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Notebook Cleanup

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Thursday, March 8th, 2012

I made the mistake of trying to watch the TV show ”The Firm”. NBC figured out early on how bad it was and quickly moved it to Saturday. They sold it as “John Grisham”. There’s a reason why I stopped reading his books too. Although, someone is still buying them. Hope you didn’t waste time on that show.

Can you believe this story on firefighter cheating in Atlanta? A Judge has ordered the city of Atlanta to pay $320,000 in a class-action suit, because two assistant fire chiefs “provided answers to a handful of firefighters before the exam.” I know, I shouldn’t make any jokes about “liar liar pants on fire”.

In the world of facial creams, it turns out that the English language is a must. The FDA is warning that some skin lighteners and anti-aging facial creams that purportedly remove age spots, freckles, blemishes and wrinkles; may contain mercury. Mercury is only good far away, like one of the planets. Turns out it might remove freckles and blemishes but Mercury might also remove your pulse… for many reasons.

The warning from the FDA is that any facial creams manufactured abroad were probably sold illegally in the US. Don’t use any creams that don’t have a label. (that one seems common sense, like I wouldn’t buy facial cream from a garage sale anyway, but I digress)

US Federal law requires ingredients to be listed on the product. Don’t use if the label is in anything but English. Don’t buy while traveling abroad. Plus, the words mercurous chloride, mercuric, and calomel are a no-no. Of course, those sound like something other than English anyway.

There’s plenty still in the notebook but this was a start. Our final blog cleanup story comes from the UK. A lady sold this 3-year-old Chicken McNugget for $8100. It supposedly looks like George Washington. Looks a little like the Elephant man to me.

Hard to top a “George Washington Chicken McNugget”, but let’s give it a shot for pic o’ day.

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Categories : Misc.

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The Hot Dog Danger

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Sunday, July 31st, 2011

I was looking for a picture of a hot dog and got distracted. I landed on Big Foot instead of a footlong, Of course, we all know that we really don’t know what we are getting, when we are eating a hot dog.

I remember being about 10 and being excited about hot dog night at the baseball park. We would go see the Tides in Norfolk; Some baseball and some free hot dogs.

It was all you could eat. At the age of 10, you take it seriously. It becomes ”all you CAN eat”. Plus, the hot dogs made you laugh because the food coloring would come right off in the bun. And, you would even have some shade of red/orange on the lips.

Unfortunately, we know that, just as Big Foot is not a foot long hot dog; a hot dog is really not something that any of us should really be eating very often.

Now there are advocacy groups that are trying to bring attention to the dangers of hot dogs. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is putting up billboards to publicize the health risks of hot dogs.

Another non-profit group has filed suit in New Jersey, to ask a Judge to require hot dog companies in New Jersey, to include warnings on the sides of hot dog packs. The warning would include that hot dogs increase the risk of cancer.

The American Institute of Cancer Research has done studies that show that consuming 50-grams of processed meat each day, increases colorectal cancer by 21%. Most hot dogs are about 50-grams of processed meat.

Additionally, studies have also connected processed meats to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and other types of cancer. Processed meat consumption by children has shown connection to leukemia, ovarian cancer and even an early development of type 2 diabetes..

Maybe if we didn’t see a hot dog as a friend named Oscar Meyer; or maybe if the package came with a warning that it caused cancer, it might make us think differently at the next cookout or that quick meal at night.

It’s a nutritional issue. Should food manufacturers be required to identify the risks of what they make? Or, should government stay out of legislating what parents should feed their kids?

It’s not just fat grams or sodium; These studies are connecting serious illnesses.

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Categories : Food and Drink, Legislation and Politics

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Akavar Class Action and Others

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Monday, May 2nd, 2011

It sounds like a great idea to be able to “Eat all you want and still lose weight”. Let’s put on our buffet pants right now. Unfortunately, you know the saying of “there’s no free lunch” . Now, we should also start saying that there is ” no all you can eat and don’t get fat lunch”.

A nationwide notice is being sent out, authorized by the United States District Court of Utah, relating to a class action lawsuit that is being brought against the manufacturers of a weight loss supplement that is called Akavar 20/50.(Akavar) The lawsuit is called Miller v Basic Research LLC, et al. (Case No. 2:07-CV-871)

In their ads for the supplement, the manufacturer made claims that the product had undergone “scientific evaluation” by a “team of doctors”. The lawsuit alleges that there were no clinical trials; no scientific evidence that supported the claims of being able to eat anything you want and not gain weight; and that the advertisements were just making fraudulent claims.

In 2009, Hydroxycut was recalled, because people claimed to have suffered severe liver damage injuries. I see their commercials again under the title of “Hydroxycut Advanced”. Now, they are pitching energy and weight loss in the same supplement. Notice, they hit the airwaves hard, right before swimsuit season. I wonder what change they made in the ingredients, that make it “Advanced”.

Synerate weight loss was recalled, after more than 60 adverse events were reported. Many were deaths relating to heart attacks and strokes.

The FDA just sent out a warning about an over the counter weight loss supplement called Fruta Planta. It is barred from the US and the warning went as far as to say that you should make sure that it gets thrown away, in a sealed container, so children and animals cannot get to it.

It’s sad that people of bad character concoct some pill; set up a PO Box; and just start running TV ads that tout false claims. Meanwhile, people think that the ads are truthful and the pictures of the actors in their bathing suits, must be real.

The battle of the bulge lets these kinds of characters prey on the unsuspecting. History records that Hitler believed that you should ”make the lie big; make it simple; keep saying it and eventually they will believe it”.

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Categories : Defective Products, Drug Reactions, Food and Drug Blog, General Law

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How Low is Low Sodium?

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Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

There are some old sayings rattling around in my head, when I think of feeling low. Remember the one about, “I was so low that I sat on the edge of a dime and dangled my feet”? Or, “when I came to my closet door, I walked under it and still had to look up”? Now, that’s pretty low.

Maybe those old expressions should be a lesson in “low”, for Campbell Soup Company. That’s because four New Jersey women have accused the soup maker of misleading consumers.

Suit was filed against Campbell, accusing them of falsely selling allegedly lower sodium soups, at premium prices. The pleadings claimed that Campbell’s 25% “Less Sodium Tomato Soup” had the exact same sodium levels (480 milligrams) as its regular tomato soup.

Campbell Soup had filed a motion to dismiss the womens’ lawsuit. They claimed that the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates product labeling, does not require Campbell to specify how one soup might compare with other soup products.

US District Judge Jerome Simandle wrote in his order that “it was reasonable for plaintiffs to expect that the soups that they were receiving, had 25%-30% less sodium than the regular tomato soup; when the soups, in fact, had approximately the same amount of sodium.”

Campbell Soup has always had that “down home” advertising campaign going for them. Apparently, they consider the consumer to be dumb enough to pay more for a label, because they say that it’s low sodium. Makes you wonder about some of their other products, if that’s their marketing philosophy.

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Categories : Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Food and Drug Blog, General Law, Misc.

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Two Sided, Where Do You Side?

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Monday, April 4th, 2011

I love the offshore drilling debate. Those for it tell us that we need to drill off our US coasts, to help us be less dependent on foreign oil sources. And, don’t forget that offshore drilling provides jobs.

Those against offshore drilling recite statistics that, at best, the US sits on 3% of the world’s oil reserves. Meanwhile, as a nation, we use 25%. Oh, and that stuff about the creation of jobs; The real creation of jobs is because of the expected clean-up, when the oil erupts into our waters.

At our firm, we have a structured hiring system. Depending on the position, you might interview with 4-5 people. Then, you might have to take an online typing test. All that is pretty defined.

In the last few years, I’ve also added a psychological test to the hiring process. It’s not an exact science, and here’s why. If you read the test results, the interpreter usually puts paragraphs that seem a bit contradictory. A person might be very detailed. However, the report then goes on to say that they are under a bit of stress.

Sometimes, a person who likes people, might talk too much to their co-workers. Someone who is so focused on their task at hand, may seem to “not be a team player”. I always feel like the person who provides the report is hedging the results. Or, maybe it really comes down to the fact that people can be good workers, if they put effort into it.

The two sides to everything brings me to the main topic of the blog. You know that I enjoy the journey rather than the destination, but we ultimately arrive at the legal topic.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a set of proposed rules that would put certain requirements on restaurants, fast-food chains, coffee shops, convenience stores and other grocery stores.

As reported by Philley.com, this is the governments’ latest effort to fight obesity. The rules would require that these locations “post the calorie content of standard items on their menus.” The agency would only require chains with 20 or more stores to be required to post such information.

Now, here’s the two sides. Either you are all in, on the fight against obesity and the associated health costs and risks involved; Or, you believe that such government rules are nothing more than another intrusion into our lives. Plus, it is another expense on businesses. Is it personal responsibility in your choices of food, or that you need such information to make personal choices. That’s what makes it interesting for me to blog about!

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Categories : Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Food and Drug Blog

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No, Not a Raccoon Burger.

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Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Join in with me and sing, “Frosted Lucky Charms, They’re Magically Delicious!”. Just kinda cheers you up. Sure, maybe they have a bit of too much sugar in them,, but it was always fun to see if the marshmallows could outlast the boring cereal.
Now we know the importance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They have come out with an advisory (NY Times) about possible links between artificial food colorings, and behavioral problems, like hyperactivity in children. That means that products such as Jell-O, Lucky Charms and Minute Maid Lemonade, could be bad for kids.

Because of the FDA, soon, products containing food coloring, will be required to carry warnings that such consumption can cause or aggravate behavior conditions in kids. Previously, the FDA had maintained that synthetic coloring that was added to these products, had no affect on children. Of course, manufacturers like General Mills are downplaying these recent studies.

Because of the FDA, you might soon see all Pop Tarts looking the same color and all Fruit Loops looking like “one Loop”. Or, they will have that scary warning on the side. Of course, maybe these food manufacturers are going to have some convincing product that “colors the food” safely. What, you thought the green marshmallows in the Lucky Charms were really from local leprechauns!!!!

It’s a reminder of the importance of some regulation, and the importance of the FDA being properly staffed, to be able to render opinions on products that are on the market.

If you looked at the title, you’re probably still wondering if this is a bait and switch title. What do Pop Tarts have to do with Raccoons? I promise, I’m not trying to drive you to eat a big bag of orange Cheetos.

I did open the eyes a bit, when I read a recent article in a SC newspaper. (GoUpstate.com) You just can’t sell whatever you want to, as an owner of a grocery store.

South Carolina health officials have told a Richland County grocery store to stop selling raccoon meat. The Department of Health found bags of chilled racoon meat in a cooler at a Lucky Seven No. 2. I guess that’s why you can’t buy greased beaver knees, eye of newt or the lucky toe of frog, as recited by Shakespeare. They just aren’t approved. (well maybe the frog?)

The racoon is an interesting animal to study. For the blog, I learned that a President owned one as a pet (named Rebecca) and that raccons have hands so nimble that they can unlace a shoe, unlatch a cage or retrieve coins from a shirt pocket. All those seem like talents that aren’t that helpful in the wild. Although, maybe that’s why I’ve never seen them in shoes.

Knowing that information about raccoons, makes me smile. Maybe an insurance company will soon have a raccoon as a mascot. On second thought, they do look more like the Hamburgler at McDonalds, with their little mask. They just shouldn’t be sold for meat in the grocery store cooler.

You have to say “Amen to that!”. Ok, I know I’ve taken you on a long ride. Maybe you have to be nimble to find a little bit of legal in here somewhere.

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Categories : Current Affairs, Defective Products, Drug Reactions, Food and Drink, Food and Drug Blog

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How You Look At It

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Sunday, February 27th, 2011

My cousin sent this picture that was taken from his window. That’s no pet looking in. I suspect that there’s a bigger one nearby. It reminds me of the old saying “it’s how you look at things”. Here, there’s no safe way to look at a bear through a window. That’s false security.
In my previous blog, I mentioned that I was going to a meeting this past weekend. Well, one of the speakers focused on the studies of statistics and how they relate to injury and diagnosed medical problems.
One of the statistics that really had impact on me, related to lung cancer. He described that a person that smokes has a 22.1% chance of getting lung cancer. Because there are some people that get lung cancer without smoking, I was curious as to the statistic of lung cancer, without smoking… about 1% chance.
That’s one of those statistics that is a reminder that there is really no good way of looking at it. A little greater than 1 to 5 odds of getting cancer doesn’t seem to have much impact on many, when they choose to smoke.
As I walked through the airport on Sunday, I walked by the infamous “smoking room” where everyone can go to smoke. Looking in the glass, in that smokey haze, I could count about 15 people sitting in there. Those statistics tell us that 3 people in there, will end up with lung cancer.
In jury trials, there are several psychological juror bias factors that impact verdicts. Psychologists tell us that one is called the attrition bias. That means that “it won’t happen to me”. So, when that type of juror hears evidence, they tend to put some fault on the plaintiff, because they believe such injuries could not have happened to them; They would have done something differently; even in a rear-end crash.
Unfortunately, it is that same attitude regarding smoking. Tobacco companies continue to turn a profit, despite the alarming statistics. Cigarrettes continue to be sold, no matter what warning is put on the package. Like that juror attitude, “it won’t happen to me” is a terrible stumbling block in the area of good health.
When Tobacco companies pushed for FDA regulation of their product as a drug, they did so with the hope that it would give them some liability cover. They already knew that warnings and statistics had not hurt sales very much. So, why not pretend to be a regulated drug. Now, how does that really make sense?

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Categories : Current Affairs, Food and Drug Blog, Misc.

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Jumping Ship

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Monday, September 27th, 2010

I am hitting the exits; Take this job and shove it; Elvis has left the building; I’m Papa John and I am delivering my resignation; See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya; I am jumping ship.

You can tell by my previous paragraph that I am getting a bit carried away. The above is a collection of sayings that could be said by someone who is “proudly” leaving their place of employment. Yes, I did throw a few of my own creations.

“Jumping Ship” has come to be known as a term of someone taking control of their destiny. It has even been used to indicate the actions of Democratic candidates, when being associated with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The real basis is connected to such work as the 19th Century English coal trade.

During the 19th century, hundreds of seaman lost their lives, while sailing on ships that were dangerously overloaded. At that time, there was no regulation as to how much coal that could be put on a ship. As a result, the more coal, the more profits. Thus, ships would be loaded up to the deck line and make sailing a life or death propostion.

It is reported that in 1873, 411 ships sailing from England sank, and took countless men to a watery grave. Despite the sight of an overloaded ship, once a seaman signed on for work, he could not back out or he was charged with “jumping ship”, which was considered a criminal offense. For the profit seeking owners, they won either way. If the coal made it, they made money; If the ship sank, insurance paid them for their losses. The sheer numbers showed that “corporate England” did not care about these sailors or these “coffin ships”.

Samuel Plimsoll was a British politician who campaigned and is best remembered for developing the Plimsoll Line. He introduce legislation to get restrictions on how much coal could be shipped. Not surprisingly, he faced great pressures from ship owners and even the British Prime Minister of that day, Benjamin Disraeli. The ultimate adoption of his measurement “Plimsoll Line”, as well as the overall Merchant Shipping Act, is credited with saving many lives.

I have given you a brief history and example of when government regulation made a difference. Today, politicians are jumping on the theme of “less government”, as an excuse to eliminate government regulations.

I received a copy of this months Costco “My Business”. It has 3 pages of small business political ads. The premise, in reaching out to people like me, is to encourage voting for pro-business candidates. On its face, that sounds like real free enterprise. However, if you look closer at each of these ads, you will notice the words, “Do you stand for an end to burdensome, intrusive government regulations?”

I just saw a news story about the FDA announcing a significant restriction in the the allowance of prescriptions for the diabetes drug, Avandia. The FDA is “regulating” this drug, to only be prescribed in limited indications, when no other treatment options exist. To date, 47,000 heart attacks have been attributed to Avandia. Already, the drug has been banned in Europe. The manufacturer has been fighting restriction and recall.

A fine line exists between what is right for business, and what is government intrustion. Unfortunately, when profits are at stake, business has been shown to put profit over safety. ” No government” sounds good from a bully pulpit. Unfortunately, there are still those that have that 19th Coal shipping mentality. Next man up for the profit of the company. Sometimes we better be careful, because we just might get what we ask for.

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Categories : Current Affairs

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Lead in the Lunch Box

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Monday, June 14th, 2010

The Environmental Law Foundation has issued a warning that there are “alarming” concentrations of lead that have been found in a variety of children’s and baby foods. The food categories include apple juice, packaged pears and peaches, and fruit cocktail.

My wife regularly buys these type of items, so when I heard about the leadwarning, I went home, pulled the products and matched them against the checklist. I will provide the list below for your quick access.

Many scientists agree that there is no safe level of exposure to lead. Here is a transcription of the NPR news story and interview, which provides more information. I am also attaching an article on why the FDA is hampered in preventing this kind of problem. The report basically says what you would expect: Limited resources and piece meal approaches in gathering information (basically government inefficiency) are the culprits.

I did title this blog “Lead in the lunch box”. I was really addressing the food that sometimes kids take to school. Then, I also saw a report on lead problems in lunch boxes ( Here), so I am attaching that story for your review, as well.

Below is the list of the food and juices that reportedly contain dangerous levels of lead. I am taking up this blog space with this long list, to make sure you can compare to any products you may consider at the grocery store or are already in your pantry or closet:

Beech Nut 100% Apple Juice

Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail

Del Monte Freestone Peach Slices in 100 % Juice

Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100 % Juice

Dole Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup

Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice

Gerber 100% Juice – White Grape Juice

Gerber 100% Juice Apple Juice

Gerber 3rd Foods Peaches

Gerber 3rd Foods Pears

Hansen’s Natural Apple Juice

Langers Apple Juice 100% Juice

Minute Maid Juice Apple – 100% Apple Juice

Motts 100% Apple Juice

O Organics Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice Not From Concentrate

Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice

R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice

S&W Natural Style Fruit Cocktail in Lightly Sweetened Juice

Safeway 100% Juice Apple Cider

Safeway Organic Grape Juice

Santa Cruz Organic Concord Grape Juice

Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice, pasteurized

Trader Joe’s Pear Halves in white grape juice

Tree Top 100% Juice Apple Cider

Tree Top 100% Juice, Grape

Walgreens Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice

Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (from Welch’s Concord Grapes)

Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice from Concentrate

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Categories : Food and Drug Blog

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Nexium, Prilosec and Fractures

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Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

The commercial almost makes you long for vacation. Two people traveling on a purple RV, going around the country with a message about fighting heartburn. Unfortunately, there may be a bad trade-off for heartburn relief, if these products are overused.

They are medically known as Proton pump inhibitors (PPI’s). Prescription PPI’s include Nexium, Dexilant, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix and Acihpex. Now, studies are showing that those taking one of these for long periods ( a year), or have been taking high doses in certain prescription formations, may face a higher risk of fractures.

The FDA has warned that PPI’s may increase the risk of fractures of the hip, wrist and spine. As a result, the FDA is requiring these products to display warnings reporting an elevated fracture risk. Previously, most were relying on a Canadian study that indicated that there was some risk for increased fractures, but that such risk was in users who already had susceptibility to osteoporosis and were using these products for a period of about 7 years. That study had little effect on whether most were going to seek a prescription that would help them combat their heartburn.

Most of the reports of increased fractures from these studies are found in adults over the age of 50. The FDA is requiring these new package warnings after reviewing the results of six studies. One other study also suggested that these drugs could also raise the risk of exposure to bacterium that is capable of causing severe diarrhea. I’m guessing that the next “happy couple in the RV” TV advertisement will be followed with some baritone announcer reciting a long list of warnings, followed by the ever comforting “talk to your doctor to see if it’s right for you”.

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Categories : Food and Drug Blog

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The Joel Bieber Firm

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Joel Bieber’s Blog

Archive for FDA

Notebook Cleanup

The Hot Dog Danger

Akavar Class Action and Others

How Low is Low Sodium?

Two Sided, Where Do You Side?

No, Not a Raccoon Burger.

How You Look At It

Jumping Ship

Lead in the Lunch Box

Nexium, Prilosec and Fractures

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