In February of 2007, the FDA warned the country about Salmonella-tainted peanut butter distributed by food conglomerate, ConAgra Foods. However, the Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter may have gone unreported by the CDC for months. As a result, hundreds, possibly thousands of people have been sickened by a company with a history of producing tainted foods.

Besides the recent recall of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, ConAgra faced another governmental recall in August 2002 when their Greeley, Colorado beef plant produced meat contaminated with E-coli. Around 19 million pounds of tainted beef were recalled. E-coli, an intestinal bacteria, causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, severe cramping, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. About 5 to 10 percent of infected individuals go on to develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome which can lead to kidney failure and death. One person was reported to have died in Ohio after eating the contaminated meat.

(more…)

A New Jersey jury has awarded $2.62 million in damages to a patient who needed to have his colon removed after taking the drug Accutane. The case was the first of more than 400 suits pending against Roche Holdings AG, the manufacturer of Accutane acne medication. The verdict, issued on May 29, could be ominous news for Roche, as many legal analysts believe it portends more findings against the company.

Andrew McCarrell, the plaintiff in the case, developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) after taking Accutane for four months in 1995. In addition to having his colon removed, McCarrel also had most of his rectum removed and had to wear a colostomy bag for years. He recently had surgery that rid him of the colostomy bag, but the 36-year-old software manager testified that he still suffers from severe, chronic diarrhea.

(more…)

Not long after expanding the recall of the Bard Composix Kugel Mesh Patch, the FDA issued a warning letter to Davol Inc., the patch’s manufacturer, citing serious regulatory problems with quality assurance systems used in the manufacture of the Kugel patches, as well as its Salute Reusable Fixation devices. The letter, which was dated April 24, 2007, came after the FDA conducted an inspection of the company’s Cranston, Rhode Island headquarters. The inspection took place from January 23 through March 13, 2007.

Problems with the Kugel Hernia Mesh Patches first came to light in 2005. At that time, the FDA issued a Class I recall of the Bard Composix Kugel Mesh X-Large Patch because the memo recoil ring that opened the patch could break. When the ring broke, patients experienced bowel perforations and other serious problems. A Class I recall means that the recalled product poses a serious danger to patients still using it. The FDA warned doctors to quite using the patch. The FDA also warned patients who received the patch to seek medical attention if they experienced unexplained fever, persistent abdominal pain, or tenderness to the incision site. In April 2006, the patch Class I recall was expanded to the “mid-line” size of the patch. The recall was expanded for a third time in February of 2007 to include the large size patch.

(more…)

Facing at least 400 consumer lawsuits over last year’s recall of Renu MoistureLoc contact lens solution, as well as possible class action lawsuits by shareholders, Bausch & Lomb posted a disappointing financial report last month. The earnings report, which is for the first quarter of 2006, was filed late, in part because the company needed time to assess the financial losses caused by the recall. According to the report, the Renu MoistureLoc recall reduced Bausch & Lomb’s first quarter 2006 net income by $19.6 million dollars.

Bausch & Lomb’s troubles began in 2006, when Renu MoistureLoc was linked to Fusarium Keratitis, a rare eye infection that has the potential to cause blindness. The company pulled MoistureLoc from Asian markets in February 2006, and did the same in U.S. in April, before finally issuing a worldwide recall on May 15, 2006.

(more…)

Tyson Fresh Meat, Inc. can be added to the list of food manufacturers who have had to recall E. Coli tainted products. On Friday, the company issued a recall of 40,000 pounds of beef in 12 states. The company decided to take this action after samples tested at its Texas plant revealed E. Coli contamination.

The ground beef has a sell-by date of June 13, and was sold in prepackaged trays. The recalled meat was sold at Wal-Mart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The products involved in the recall include: 1.5 lb and 1.33 lb trays of “Angus Steak Burger All Natural 85/15 patties” and 2.25 lb and 5.5 lb trays of “73/27 All Natural Ground Beef, Carne Molida Des Res”. Each label bears the number “Est. 244S” inside the USDA inspection mark.

(more…)

This week, cases of the dangerous food-borne illness e-coli were reported in several states, including California, Arizona and New York. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control revealed that incidences of salmonella linked to contaminated Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter were far more wide spread than previously thought. These revelations, coming as they do on the heels of recent scandals involving tainted spinach and poisoned animal foods, have many Americans questioning the safety of the nation’s food supply.

Late last month, the CDC reported that confirmed cases of salmonella caused by the Peter Pan and Great Value brands of Peanut Butter had grown by nearly 200 since the agency’s last report in March. The CDC now puts the number of individuals sickened by the peanut butter at more than 600 in 47 states. The toll also included 2 deaths. However, because not all cases of salmonella are reported, some believe these numbers could be much higher. It could be some time, if ever, before the full scope of the problem becomes apparent.

(more…)

GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the popular diabetes drug Avandia, came under fire on Capital Hill yesterday, as one prominent researcher testified that he was threatened with legal action when he raised concerns about the drug’s safety as far back as 1999. At the same hearing, a member Congress berated the company’s CEO for what he called an “absurd” warning regarding the drug’s dangers to patients with heart failure buried within the product’s label.

Stephen Lynch, (D-Mass), who sits on the House Oversight Committee, questioned why a statement cautioning physicians not to prescribe Avandia to patients with a history of congestive heart failure was not mentioned until page 15 of the products label.

(more…)

Evidence is mounting that rescue workers at the World Trade Center were exposed to high levels of toxic dust and chemicals that have resulted in serious health problems. In the months and years following the terrorist attacks, Ground Zero responders and their advocates have insisted that many who worked at the site were suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses as a result of this exposure. Now, several studies have validated these claims.

(more…)