Health Highlights: Nov. 9, 2009

• Assess School Food Safety: Lawmaker
• Teen Who Fled Treatment Now Cancer-Free
• FDA Issues Warning Letters to Flavored Cigarette Sellers
• Pet Treats May Be Salmonella-Tainted: FDA
• Immunity Claims Coming Off Cereal Boxes: Kellogg

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Assess School Food Safety: Lawmaker

A U.S. lawmaker wants federal investigators to assess the risk for E. coli contamination in food used for school meal programs.

The concern expressed by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, is the result of a recent 11-state E. coli outbreak that killed at least two people and sickened about two dozen others, the Associated Press reported.

While no schools were involved in the outbreak, which was linked to ground beef produced by a New York state company, Miller asked the Government Accountability Office to determine what protections are in place at the local, state and federal levels to ensure the safety of school meals.

He also wants the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, to compare the safety and quality of ground beef used in schools with ground beef sold to restaurants and other commercial purchasers, the AP reported.

In September, the GAO released a report that said federal officials failed to inform schools about recalls of potentially tainted canned vegetables and peanut products. As a result, school cafeterias may have unknowingly used the products in meals.

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Teen Who Fled Treatment Now Cancer-Free

The Minnesota teen who fled the state with his mother in order to avoid chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma completed his treatment Friday and is cancer-free, according to his family.

Daniel Hauser, 13, cited his religious beliefs for stopping treatment after one session in February and fleeing his home. On his return, he underwent court-ordered chemotherapy and then radiation therapy, the Associated Press reported.

Brown County Family Services and the teen's doctor have been asked to submit reports to a Brown County judge. If the judge is satisfied with the information in the documents, Daniel's case will likely be closed.

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FDA Issues Warning Letters to Flavored Cigarette Sellers

Warning letters have been sent to companies using Web sites to sell illegal flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

A ban on the sale of candy- or fruit-flavored cigarettes that took effect Sept. 22 is meant to reduce the number of children and teens who start smoking.

The companies that received the letters were told to stop marketing and selling flavored cigarettes or to take other actions to make sure the products comply with the law. Failure to heed the warning could result in seizure or injunction. The companies were given 15 days to tell the FDA what measures they've taken.

"FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously," Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in an agency news release. "These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use."

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Pet Treats May Be Salmonella-Tainted: FDA

Pig ears and beef hooves pet treats made by California-based Pet Carousel may be contaminated with salmonella, warns the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The treats were produced under conditions that can cause cross-contamination between batches or lots. Consumers should not handle these products or feed them to their pets, the FDA said. No illnesses associated with the treats have been reported.

The pig ears and beef hooves were distributed across the United States in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores. The pig ears were packaged under the brand names Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel. The beef hooves were packaged under the brand names Choo Hooves, Dentley's, Doggie Delight, and Pet Carousel.