The decision of the six largest manufacturers of baby bottles comes after intense pressure from consumers and attorneys generals in several states. The companies said they would stop selling bottles in the United States that contain bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical that mimics the human hormone and is linked to breast cancer, obesity and other disorders.
Last fall, the attorneys general of Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware sent letters to companies, asking them to stop using the chemical, which is found in many plastic products. The Food and Drug Administration has said that BPA is safe, but was criticized last fall by a panel of scientists. The agency is now reviewing studies on BPA.
One New York county decided not to wait for the FDA. On Wednesday, Suffolk County became the first in the country to ban baby bottles and toddler sippy cups made with the chemical. Some scientists say that young children are the most vulnerable because their bodies are not fully developed.
Many retailers, including Babies R Us, have said they would no longer carry BPA-made baby bottles and instead tout BPA-free products. More than anything, this may have prompted the change of heart by Philips Avent, Disney First Years, Gerber, Dr. Brown, Playtex and Evenflow.
Shannon Jenest, a spokeswoman for Philips Avent told the Washington Post that “we felt we we had hit a tipping point with our consumers and with our retailers. Babies R Us was banning it, Target was going to, CVS was going to, and so the distribution channels were lessening and lessening.” Jenest said that the company stopped selling baby products with BPA on Dec. 31 in North America. However, BPA products are still marketed overseas. Or at least until the parents in other countries demand better?
In at least 12 tests of its peanut butter, a Georgia food plant found salmonella bacteria, according to federal investigators. But the factory sent the products on to food manufacturers such as Kellogg, which then turned the toxic paste into crackers and cookies.
More than 500 people have been sickened from eating tainted foods — 20 percent of those ill are kids under the age of 5. Federal officials say the source of the outbreak is a Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga.
Hold onto your stomachs: Salmonella wasn’t the only problem. Mold grew on the ceiling and walls of the factory. Foot-long gaps also punctured the roof, the New York Times reported. Holes in doors were large enough to let in rats, and grease and rust residue permeated throughout. It’s not reported why the Georgia Department of Agriculture did not shut down the plant after finding repeated sanitation violations. We say, let them eat peanut butter!
For an updated list of what peanut products being recalled (hopefully to be force-fed to crooked plant managers), click here.
UPDATE: The recall of peanut products is being expanded to everything produced at the plant since Jan. 1, 2007. Peanut butter and paste from the factory are used in hundreds of foods, from stir-fry sauces to doggie biscuits.
The bacteria was found in one package of Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter, made by Kellogg Co.
A company spokeswoman told the Associated Press that she wasn’t clear how many packages of Kellogg snacks had been tested and if other products would also be checked. The discovery was confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration, which declined to give more info. Last weekend, the FDA warned consumers to stop eating peanut butter cookies, crackers, ice cream and candy. Many companies, including Kellogg, the Little Debbie snack maker and Meijer grocery stores, have stopped selling their products.
Six people have died and more than 470 have gotten sick from eating tainted peanut butter items. Federal authorities have traced the source of contamination to a Georgia peanut processing facility but haven’t narrowed down the products that might be affected.
Officials say it’s still safe for parents to make their kids PB&J sandwiches. The Georgia facility doesn’t produce small, consumer-size jars of peanut butter. Read previous Minor Troubles postings about the salmonella scare here.
It’s tempting to reach for the medicine bottle to help your stuffy, sniffling, coughing child. But doctors warn that the cold pills and cough syrups can actually make her sicker.
About 7,000 kids each year end up in the hospital emergency room because of drugstore cold medicine, according to pediatrician groups. Most of the problems occur because of dosing errors.
Last fall, doctors’ groups called for a ban on all cold medicine for kids under age 6. Drug companies compromised, saying that they would recommend on the packages that medicine should not be given to kids under 4. The Food and Drug Administration has not issued an opinion, saying it is studying the effectiveness of cold medication on children.
Doctors at the University of Michigan have the following recommendations for a child’s cold symptoms:
– Use nasal saline drops and a bulb suction to loosen up and remove mucus in blocked noses, or have the child blow his nose.
– For coughs, give a teaspoon of honey or corn syrup to kids over the age of 1. Have them drink warm fluids like water, apple juice and chicken broth.
– Take the child into the bathroom and run a hot shower. The steam relaxes the airways and helps with coughing spasms.
– Increase the humidity in the home to help reduce nasal congestion and coughing.
Cold symptoms caused by a virus typically last between four and five days. If a child is still sick, a doctor’s visit is needed.
Topaz brand wafer rolls and G&J Gourmet Market cocoa products may contain melamine, a toxic chemical that was linked to the deaths of babies in China earlier this year. No illnesses have been reported from either product.
All cans of Topaz wafer rolls, available in four flavors, are being recalled by National Brands Inc. of New York. The products were made in China and imported by the company for distribution nationwide. Consumers can call the company at (866) 238-5201.
Information was not available about how the wafers may have been tainted. The Food and Drug Administration had announced earlier this year that it was not allowing food imports from China into the country unless it could be proven that those products were melamine-free. Critics have accused the agency of not doing enough to protect the American food supply.
It’s unclear whether the G&J Gourmet Market cocoa products came from China. In its news release, Dorsey Marketing Inc. of Canada only said that the items were imported into the United States and distributed to retailer Big Lots in September and to retailer Shopko in October.
The recalled products include the His & Hers Hot Cocoa Set that included ceramic mugs, Hot Cocoa Stuffer packaged in small green and blue boxes with candy canes and marshmallows and cocoa items sold in green or pink bags with whisks attached. Specific item numbers are listed here. Consumers can return the items to the place of purchase for a refund and for more information, call (888) 645-1053.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for the results. The research on the controversial chemical could take years.
The Food and Drug Administration announced this week that it would undertake a “large research effort” to see whether bisphenol A, or BPA, is safe for manufacturers to use in plastic products, Reuters reported. The long-term studies will test how various doses of BPA affect laboratory animals, including rats and monkeys.
The FDA statement is a response to criticism by a panel of scientists who said in October that the agency was ignoring information about the dangers of BPA. Other critics have said that the FDA relied too heavily on industry-funded studies when it previously declared that the chemical was safe.
This fall, Canada declared the chemical to be a human health hazard and plans to ban it from children’s products such as sippy cups and baby bottles. Consumer and environmental activists say that the United States should instigate a similar ban. “More years of research by FDA to determine what thousands of scientists worldwide already know about the toxic chemical is a waste of time, taxpayer dollars and will place millions of babies yet to be born at risk,” Alex Formuzis of the Environmental Working Group told Reuters.
Several lawmakers have said they will introduce a bill in January to ban BPA, which is used in many food and beverage containers. Previous studies have found that the chemical acts like a human hormone. Toxicologists at the National Institutes of Health said earlier this year that BPA can harm the development of the prostate and brain as well as cause behavioral changes in fetuses, infants and children.
Previous Minor Troubles coverage of BPA can be found here.
U.S. companies are recalling Irish pork products after an announcement from Ireland this week that some Irish pork tested positive for illegal levels of dioxin, a toxic chemical. The government has ordered a recall or destruction of all Irish pork products produced since Sept. 1.
No illnesses have been reported, and Irish, British and European Union officials say that dioxins have to be consumed for years to pose a cancer risk. The items being recalled in the United States include:
– Rosderra meats and Roscrea pork loin back ribs that were sent to restaurants in California.
– Dawn Pork & Bacon and pork loin back ribs that were stamped “Product of Republic of Ireland,” shipped to distribution centers in Florida.
– Tommy Moloney’s Traditional Irish Breakfast Bacon, made from imported Irish pork, sent to retail stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. Stop & Shop Supermarket issued a notice saying that products can be returned to its stores for a refund. Consumers with questions can call Tommy Moloney’s, a New York-based company, at (800) 431-6365.
All batches of low-protein imitation cream cheese and peanut butter made by Cambrooke Foods LLC are being recalled because they may be tainted with Listeria, an organism that can cause fatal infections in young children and elderly people
No illnesses have been reported, according to a news release from the Massachusetts company. The contamination was discovered during routine batch testing at a processing facility. The company has stopped production until an investigation is completed by the Food and Drug Administration.
Consumers are advised to return any of the products bought since May 2008. For more info about how to obtain a refund, call Cambrooke Foods at (866) 456-9776, ext. 1015, or go to its Web site.
California-based Kashi Company is recalling 110,000 canisters of its GoLEAN Powder chocolate Energy Shake Mix because it contains milk, which is not listed on the product. No allergic reactions have been reported. The affected cannisters have a “better if used by” date between Jan. 17, 2009 and Nov. 15, 2009 and were sold at various grocery, health food, pharmacy and online stores. More info is available by callling (877) 747-2467.
By Dec. 31, inhalers are going green. Asthma sufferers will have to switch an inhaler that doesn’t produce chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which damage the Earth’s ozone layer. Refills of the previous type of inhaler will no longer be sold, under an order by the Food and Drug Administration.
The effectiveness of the drugs in the new inhalers is still the same, but many asthma sufferers, particularly children, may be confused because the items have to be used differently.
The main concern seems to be in the spray. The new inhalers provide a softer spray, which may cause some patients to think that they’re not getting the proper dosage of medicine. Doctors say patients need to make sure they’re educated about how the inhaler works.
Another concern can’t be taken care of so easily. The inhalers, which use propellants called hydrofluoroalkanes, or HFAs, are more costly — $30 to $60 each compared with as little as $5 previously. Generics are not yet available, and many insurance companies have higher co-pay charges for name-brand prescriptions. Ashthma advocacy groups are lobbying Congress to make the inhalers be covered equally by insurance companies.
The inhalers are the first effective drug product being changed solely for environmental reasons. More info about the switch can be found here.
The 4-oz chocolate bar came with a gift teddy bear and has been sold at Walgreens since late September. The Food and Drug Administration found melamine, a toxic chemical, in some samples of the chocolate, according to a news release from Walgreens.
The drug store has stopped selling the Dressy Teddy Bear, and customers should return the item to Walgreens for a full refund. Walgreens has not received any reports of illness. To see a photo of the recalled product, click here.
Just 173 of the teddy bears with chocolate were sold, but the recall raises questions of how many other products may be tainted. The announcement from Walgreens did not specify where the chocolate was made or why the FDA tested the candy.
In November, the FDA announced that all food imports with milk-based ingredients from China would not be allowed in the United States until the shipments are checked for safety.
Various food imports from China have been recalled worldwide because of melamine contamination. The scandal began in September after news broke that tens of thousands of kids in China were sickened by baby formula tainted with melamine. China recently has revised the number of babies who died to six from the four previously reported.
Last week, the FDA revealed that melamine had been found in some samples of U.S.-made infant formula. The agency reversed its zero-tolerance policy on melamine and said that a small level of the chemical is safe. The decision outraged many consumer groups and lawmakers, who question whether the FDA is doing enough to keep the food supply safe.
Melamine, a chemical used in packaging, fertilizers and cleaning products, can cause kidney damage in young children.
Will they change their minds again?
In October, the Food and Drug Administration said it had zero tolerance for any amount of melamine found in infant formula. Now, the agency says it is setting a threshold of 1 part per million of melamine in formula as being safe.
Earlier this week, the FDA acknowledged that traces of the toxin were found in Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron, made by Nestle. Cyanuric acid, a related chemical, was found in small amounts in a sample of Enfamil Lipil with Iron formula powder made by Mead Johnson. The same safety standard of 1 part per million is being applied by the FDA to cyanuric acid.
On Friday, Abbott Laboratories told the Associated Press that the company’s own tests had found traces of melamine, but the levels were below the FDA’s new safety standard. The chemical, which is used in food packaging, cleaning solutions and fertilizers, can cause kidney damage in babies.
No new scientific studies have been conducted since October that could have influenced the FDA changing its policy on melamine levels. However, Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the agency’s director of food safety, told the AP that all the U.S.-made baby formula is safe. “Switching away from one of these infant formulas to alternate diets or homemade formulas could result in infants not receiving the complete nutrition required for proper growth and development,” he said.
But some political leaders and consumer groups say that the agency should consider recalling the products. “The FDA needs to get a handle on how widespread the problem is and, most important, if both these chemicals are occurring in any products,” said Urvashi Rangan, a scientist with the Consumers Union in New York, in the AP story. “They just haven’t tested enough to know that yet.”
The FDA has said that it suspects the melamine was not intentionally used in the formula. Officials speculate that the products were contaminated through food packaging or a cleaning solution used on factory equipment.
Federal officials began testing samples of infant formula after problems with contaminated products were made public in China in September. No dairy products from China have ever been approved for import into the United States, although items made from milk-based ingredients can be sold here.
