"food and drug administration" news and stories

A Michigan couple who got up early one mid-October morning to prepare special food for a sick dog got more than they bargained for. Tim and Marty Hoffman told Today that they were going about the sorts of chores most couples routinely pursue as the sun comes up when Tim -- who was in the bathroom at the time -- heard his wife scream bloody murder from the kitchen, where she was getting food ready for their dog Zoey, who needs a special diet due to allergies.

Whether it was baked chicken or a grilled steak, it's likely that the meat you had for dinner last night contained an array of pharmaceuticals. Alarmed by potential drug resistance in both animals and in humans, on Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called for more judicious use of antimicrobial drugs in the production of animals raised for food.

Antimicrobial drugs were introduced to industrial farming more than 50 years ago as a way to prevent disease in animals. But the FDA is concerned that many of the drugs have lost their effectiveness due to the development of drug-resistant microbial strains. The government agency wants meat producers to stop using the drugs to boost production and promote growth.

"Limiting the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals only for assuring animal health. Unfortunately, many operations use antimicrobials to increase production, or to produce larger animals, which contributes to the misuse of the drugs and raises the possibility of antibiotic resistance," FDA officials said in a statement.

We know that branding is big business these days in the food world, with companies constantly experimenting with new logos, flashy colors and claims that their product is the healthiest.

Even more new packaging could be in store, but this time spearheaded by the FDA. A recent Time Magazine report indicates that the FDA is working on a "voluntary national system" for companies to use for front-of-package labeling. The idea is that you'd be able to cruise down the aisle and a quick glance would tell you basic facts about a product. The plan would mirror something that's currently being tested in British supermarkets, where a color coding system is used.

The program is called "Traffic Light" and uses the colors of, yes, a traffic light to give shoppers a quick burst of nutritional information. Based upon fat, saturated fat, sugars and salts a product contains, a red sticker indicates "high," an amber sticker indicates "medium" and a green sticker indicates "low."

General Mills announced this week it would drop "Smart Choices" labels from its products, including cereals.

The company planned to put these labels on up to 67 items including General Mills cereals such as Chocolate Lucky Charms and Cheerios, but bowed to public pressure after the Food and Drug Administration said the labels misled consumers, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Food companies created the labels as an easy way to find healthy foods in the grocery store, but drew criticism when it appeared on mayonnaise and Froot Loops, the paper said.

[Via Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

Photo: chooyutshing, Flickr

Bon appétit?

On Tuesday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released its list of Top 10 riskiest foods policed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According the the report, the items on the "FDA Top 10" account for nearly 40-percent of all reported foodborne outbreaks since 1990. The CSPI is a non-profit food safety and public health organization.

The FDA regulates nearly 80 percent of the nation's food supply including fruits and vegetables, seafood, egg and dairy products and most packaged foods.

But are they being overly cautious? Read the list after the jump.