The Food and Drug Administration recently announced an initiative to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of medical imaging procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopy. These procedures are the greatest contributors to total radiation exposure within the U.S. population and use much higher radiation doses than other radiographic procedures, such as standard X-rays, dental X-rays, and mammography.
The Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, recently reported it is continuing to work closely with the Rhode Island Department of Health and other states in the investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo infections associated with certain Italian-style sausage products including salami/salame.
The loading dock is usually regarded as the primitive "backroom" of food-handling operations, but it's a crucial part of the supply chain and the food protection chain.
Food safety is getting renewed attention from Congress and the two federal agencies chiefly charged with safeguarding the nation's food supply: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA.
Hagen is currently the USDA's chief medical officer, serving as an advisor to USDA mission areas on a wide range of human health issues.
The Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled the first phase of its Transparency Initiative that is designed to explain agency operations, how it makes decisions, and the drug approval process.
The Department of Agriculture requires the heat treatment of wood pallets imported into the United States. The requirement is designed to prevent plant pests that can destroy domestic agriculture and livestock from entering the United States in wood packaging materials.
The Food and Drug Administration has awarded a contract to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. to develop a pilot of the agency's Sentinel System, which will use automated health care data to evaluate medical product safety.
At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals have seized bulk restaurant food product at Won Feng Trading Company, a food processor and warehouse in Nashville, Tenn. The products are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they have been held under unsanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth. The act uses the term "insanitary" to describe such conditions.
Pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration of cardiovascular devices is often based on studies that lack adequate strength or may have been prone to bias, according to a study in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA. The researchers found that of nearly 80 high-risk devices, the majority received approval based on data from a single study.
Evonuk Oregon Hazelnuts of Eugene, Ore., is recalling 6,712.5 lbs. of raw and dry roasted hazelnut kernels because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail, or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
The Institute of Food Technologists released three review articles in the Journal of Food Science that were presented at the IFT Annual Meeting in 2009. The articles provide greater detail on nanotechnology science and its application to food.
As part of its continuing effort to buttress food and medical product safety in this country by working with its regulatory partners overseas, the Food and Drug Administration has announced the opening of its Mexico City post. This is the agency's third post in Latin America and its tenth international post in the past 13 months.
A Virginia man sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import catfish from Vietnam for fraudulent sale to avoid paying federal import tariffs has been barred from importing articles of food or offering such articles for import into the United States for the next 20 years, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently commended the Department of Homeland Security for opening a center devoted to ensuring the safety of foods imported to the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration has launched its pet health and safety widget for consumers as part of an ongoing effort to provide timely, user-friendly, public health information.
"Few Americans are aware of lead's deadly effects or the fact that lead taken home on clothing and work tools can infect an entire family," said OSHA Area Director Richard Gilgrist in Cincinnati.
In addition to food, family, and gifts, decorations are one of the reasons that many look forward to the holiday season. While candles, Christmas trees, and other decorations are part of the holiday spirit, they can pose fire and poisoning hazards, especially to curious children.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved Agriflu for people ages 18 years and older to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B.
Ensuring food quality and safety oft en means the need to alter the physical space in plant or warehouse facilities, especially when temperature and humidity control is at stake. It's an unfortunate prospect for many because the traditional way of thinking is to take on costly and time-consuming construction projects involving solid insulated walls and/or rigid panelized structures.