really that healthy? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says maybe not. They’re taking a closer look at the actual content of popular foods like cereal and crackers — with an eye for whether or not consumers are being mislead about the health benefits. One program being targeted is the “Smart Choices” sticker — the little green check mark on certain foods, declaring that the contents are indeed a Smart … Continue reading →

Safe Halloween Makeup

Halloween is almost upon us and some of you may even be dressing up for parties now. One thing you may not think about is the safety of the makeup you use on yourself or your children. While makeup is preferable to masks (it is not as likely to block your vision), you still have to use care in choosing your makeup. Just as beauty makeup can be unsafe, so can Halloween makeup. Here are a few tips to ensure you have a safe Halloween: – Don’t even use something as makeup that wasn’t specifically meant to be used on … Continue reading →

Food Labeling Law Goes into Effect… Sort Of

We’ve survived contaminated spinach and hunted down possibly contaminated tomatoes. Here in the United States, we finally have protection in the form of federal food labeling laws… right? As of September 30th, many types of meat, produce, and other foods will be labeled with country of origin. But not all foods. Some types of food will be exempt from the labeling laws — foods that are processed (like roasted peanuts), foods that are mixed together (like frozen veggies or salad mix), and meats that are breaded (like chicken breasts or fish filets). The idea of country of origin labeling has … Continue reading →

FDA Takes Action against Fake Cancer Cures

I find it hard to believe that people out there are trying to get rich by selling fake cancer cures… but they’re out there. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently sent letters warning more than two dozen companies to stop selling fake cancer preventatives and cures. The companies are all over the world — most of the warning recipients are in the United States, but others in Canada and Australia have been targeted by the FDA. Those warning letters cover more than a hundred different tablets, tonics, creams, teas, and “black salves” that claim to cure or prevent cancer. … Continue reading →