FDA News Digest for April 30, 2007

[FDA News Digest <fdanewsdigest@xxxxxxxxxx>]

FDA News Digest

April 30, 2007

__________________________________________

 

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE

 

»  News

    -- FDA, USDA Take Actions After Melamine Found in Hog Feed

    -- New Product Approved to Treat Common Bleeding Disorder

    -- Drug Maker Agrees to Stop Distributing Unapproved Products

»  Recalls/Safety Alerts

»  Congressional Testimony

»  Upcoming Public Meetings

»  Question of the Week

__________________________________________

 

NEWS

 

FDA, USDA Take Actions After Melamine Found in Hog Feed

Following discovery of the chemical melamine in imported rice protein concentrate used in some hog feeds, FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating further. Actions include USDA's rejection of hogs fed the tainted feed to keep them out of the food supply. The agencies say the likelihood of illness after eating pork from hogs fed the contaminated product is very low.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01620.html

 

New Product Approved to Treat Common Bleeding Disorder

FDA has approved Humate-P to help prevent excessive bleeding during and after surgery in patients with varying degrees of von Willebrand disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder that affects about 1 percent of the U.S. population.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01619.html

 

Drug Maker Agrees to Stop Distributing Unapproved Products

PharmaFab Inc. has entered into a court-ordered agreement to stop distributing various unapproved drugs. The products are considered illegal because they have not been produced according to current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) standards.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01617.html

 

To view an archive of past FDA news releases, go to

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/hpnews.html.   

 

To access the RSS feed of FDA news releases, go to

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/rssPress.xml.

[What is an RSS feed? See http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/newsfeeds.html.]

___________________________________________

 

RECALLS/SAFETY ALERTS

Pet Food Recall:

 

›  FDA has a special page that lists the latest information on brands of pet foods being recalled. 

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

 

Food Recall:

 

›  Certain lots of Ole Mexican Foods Verole Queso Fresco Authentic Crumbling Cheese and Ole Fresco Authentic Mexican Crumbling Cheese

    Reason for recall: possible E. coli contamination

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/olemexican04_07.html

 

For a list of recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts involving FDA-regulated

products from the past 60 days, go to http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html.

 

To access the RSS feed of FDA recalls information, go to

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/rssRecalls.xml

[What is an RSS feed? See http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/newsfeeds.html.]

_____________________________________________

 

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

 

April 25 -- Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., spoke before the House Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials

    Subject: FDA's role in measuring and assessing the presence of perchlorate in food and beverages

http://www.fda.gov/ola/2007/perchlorate_levels042507.html

 

To view an archive of past testimony by FDA officials, go to

http://www.fda.gov/ola/listing.html

_____________________________________________

 

UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS

 

May 9-10 -- Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee

    Under discussion: two pending new drug applications

    Location: Silver Spring, Md.

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/E7-6171.htm

 

May 16-17 -- Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee

    Under discussion: evaluation of two vaccines

    Location: Gaithersburg, Md.

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/E7-7090.htm

 

June 12-13 -- Public hearing to obtain feedback on FDA's Medication Guide program

    Location: Washington, D.C.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01606.html

 

For a complete list of FDA meetings, seminars, and other public events, go to

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/hpmeetings.html.

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 

What do FDA advisory committees do? How can I find out when they meet?

FDA enlists non-government experts from across the country to help the agency reach decisions, particularly concerning controversial issues or new and unusual products. These "advisory committees" consist of medical professionals, scientists, researchers, industry leaders, consumers, and patients.

 

To learn more about advisory committees, and to see a list of meeting dates, go to http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/default.htm.

 

 

Thanks for subscribing to FDA News Digest.

Our next issue will be sent May 7.

 

Comments about FDA News Digest?

Send an e-mail to fdanewsdigest@xxxxxxxxxv.

 

To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list, go to

http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=fda-newsdigest-l&A=1.