In an effort to prevent foodborne illness, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking commercial food transporters to follow a newly issued guidance to reduce physical, chemical, biological and other risks for foods during transportation. The agency is currently reviewing current food safety transportation regulations. In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM1) [...]

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson, will pay $81 million in federal settlement charges regarding the illegal marketing of Topamax. Made by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, the drug was originally approved for epilepsy in adults and children, but in 2004, the approved uses for Topamax expanded [...]

About 2,400 Children’s Hooded Sweatshirts with Drawstrings, manufactured by Gogo Sports Inc., of San Francisco, California, have been recalled due to a strangulation hazard to children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced. The recalled sweatshirts were manufactured in China and sold at clothing retail stores in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Mexico [...]

Discount School Supply of Monterey, California is recalling approximately 3,000 Double Egg Shakers, because the surface paint on the red eggs contains excessive levels of lead, announced the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This violates the federal lead paint standard. To date, no incidents or injuries have been reported; however, the effects of lead [...]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says consumers need to realize that foodborne illness protection begins at the supermarket, grocery store, or any other place where food is purchased. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), foodborne ailments cause about 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,200 deaths nationwide each year. If it will take more than [...]

“This isn’t a spill,” said Kerry St. Pe, the former head of Louisiana’s oil spill response unit for 23 years. “This isn’t a storage tank or a ship with a finite amount of oil that has boundaries. This is much, much worse,” quoted nola.com. It is likened to a river of oil streaming from the [...]

Approximately 217,000 Graco®-branded drop side cribs have been recalled announced the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Made by LaJobi Inc. of Cranbury, New Jersey, the drop side hardware can break or fail, allowing the drop side to detach from the crib. When that happens, it causes a hazardous gap between the drop side and [...]

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC) have announced the recall of approximately 21,000 Step2® Basic Rhythms Drums.™ Manufactured in China, the land of defects and recalls, and imported by the Step2 Company LLC, of Streetsboro, Ohio, the recall was deemed necessary because the plastic clips used to attach the drumsticks [...]

More trouble looming for the bedraggled world’s largest automaker. Toyota’s recall problems have mushroomed with the inclusion of  50,000 2003-model year Sequoia SUVs on the call back chopping block, reports FreeP.com. A traction control problem that switches on the controls and slows the vehicle necessitated the decision this time, said FreeP.com. This is Toyota’s eighth [...]

Could an acoustic switch, a mandatory safety device in Norway and Brazil, have prevented the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blast and massive spill that is now encroaching closer to the U.S. Gulf Coast? The device, a last-resort protection against underwater spills, is not required for oil wells operating off  U.S. shores. The Wall Street Journal [...]