wtf??????????

what's going on? i eat a LOT of peanuts and peanut products. i didn't have to give any of them up from the last recall because i know the source of my peanuts was not from the contamination site.

NOW PISTACHIO NUTS? i'm addicated and i know many others who are as well. what's happening with our food sources? i'd expect this from some countries BUT NOT OURS. how wrong am i?

truth be told i knew about the peanuts this is the FIRST i'm hearing about pistachios

FDA says to avoid pistachios amid salmonella scare

By GARANCE BURKE

The Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. -- Federal food safety officials warned Monday that consumers should stop eating all foods containing pistachios while they figure out the source of a possible salmonella contamination.

Still reeling from the national salmonella outbreak in peanuts, the Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling a portion of the roasted nuts it has been shipping since last fall. A Setton spokeswoman said that amounts to more than 2 million pounds of nuts.

"Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products," said Dr. David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food safety. "The number of products that are going to be recalled over the coming days will grow, simply because these pistachio nuts have then been repackaged into consumer-level containers."......

one would think there would be the SAME concerns

or points to consider if administered to grrrls AND boys. like everything else (take for example women being EXcluded from many different types of medical studies), they are NOT treated equally. we MUST knock down those walls and get RID of the double standard. we MUST for not only our daughters but our sons as well
A Vaccine Debate Once Focused on Sex Shifts as Boys Join the Target Market

By Rob Stein

Washington Post Staff Writer

When a vaccine designed to protect girls against a sexually transmitted virus arrived three years ago, the debate centered on one question: Would the shots make young girls more likely to have sex?

Now the vaccine's maker is trying to get approval to sell the vaccine for boys, and the debate is focusing on something else entirely: Is it worth the money, and is it safe and effective enough?

"We are still more worried about the promiscuity of girls than the promiscuity of boys," said Susan M. Reverby, a professor of women's studies and medical history at Wellesley College. "There's still that double standard."

The shift in the discussion about Gardasil illustrates the complex interplay of political, economic, scientific, regulatory and social factors that increasingly influence decisions about new types of medical care. For the vaccine, the new dynamic reflects a strategic tack by Gardasil's critics, growing concern about health-care costs, fears about whether medical treatments are being vetted adequately and stubborn biases about gender, experts say............

the fda is almost worthless

in my opinion. i don't know if they're being paid off or the government demands them to be silent or what.

our food is full of maggots, our makeup is full of lead and mercury.

Roses Are Red, Lipstick (Still) Has Lead
By Stacy Malkan, AlterNet.
Any day now, President Obama will name the head of the Food and Drug Administration, and the question is: Will the new FDA revive its passion for the public interest, or continue giving consumers the toxic kiss off?

Case in point: lead in lipstick. More than a year after health groups in the U.S. reported that top-selling lipsticks contain lead, FDA is sitting on the results of its own research.

Meanwhile, new tests reveal that lipstick isn't the only make-up with a heavy-metal problem. Health Canada announced last week that if found lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium during routine testing of children's face paints. The results were immediately announced to the public as the government evaluates next steps.

Health Canada is also conducting a major review of chemicals in cosmetics, and creating an "ingredient hotlist" to prevent harmful chemicals from entering beauty products in the future.

Here at home, Americans are left to wonder about the safety of cosmetics. Unlike Health Canada, the U.S. FDA has no toxic-chemical designation, does not conduct routine safety testing of personal care products, and -- as the lipstick saga shows -- doesn't even bother to share its science with the public...................

don't read this

if you're just about to eat. OR, if you've JUST eaten. OR if you're thinking about eating. ewwwwwwwwwww

i really had NO idea. really i didn't
The Maggots in Your Mushrooms
By E. J. LEVY
THE Georgia peanut company at the center of one of our nation’s worst food-contamination scares has officially reached a revolting new low: a recent inspection by the Food and Drug Administration discovered that the salmonella-tainted plant was also home to mold and roaches. You may be grossed out, but insects and mold in our food are not new. The F.D.A. actually condones a certain percentage of “natural contaminants” in our food supply — meaning, among other things, bugs, mold, rodent hairs and maggots.

In its (falsely) reassuringly subtitled booklet “The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of Natural or Unavoidable Defects in Foods That Present No Health Hazards for Humans,” the F.D.A.’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition establishes acceptable levels of such “defects” for a range of foods products, from allspice to peanut butter.

Among the booklet’s list of allowable defects are “insect filth,” “rodent filth” (both hair and excreta pellets), “mold,” “insects,” “mammalian excreta,” “rot,” “insects and larvae” (which is to say, maggots), “insects and mites,” “insects and insect eggs,” “drosophila fly,” “sand and grit,” “parasites,” “mildew” and “foreign matter” (which includes “objectionable” items like “sticks, stones, burlap bagging, cigarette butts, etc.”)...........

this is rich

(as in smooth creamy RICH peanut butter)

the FDA is investigating the peanut company?????? turns out the FDA knew about problems a WHILE AGO AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT. who the fuck is going to investigate the FDA? this is absolutely a farce

FDA Investigating Peanut Company Behind Recall
Firm Could Face Criminal Charges
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
The federal government has begun a criminal investigation of the peanut company responsible for an outbreak of salmonella illness that has sickened hundreds of people, killed at least eight and prompted one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.

The Food and Drug Administration is working with the Justice Department to explore possible criminal charges against the Peanut Corporation of America of Lynchburg, Va., which shipped contaminated products made in its plant in Blakely, Ga., officials said yesterday.

"There is a criminal investigation that has been initiated through our office of criminal investigation at the FDA. They have to work through the Department of Justice to develop a case and prosecute, if that's what it comes to," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "It's an open investigation." ...........

let me get this straight

a peanut processing plant, peanut corporation of america, KNEW there was salmonella in their products yet not only did they not reveal that to anyone (outside the plant that is) but they SOLD THEIR PRODUCTS to unwary customers (none of their products was actually sold to the public. it was sold to other manufacturers who used it to make other products sold directly to the public)? oh that's not even the shocking part. the shocking part is NO ONE EVEN KNOWS IF THAT'S ILLEGAL? come on now. of COURSE it's illegal (not to mention immoral). i'm not a lawyer and i know you can't KNOWINGLY poison anyone. (i hope the peanut corporation of america executives are glad they're not in china where some of the milk scandal people got sentences of death)

Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products
It Found Salmonella 12 Times
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday. Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have been investigating the outbreak of salmonella illness, said yesterday that Peanut Corporation of America found salmonella in internal tests a dozen times in 2007 and 2008 but sold the products anyway, sometimes after getting a negative finding from a different laboratory.

Companies are not required to disclose their internal tests to either the FDA or state regulators, so health officials did not know of the problem. ...........

it has always been my contention

the fda (or SOME at the fda) have their hands in the back pants pockets of SOME at the drug companies (and/or medical device companies)

drugs get approved that NEVER should have been, drugs DO NOT get approved that SHOULD have. lies are told. truths are burried. here are but TWO examples

far be it from the government to tell on big bid-nez. EVEN IF IT MEANS OUR BABIES ARE AT RISK

FDA Draws Fire Over Chemicals In Baby Formula
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Public health groups, consumer advocates and members of Congress blasted the Food and Drug Administration yesterday for failing to act after discovering trace amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in baby formula sold in the United States.

"This FDA, this Bush administration, instead of protecting the public health, is protecting industry," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the FDA budget. In an interview, DeLauro said she wants the agency to disclose its findings and to develop a plan to remove melamine from formula. "We're talking about babies, about the most vulnerable. This really makes me angry."

The FDA found melamine and cyanuric acid, a related chemical, in samples of baby formula made by major U.S. manufacturers. Melamine can cause kidney and bladder stones and, in worst cases, kidney failure and death. If melamine and cyanuric acid combine, they can form round yellow crystals that can also damage kidneys and destroy renal function. ...............

Demands For Baby Formula Recall Mount
FDA Changes Its Story On Melamine Contamination, But Insists Products Are Safe
(CBS/AP) Disclosure that laboratory tests have detected traces of contamination in several major brands of infant formula generated concern and confusion Wednesday, with a national consumer group and the Illinois attorney general demanding a Food and Drug Administration recall.

The FDA shunned those calls, but admitted it had released inaccurate information on what chemicals were found in which top selling products.

As worried parents called manufacturers looking for guidance about the presence of melamine and a key byproduct in U.S.-made formula, the FDA reiterated its position that the baby food is safe and parents should continue feeding it to their babies, contending the extremely low levels of contamination do not present a health danger.

Also, a spokesman for one major manufacturer criticized the FDA for its release of the inaccurate information.

"We're getting inundated by calls from moms confused about the situation," said Pete Paradossi, a spokesman for Mead Johnson, one of the three major manufacturers of U.S.-made formula involved in the problem detections.

Melamine is the industrial chemical found in Chinese infant formula - in far larger concentrations - that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill.
..................
and
FDA Scientists Revolt Against Corrupt Food and Drug Administration Officials
(NaturalNews) A group of scientists working in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health division has revolted against the corrupt managers of its own department, accusing them of committing crimes by claiming, "There is extensive documentary evidence that managers at CDRH have corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices."

Read the letter yourself here (PDF):
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_1...

The letter from the FDA's own scientists goes on to say, "It is evident that managers at CDRH have deviated from FDA's mission to identify and address underlying problems with medical devices before they cause irreparable harm, and this deviation has placed the American people at risk."

Congressman John, Dingell, chair of the committee which received the letter, went on to charge that these FDA bureaucrats "approved or cleared medical device applications in gross violation of laws and regulations..." (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_1...)
..........

if you think these organizations are protecting us

you're hiding your head in the sand. it's not just the fda either. it's most of them. including the faa (among MANY other agencies)

once again, the almighty dollar (with a bit of laziness thrown in) wins out

BPA Ruling Flawed, Panel Says

FDA Ignored Scientific Evidence of Harm, Report Finds

By Annys Shin

Washington Post Staff Writer

The Food and Drug Administration ignored scientific evidence and used flawed methods when it determined that a chemical widely used in baby bottles and in the lining of cans is not harmful, a scientific advisory panel has found.

In a highly critical report to be released today, the panel of scientists from government and academia said the FDA did not take into consideration scores of studies that have linked bisphenol A (BPA) to prostate cancer, diabetes and other health problems in animals when it completed a draft risk assessment of the chemical last month. The panel said the FDA didn't use enough infant formula samples and didn't take into account variations among the samples.

Taking those studies into consideration, the panel concluded, the FDA's margin of safety is "inadequate" and it recommended that the agency redo its risk assessment. The panel is part of the Science Board, a committee of advisers to the FDA commissioner. It was set up to review the FDA's risk assessment of BPA................

i've written about stevia before

i use it (along with maple syrup and agave nectar) as a sweetener. it is NOT ALLOWED to be called a sweetener by the fda though. it CAN be sold but ONLY as a dietary supplement. in stores it can't be in the 'sugar aisle'.

i just came across this article. since BIG-BIDNEZ (cargill and coca-cola) are involved, seems like it's A-OK to be a sweetener now! it's a fuckin' miracle! suddenly when big-bidnez gets all it's shite in order, all it's ducks in a row (by that i mean they've developed their formulas for putting stevia in soda and other products) stevia is no longer a food supplement BUT it's a no-calorie sweetener.

are we morons? what happens to the other stevia sellers? does cargill own patents?
Cargill sees new sweetener on market in '08
By Martinne Geller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Agribusiness and commodity trading group Cargill Inc said on Thursday that it expects its no-calorie sweetener made from a South American shrub to be on the U.S. market by the end of the year.
In an interview, Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill's Health and Nutrition unit, said the product, called rebiana, will be available this year as a tabletop sweetener.
Rebiana, which will be sold under the name Truvia, is made from the leaves of a shrub called stevia that is native to Paraguay and will provide a natural alternative to chemical sweeteners including Sweet'N Low and Equal.
Stevia is not approved as a food additive by health regulators in the United States or the European Union, though it can be sold as a dietary supplement. It is approved in a dozen countries, including Japan, China and Brazil.
Privately-held Cargill, which is handling the growing of the plants and the regulatory process, said it has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Association that Truvia is safe, based on scientific studies being published on Thursday in the journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology."
The company said FDA approval typically takes anywhere from two to six months.
Montero said Cargill is working with a number of companies on projects involving the sweetener, but declined to give a timeline for the launch of other rebiana-sweetened food products.
A spokesman for Coca-Cola Co, which co-developed the product with Cargill and has exclusive rights to use it in beverages, also declined to offer a schedule................

oh and one more thing. where do you think they're going to process all of this stevia? you guessed it. the same country that puts lead (and much worse) in ALL of the products it sends to us:

'One of Cargill's rebiana suppliers, GLG Life Tech Corp, said earlier this month that it started building a 500-metric-ton stevia processing facility in Qingdao, China.'

a few years ago my cholesterol was

275. yes, 275. now it runs from 120 is (yes i said 120) to 140 ish. my good cholesterol is at a great level and my bad cholesterol is where it should be.

how did this happen? well first off i stopped eating MAYONNAISE (i am addicted, just like i am to sugar. so i don't keep either product). i attempted to go vegan as well (and am now for the most part* after many attempts and failures. i've been a vegetarian since i was 18 and NEVER failed on that level - and i am past 18 by more than 2 X). what else? i take lipitor. my doctor insists upon it. he also told me, he'd most likely have me on it even if my cholesterol was normal in the first place. he provided me with literature on all sorts of studies conducted on the product (when i walk out of his office, i always have a fistfull of medical articles on one thing or another).

do i mind if dr jarvik rows or not? of COURSE NOT. i don't give a flying yoo hoo. do i mind if he takes lipitor or not (but says he does)? YES THAT I CARE ABOUT. and i believe him when he says he takes it too.

*i knit with wool and silk fibers. real vegans would not do such things

i want everyone to know i think the fda is THE most useless organization on this goddess' earth. it appears to me they are a bunch of weasels (again, no offense to the weasels). they're out to PLEASE BIG BID-NEZ and shaft the rest (why are all sorts of drugs approved even when studies show they are DANGEROUS. and why then do they get their panties in a twist about things like stevia and l-tryptophan?????????? WHY WHY WHY)

For Jarvik Heart Pioneer, Drug Ads Raise Questions
By STEPHANIE SAUL

Dr. Robert Jarvik is best known for the artificial heart he pioneered more than a quarter-century ago. Since then he had toiled in relative obscurity — until he began appearing in television ads two years ago for the Pfizer cholesterol drug Lipitor.
The ads have depicted him, among other outdoorsy pursuits, rowing a one-man racing shell swiftly across a mountain lake. “When diet and exercise aren’t enough, adding Lipitor significantly lowers cholesterol,” Dr. Jarvik says in the ad.
Celebrity advertising endorsements are nothing new, of course. But the Lipitor campaign is a rare instance of a well-known doctor’s endorsing a drug in advertising — and it has helped rekindle a smoldering debate over whether it is appropriate to aim ads for prescription drugs directly at consumers.
A Congressional committee, concerned that the Lipitor ads could be misleading, has said it wants to interview Dr. Jarvik about his role as the drug’s pitchman.
Some of the questions may involve his credentials. Even though Dr. Jarvik holds a medical degree, for example, he is not a cardiologist and is not licensed to practice medicine. So what, critics ask, qualifies him to recommend Lipitor on television — even if, as he says in some of the ads, he takes the drug himself? ......

i guess tom cruise

wasn't able to 'counsel' the youngsters who took their own lives. of course he doesn't believe in that type of medication. he thinks (as does his 'religion') one can be TALKED OUT of mental illness or mental instability. we all know what i think of tom cruise and his 'religion'

on the other hand, i think our children, in general, are over medicated. i didn't know so many a d d kids existed in the universe much less america. it's just easier to medicate so they shut up

on the OTHER hand, if a child genuinely needs help she or he should get it. therapy OR medication OR both

Suicides Rose as Prescription Use Declined
Study: Child Antidepressant Warnings Coincided With Increase

By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer
Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.
From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting suicide statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies..........

fema, the doj and now the fda???

what the hell...........

it's like we're living in some third world country

FDA Was Aware of Dangers To Food
Outbreaks Were Not Preventable, Officials Say

(NOT preventable????????)


By Elizabeth Williamson Washington Post Staff Writer
The Food and Drug Administration has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people, sickened hundreds, and forced one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history, documents and interviews show.
Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, according to agency documents..........

.............."This administration does not like regulation, this administration does not like spending money, and it has a hostility toward government. The poisonous result is that a program like the FDA is going to suffer at every turn of the road," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the full House committee. Dingell is considering introducing legislation to boost the agency's accountability, regulatory authority and budget............