FDA News Digest for August 6, 2007

[FDA News Digest <fdanewsdigest@xxxxxxxxxx>]

FDA News Digest

August 6, 2007

__________________________________________

 

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE

 

»  News

    --  FDA, DoD Team Up to Enhance Safety Reviews of Medical Products

    --  New Strategy Aims to Strengthen State Food Safety Programs

    --  'FDA Patient Safety News' Video Available Online and as Podcast

»  Safety Alerts/Recalls

»  Question of the Week

__________________________________________

 

NEWS

 

FDA, DoD Team Up to Enhance Safety Reviews of Medical Products

FDA and the Department of Defense are collaborating to share data and expertise related to the review and use of FDA-regulated drugs, biologics, and medical devices. FDA will use data from the U.S. Military Health System -- such as prescriptions, lab results, and patient weight -- to spot trends, which may identify potential concerns as well as product benefits.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01675.html

 

New Strategy Aims to Strengthen State Food Safety Programs

FDA has launched a national program to establish more uniform, high-quality regulatory programs by state agencies that regulate a variety of food facilities. Currently, food safety programs can vary from state to state, leading to inconsistencies in oversight. The new strategy will help establish more consistency in these programs. 

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01674.html

 

'FDA Patient Safety News' Video Available Online and as Podcast

FDA has posted the latest edition of "FDA Patient Safety News," a free Web-based video news program. Aimed primarily at health professionals, the program features information on new drugs, biologics, and medical devices, as well as FDA safety notifications and product recalls.

-- To view video or text version: http://www.fda.gov/psn

-- To access Podcast: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/psn/podcast.cfm

 

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.]

___________________________________________

 

SAFETY ALERTS/RECALLS

Food Recalls:

 

›  French Cut Green Beans, 14.5 oz. size, made by Lakeside Foods Inc. and sold under many store brands

    Reason for recall: possible contamination with botulism toxin

    Press release (with list of brands): http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01676.html

›   365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Dark Chocolate Bars

     Reason for recall: almonds not declared on label

    http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/wholefoods07_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.]

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 

Why is salt a good food preservative?

 

Salt is considered antibacterial because it restricts bacterial growth in many foods. It preserves foods by lowering the amount of "free" water molecules in foods. Bacteria need moisture in order to thrive, so without enough "free" water, they cannot grow well in foods that contain salt.

 

For more on food safety, see http://www.foodsafety.gov/.

 

 

Thanks for subscribing to FDA News Digest.

Our next issue will be sent August 13.

 

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.