Rx Drugs: Timed-Release Bribery?

“An analysis by the publication Science has ‘found widespread after-the-fact payments or research support’ from pharmaceutical companies to expert officials who advised the Food and Drug Administration to approve those companies’ drugs.”

— “Pharma companies pay FDA advisers after drugs are approved,” Bob Herman, Axios

More:

“Hidden conflicts? Pharma payments to FDA advisers after drug approvals spark ethical concerns,” Charles Piller and Jia You, Science

“Majority of doctors who oversee FDA drug approval receive payments from companies they monitor, report shows,” Clark Mindock, The Independent

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Girl Scouts Fib About Fatty Cookies

The Girl Scouts gave some of their cookies a merit badge they really don’t deserve.

Boxes of Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints, the most popular cookies in the whole troop, have worn “0 grams trans fat” badges since 2007, but partially hydrogenated oils are their second and third largest ingredients.

But don’t blame the GSA, blame the FDA. Food and Drug Administration rules allow products to be marked “0 grams trans fat” if the amount per serving is below 0.5 grams. So if you make food out of artery-clogging trans fatty acids, just make the servings smaller and you can label those packages “0 grams trans fat,” too.

 More:

“The Girl Scout Cookie lie: No trans-fats,” The Week.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Can Our Food Be Made Safe From Republicans?

President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law yesterday. The legislation improves the security and safety of America’s food supply, allowing the Food and Drug Administration to protect us from foodborne illness and contaminated comestibles, both foreign and domestic. That’s something to everyone’s taste.

Unless they’re Republican. The GOP is defending the rights of toxic bacteria to have access to your digestive tract.  To do that, Republican lawmakers will try to starve the FDA of the funds needed to enforce effective food safety regulation.

The Congressional Budget Office puts the expense of enforcing the law at $1.4 billion over five years, with most costs offset by fees, but spending must still be approved by the majority-Republican House. The cost of treating foodborne illness instead of preventing it: $152 billion a year.  Costs over five years: $1.4 billion if we enforce the law, $760 billion if we don’t.

Each year 48 million Americans get sick from eating something; 128,000 of them are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Every year. Apparently, that’s OK with the GOP.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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