NEW DELHI: Calling for stringent regulations on the import and export of drugs and food items to meet the global competition, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said the items people consume should be of the highest quality.
Inaugurating the building of the Food and Drugs Authority here on Monday, Mr. Mukherjee said it was important for the industry to adopt the good manufacturing practices if India had to compete in the international Read the rest of this entry »
The recall stemming from salmonella contamination at the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) plant in Blakely, Ga., resulted from a “total systemic breakdown,” said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of a congressional subcommittee that held a hearing on the recall Wednesday.
PCA’s president refused to testify amid a federal criminal investigation and regulators’ allegations that the plant knowingly shipped contaminated products.
The salmonella outbreak Read the rest of this entry »
– President Obama pledged Tuesday night to cure Americans from what he called “the crushing cost of health costs,” saying the country could not afford to put health-care reform on hold.
“This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes,” Obama said in his speech to a joint session of Congress.
Obama pointed to the increasing number of uninsured Read the rest of this entry »
Dec. 23, 2008 — In a warning letter to Coca-Cola, the FDA says that Diet
Coke Plus is “misbranded.”
The FDA says that Diet Coke Plus doesn’t meet the FDA’s nutritional
standards for the term “plus.” The FDA also states that it “does
not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated
beverages.” The letter, dated Dec. 10, 2008, is posted on the FDA’s web
site.
Diet Coke adds niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, zinc, and magnesium. Read the rest of this entry »
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There are fears about some medical equipment used at the York Veterans Administration Hospital in Murfreesboro. There’s an investigation under way to determine whether some patients might have been exposed to infection from colonoscopies at the VA Hospital.
A volunteer who said she’s seen instruments delivered day after day in the women’s and dental clinic for 20 years said they’re often dirty, even after supposedly being sterilized Read the rest of this entry »
, but his experience getting treatment could make a whole reality show in itself.
“It was no treat for me, being the germaphobe that I am,” Mandel tells PEOPLE. “It was really hard. I wouldn’t put on the gown or the customary clothing. I remained clothed and in my boots on the gurney and in the hospital!”
Mandel, 53, discovered he had an irregular heartbeat after an insurance-mandated checkup while he was on location in Toronto led to an EKG Read the rest of this entry »
YOAKUM, Texas (AP) — In this sleepy country town, which sprang up around a railroad junction and the start of the Chisholm trail, folks give out their phone numbers by the last four digits, the annual Tom-Tom festival culminates with the crowning of the Tomato King and Queen, and everybody knows Doc Watson.
Over the last 50 years, the tall and lanky family practitioner delivered a good many of the town’s residents and doctored most of the Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain’s health plan would bring about a dramatic shift in how millions of people get health insurance coverage. He would let people shop around for plans offered by insurers in other states. New Yorkers could look to Alabama, for example, or any other state when shopping for coverage.
“Why not? Don’t we go across state lines when we purchase other things in America?” McCain asks.
The idea sounds simple, but has huge Read the rest of this entry »
The Victorian opposition has called for an immediate funding injection to prop up the new Royal Women’s Hospital amid fears a cash shortage is putting mothers and babies at risk.
Melbourne’s brand new $250 million maternity hospital, opened in June, cannot cope with Victoria’s baby boom, the hospital’s draft operational plan for this financial year has revealed.
The document warns mothers and babies are at risk of death or serious injury because Read the rest of this entry »
Alberta is offering to help other provinces that want to ensure nurses and doctors aren’t reusing syringes.
A conference call between provincial health officers was organized by Alberta’s acting chief medical health officer, Gerry Predy.
Predy says he wants other provincial officials to learn from Alberta’s experience if they find the practice in their regions.
Up to 2,700 patients in Alberta are being tested for hepatitis and HIV after Read the rest of this entry »