Pomegranates may be full of healthful antioxidants, but there’s no evidence that POM Wonderful’s pomegranate products prevent heart disease, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction, according to the U.S. government.
FDA
What the FDA’s Restriction of Avandia Means for Diabetes Patients
Now that the Food and Drug Administration has decided to strictly limit the use of the diabetes drug Avandia, what does that mean for patients?
FDA Severely Limits Use of Diabetes Drug Avandia
U.S. and European drug agencies came to a similar decision to severely restrict use of the antidiabetes medication rosiglitazone, or Avandia. But while the European Medicines Agency is suspending sales of the drug in E.U. …
FDA Panel Can’t Make Heads or Tails of Genetically Modified Salmon
As you’ve probably heard by now, the first genetically engineered animal grown for food may soon be on the market. But not quite yet. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel assigned to assess the safety of the new …
Stalling On Food Safety
Breaches on food safety are so common these days, my eyes glaze over looking at the FDA’s recall list. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 16,112 confirmed cases of foodborne illness, which amount to …
6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World
As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market, Healthland pauses to consider the social contribution of genetically modified crops throughout …
‘Frankenfish’ May Soon Be Spawning: Is Genetically Modified Salmon Safe?
I haven’t decided what to think about the controversial “Frankenfish,” the genetically modified salmon whose maker, Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies, is seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval — and seems …
Egg Investigation Heads to Maine
The AP is reporting an inquiry into 3 egg farms in Maine that have ties to Jack DeCoster, owner of an Iowa farm involved in the largest ever egg recall. DeCoster’s company recalled 380 million eggs for salmonella contamination, …
Experts Split on Safety of Diet Drug Meridia
Two months after a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended stronger restrictions on the use of a popular diabetes drug, the same panel voted to impose similar limitations on the use of the diet drug Meridia.
FDA Panel Won’t Restrict Cough Syrup
As Healthland noted earlier, the FDA considered imposing an age limit on purchasing cough syrup, due to its abuse among teenagers. But last night, a panel assembled by the FDA voted to keep cough syrups like Robitussin and …
High Fructose Corn Syrup Wants A New Name
High fructose corn syrup — an ingredient in everything from soda to ketchup to pickles — has such a bad reputation that the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) wants to change the name of the popular sweetener to “corn sugar.”
The BPA Debate: Bad Reputation and Still No Answers
Bisphenol-A (BPA), the endocrine-disrupting chemical in plastics — and the go-to environmental health villain — has vexed public-health experts for at least a decade. Reams of inconclusive and conflicting studies on the …
The Daily Dose: Weight Loss Can Be Toxic, But Obesity Is Expensive
FDA Takes On Green Tea: Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Canada Dry and Unilever’s Lipton are in hot water for overextended health claims on labels and promotional websites for their green tea products, reports the Los Angeles Times.