Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s, in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is alerting customers to the presence of wheat in their Country Peach Cobbler ice cream, which is not reflected in the label’s list of ingredients. To rectify the matter, the company is recalling 250,000 pints of that flavor.

Corporate officials are afraid that individuals with severe allergies to wheat may inadvertently consume the product and face temporary health problems. They are working with the non-profit Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network to alert consumers to the issue. At this point, no adverse events have been reported in association with this product recall.
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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) agreed to a settlement with AT&T Mobility regarding Cingular’s deceptive and unfair business practices. AT&T, which now owns Cingular, has offered to pay $18.5 million in refunds to customers in California who were faced with unreasonable early-termination fees.

The latest settlement includes an agreement to pay a $12.1 million fine that the commission imposed in 2003, bringing the total financial cost of the deal to more than $30 million. The settlement applies only to customers who terminated their service between January of 2000 and April of 2002, meaning that roughly 115,000 people are slated to receive refund checks in the next two months. Check amounts will average $160.
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An article in today’s New York Times questioned the behavior of Davol, a division C.R. Bard, after it became aware of defects in its Kugel Hernia Mesh product. The FDA has received reports of more than 80 injuries and other problems possibly related to it, including several fatalities.In late 2005, Bard recalled certain versions of the mesh because a plastic component could break and cut through a patient’s internal organs and tissue. The article claims that Bard executives said they knew about some serious injuries potentially caused by the device.

In a recent statement statement Bard officials said the company acted responsibly and that they didn’t take the product off the market earlier because there weren’t enough complaints to warrant such actions. However, in a copy of an inspection report obtained by The New York Times under the Freedom of Information Act shows, in early 2006 inspectors reported “discrepancies” and “inconsistencies” in how Davol tracked and analyzed device-related complaints. The FDA also said Davol did not accurately report the possible severity of complaints to the agency.
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Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has requested a $5 million settlement be paid to the parents of Martin Anderson, a 14-year-old who died at a Panama City boot camp last year, allegedly due to injuries sustained at the hands of the facility’s guards. Crist’s proposal, which needs to be approved by the state legislature, came only hours after State Attorney Mark Ober released a mountain of incriminating evidence to the public.

The state payout would settle only a portion of the civil suit being brought by Robert Anderson and Gina Jones. The family is still seeking a similar financial settlement from Bay County in federal court. There’s also the matter of the criminal trial, in which seven guards and the camp nurse each pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter. In response to the controversy, the state shut down its juvenile boot-camp system and accepted the resignation of the director of its Department of Law Enforcement.
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Calling it “one of the big public-health success stories of the last 10 years,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the incidence of acute viral hepatitis is at a 40-year low. The CDC credits an expanded immunization program for the dramatic decline in reported cases of hepatitis A and B.

According to CDC figures, the number of hepatitis A cases has declined 88 percent since 1995, and the number of hepatitis B cases has dropped 79 percent since 1990. “The drops in new cases of hepatitis A and hepatitis B are evidence that our prevention strategies have been successful, particularly the widespread use of vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “In order for these declines to continue, our prevention efforts must be sustained.”
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Supporters of medical marijuana suffered another major setback today when an appeals court ruled that the federal government can still arrest and prosecute medical-marijuana patients even if they are protected by state law and even if their usage is deemed a “medical necessity.”

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco decided unanimously against Oakland resident Angel Raich, who suffers from a variety of ailments including scoliosis, a brain tumor, and chronic nausea, even though her doctor testified that it was the only effective treatment to ease her pain and help her appetite. The judges indicated that Raich would possibly be able to avoid conviction under the medical necessity argument, but that she was not immune to arrest and prosecution nor was any other medical-marijuana patient who claimed medical necessity.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers about the risk of serious side effects connected with a range of sleep-disorder drugs and has asked drug manufacturers to strengthen their products’ label warnings. The new warnings highlight the risk of severe allergic reactions and erratic and dangerous sleep-related behavior.

The agency warned that anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) and angioedema (severe facial swelling) can occur as soon as the first dose is taken. They also point to “complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving, making phone calls, and preparing and eating food (while asleep).” They define “sleep-driving” as “driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.”
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“Let me give you some core principles, some things that I believe in. One, I believe in the independence of our U.S. Attorneys.”Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General.

Gonzales made these remarks on Tuesday, as Congress continues to investigate whether or not eight U.S. attorneys were forced out of the Justice Department late last year for purely political reasons. Meanwhile, the White House has revealed that it worked closely in tandem with the DOJ to determine which attorneys were to be replaced but only after the DOJ pushed back on the White House’s plan to remove all 93 U.S. attorneys following the 2004 elections.
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Researchers have discovered a potential link between weight-loss surgery and a vitamin deficiency that can have serious consequences on the brain and nervous system. According to a study published in the journal Neurology, procedures such as gastric bypass surgery may cause patients to suffer a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine), which can lead to a syndrome called Wernicke encephalopathy.

Wernicke encephalopathy can lead to memory loss and confusion, poor coordination, and vision problems. Patients who are prone to excessive vomiting following the surgery are most susceptible to the condition, which usually occurs between one and three months after the procedure. Researchers reviewed the cases of 32 patients who suffered the ailment following obesity surgery and found that many of them also suffered from atypical symptoms such as seizures, deafness, psychosis, muscle weakness, and pain or numbness in the feet or hands.
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On Monday, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. was ordered to pay $47.5 million in damages after a New Jersey jury decided that the company’s Vioxx medication was responsible for an Idaho man’s heart attack. The jury awarded $20 million in compensatory damages to Frederick Humeston and his wife and then tacked on an additional $27.5 million in punitive damages after deciding unanimously that Merck’s actions were “willful and reckless.”

“The verdict today finally achieves justice for Mr. Humeston and his family, who were among the many thousands of unsuspecting users of this very dangerous product,” said plaintiff attorney Christopher Seeger in a statement. “The jury recognized the very serious heart risks of Vioxx, risks that Merck went to great lengths to conceal from doctors and the public.”
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