—and why their decision will have far-reaching ramifications for state licensing boards. Last year we told you about the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of the North Carolina dental board. The FTC decided the board had attempted to monopolize the teeth whitening business, and found it had illegally thwarted competition through cease-and-desist letters. The board—composed mainly of private dentists—had […]
The FDA seems to be waiting for GMO soybeans to be ready before it follows through on its promise to ban the toxic fats. A new study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, available on the CDC’s website, shows that Americans are consuming much more trans fat than they realize. A federal loophole allows food companies […]
Last week saw an inter-agency power grab. It begins with the weakening of organic standards—and could end with the term “organic” becoming practically meaningless. Action Alert! In September, the USDA announced changes to its interpretation of the “sunset” provision in the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), an incredibly important piece of legislation that Congress passed […]
Patent protection means you get to charge whatever the market will bear. In this case, it bears a 935% increase in the price tag. Xyrem is the brand name for sodium oxybate. Sodium oxybate is the sodium salt of γ-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB—the “date rape drug.” It’s an old drug—even older than aspirin—and it’s FDA-approved […]
…and turn supplements into drugs. What is this agency thinking? Action Alert! What the FDA does about supplements is usually complicated—we think intentionally so, in order to confuse Congress and critics. Bear with us as we try to disentangle the threads. We need to get this story out now because the FDA has just opened a […]
Don’t cheer yet—they’re spending all that money to get Pepsi to develop some processed food snacks for the kids! Bloomberg reports that India’s government is seeking help from an unlikely partner to improve the diets of 107 million of its hungriest children: PepsiCo. The current government has been in power for only three months, but […]
Amazing—the little “Like” button has the power to magically turn supplements into drugs. Action Alert! You will recall how the FDA threatened cherry growers and walnut producers with jail if they opened their mouths about the curative powers of these foods. Now the FDA has issued a warning letter to the Utah nutritional supplement company […]
A new lawsuit filed by a “consumer watchdog” group says most Americans are not vitamin deficient and don’t benefit from supplements. Huh? Earlier this month we told you about international pharmaceutical company Bayer AG’s battle with the Federal Trade Commission over whether its marketing statements about its probiotic colon supplement are unsubstantiated disease claims (not […]
At the request of Congress, the FDA’s and USDA’s review process for genetically engineered products is finally coming under scrutiny by the GAO. In 2013, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and asked them to look into the review system being used to regulate genetically modified crops—specifically, “to ensure that […]
Should “experts” be given a pulpit without one word about their serious conflicts of interest? Action Alert! Last month the Wall Street Journal published Dr. Paul Offit’s pro-vaccine screed without disclosing his major financial conflict of interest. As we reported then, he’s the inventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq, which is now recommended for universal […]