I have been a poor correspondent of late and for that I truly apologize. It is not that I have been on vacation – far from it – it is that I have just been so darn busy. The Spring has been a busy one.
And not only for me. The FDA was quite busy this week – at least most of it – and here is a little of what happened:
- FDA Issues First New Rules under Food Safety Modernization Act – With Congress reluctant to fund it, one wonders how far FDA can go in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act. This week, the agency gave us a peek when it issued its first two rules on the new legislation. According to the release, the first rule strengthens FDA’s ability to prevent potentially unsafe food from entering commerce allowing the FDA to administratively detain food the agency believes has been produced under insanitary or unsafe conditions. Previously, the FDA’s ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. The second rule requires anyone importing food into the United States to inform the FDA if any country has refused entry to the same product, including food for animals.
- FDA, FTC Act to Remove Fraudulent STD Products – The two enforcement agencies announced a joint effort to remove products from the market that make unproven claims to treat, cure, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Among the products targeted were Medavir, Herpaflor, Viruxo, C-Cure, and Never An Outbreak that treated a range of conditions, including herpes, chlamydia, genital warts, HIV, and AIDS. And the types of products varied – with some of the companies market these products as dietary supplements. The FDA also put out a vid on the topic:
