Food and Drug Administration News

Texas Grocery Chain Recalls Raw Shelled Pistachios

The H-E-B grocery store chain has recalled some bulk and packaged raw shelled pistachios. San Antonio-based H-E-B said this week there’s a potential that the pistachios could be contaminated with salmonella. There are no reports of anyone getting sick. The …

U.S. Targets Internet Sites Selling Illegal Prescription Medicines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in partnership with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, said that it took action last week against 4,402 websites that illegally sell potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs to U.S. consumers. This effort was part …

FDA Told to Speed Up Food Recalls

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is too slow to order companies to recall tainted foods, leaving people at risk of illness and death, a government watchdog said in a review of the agency’s food safety program. The Department of …

Report Cites Failure to Prevent Unsafe Medical Devices That Spread Superbugs

America’s system for ensuring that medical devices are safe failed at every turn when dirty endoscopes began spreading deadly superbugs, according to a Senate investigation released today. The report, from Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, blames device manufacturers, hospitals, …

California Farm Recalls Produce Used in Costco’s E. Coli-linked Salad

A California farm is recalling a vegetable mix believed to be the source of E.coli in Costco chicken salad that has been linked to an outbreak that has sickened 19 people in seven states, the Food and Drug Administration said. …

Administration Relaxes Food Safety Rules for Farmers

The Food and Drug Administration has revised sweeping food safety rules proposed last year after farmers complained that the regulations could hurt business. The new proposals would relax water quality standards and allow farmers to harvest crops sooner after using …

Doctor Training Questioned in Wake of Robotic-Surgery Deaths, Injuries

A rising number of reports about deaths, injuries and malfunctions linked to the robotic surgery system made by Intuitive Surgical Inc. may pressure hospitals to bolster training for doctors using the $1.5 million device. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration …

Claim Against Coca-Cola Over Vitaminwater to Proceed; No Damages Allowed

A judge last Thursday recommended that a case challenging the claims on popular Vitaminwater drinks as misleading move forward as a class-action lawsuit. Attorneys representing the health-advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest and consumers from California and …

Drugmakers Work on Safer Painkillers as Opioid Abuse Epidemic Rages

Backed by a U.S. campaign to slow abuse of prescription painkillers, drugmakers are devising new forms of the medicines that don’t lead to misuse and new products that treat dependency in a bid to change the face of a $9.4 …

Mom Sues Monster Over Teen’s Death in California

The mother of a teenager who died from cardiac arrhythmia last year is blaming his death on Corona, Calif.-based Monster Beverage Corp., alleging in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that his death was caused by habitually drinking the company’s energy drink. …