Drugs, Vitamins and More

Drugs, vitamins and more. Read the New York Times article here. From the article:

Even the F.D.A.’s staunchest defenders now acknowledge that something is terribly wrong. Among them is Peter Barton Hutt, who served as the agency’s general counsel during the Nixon administration and is widely considered the dean of the F.D.A. bar in Washington. I’ve interviewed Hutt dozens of times over the years, and he has always defended the F.D.A. No more. “This is a fundamentally broken agency,” Hutt told me earlier this year, “and it needs to be repaired.” (By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: October 31, 2008)

Food Task Force Created by FDA

Article from Medpagetoday.com
FDA Creates Task Force on International Food Contamination
By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: October 31, 2008
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 31 -- Pointing to the hazards of melamine-containing products from China, the FDA said today it is creating an internal science and policy workgroup to keep a critical eye on the international food supply.
Detecting contamination in the increasingly international food supply is "a necessary job of the FDA," said Randall Lutter, Ph.D., the agency's deputy commissioner for policy, at a meeting of the agency's science board.
And after the melamine contaminations from China -- first in pet food last year, and more recently in milk -- it is vital to develop a strategy for identifying and preventing potential illnesses, he said. (See: FDA Finds Melamine in Asian Milk Drinks)
The workgroup will have the assignment of pinpointing companies that appear to be at a high risk for contaminating the food supply with chemicals.
"There is a fundamental need for us to understand better the economic incentives and cultural norms in other countries," said Dr. Lutter. This, he added, means recognizing when spiking the food supply with chemicals is likely when it means enough extra profit for a manufacturer so that it offsets any potential penalties.
During the recent melamine outbreak, FDA officials suspect that melamine may have been added to infant formula to inflate protein levels cheaply.
In some sectors of the food industry in China, manufacturers are paid by the amount of protein in a product. Melamine costs about $1.20 per each protein count per ton, while legitimate protein costs about $6 per protein count per ton.
Melamine, which is used in some pharmaceuticals, dyes, glues and plastics, is normally not harmful to humans, but when it commingles with cyanuric acid, it becomes insoluble and can cause kidney failure.
"The suggestion is that some clever scientist used a high-quality melamine that did not have cyanuric acid," said Dr. Lutter. "It was only later that the melamine was commingled with the cyanuric acid."
But "forecasting economic infiltration is hard," Dr. Lutter said, and food coming across U.S. borders is shipped from countries with disparate regulatory requirements.
The United States virtually eliminated problem of economically motivated contamination of food produced in its own borders, largely through the creation of the FDA, Dr. Lutter said.
"It's an old problem, but fortunately it was successfully remedied during the early part of the 20th Century," he said.
But then came globalization of the food market.
"It's a symbol that the world we lived in changed, and there is a new vulnerability," Dr. Lutter said.
President Bush signed an executive order last year to establish a task force that recently issued an import safety action plan, Dr. Lutter said.
Dr. Lutter declined to comment on the specifics of the workgroup, but said it will consist of FDA employees. It is unclear whether the workgroup will also monitor possible contamination of foreign drugs.

Recall of Jacobina Biscuits

Contact:
Everlasting Distributors Inc.
201-823-0800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 29, 2008 -- Everlasting Distributors Inc., Bayonne NJ is initiating a nationwide recall of all their 3.88oz (110gm) packages of Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits because it may be contaminated with Melamine.
Consumers who have the product which is being recalled should stop using it immediately. If consumers have questions about possible health risks, they should contact their doctor.
Product was distributed nationwide in Asian Grocery stores.
The product comes in 3.88oz (110 gm) blue and red color clear plastic package, labeled “JACOBINA”.
No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date.

The recall was initiated after FDA testing discovered that product was found to contain Melamine. Consumers who have purchased Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 201-823-0800, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 5:00, Eastern Standard Time.

Melamine Is Everywhere

Melamine that had been deliberately added to wheat, animal feed, milk and eggs has caused the massive contamination of much of the world's food supply. An Associated Press article out today is reporting that the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing, Jason Yan, believes that "traders can make a lot of profit" by adding melamine. Has Yan known about food producers adding melamine or was it just discovered? How long has Yan known? In addition to testing of food for melamine in all corners of the globe, there needs to be an investigation to determine whether or not organizations and agencies such as the Grain Council, or FDA, have known about and disregarded contaminated imported food or raw ingredients from China, or contaminated ingredients from any origin. In the case of China, will the U.S. start disclosing what contaminated items are being imported and will we finally see a ban?

Heating Food That Contains Melamine

Since the introduction of plastic melamine dishware products, people were told not to heat them in a microwave or put them in a dishwasher because melamine, when heated, breaks down and leaches into the food we eat on that dishware.

What about when the food itself has melamine in it? If melamine is in eggs, milk powder, vegetable protein, gluten, etc., what happens to the food, the properties of the food, when we heat it? And what happens to us when that heated melamine is ingested? If there is melamine in food, and you heat your food, and your food is eaten off of unsafe melamine...well, you get the idea.

Eggs are the focus of the latest melamine-in-food incident. We do heat eggs. At high temperatures. We also heat foods containing dairy ingredients, wheat and vegetable proteins. Are we exponentially raising the dangers and risks to our health by ingesting these heated food products that contain melamine? I think this would be an excellent reason why NO melamine in ANY level is acceptable in whole or processed food.