- Flavoring Company Knew About Salmonella Presence: FDA
- High Failure Rate for ASR Hip Implant
- Baby-Sling Warning Expected
- Preschoolers Recognize Brand Names: Study
- FDA Panel Gives Blessing to Drug for Rare Lung Disease
- Pet Food Recall Expanded
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Flavoring Company Knew About Salmonella Presence: FDA
For about a month after it knew salmonella bacteria was present at its processing facility, Las Vegas-based Basic Food Flavors Inc. continued to make and distribute food ingredients, says a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection report.
A meat flavor additive made by the company tested positive for salmonella and prompted the recall of more than 100 food products ranging from chips to soups.
The FDA said Basic Food discovered salmonella at its plant on Jan. 21 but continued to distribute food ingredients until Feb. 15, the Wall Street Journal reported. A two-week FDA inspection of the plant began in mid-February.
There have been no reports of illnesses related to the recalled foods containing the additive made by Basic Food, said an FDA spokeswoman.
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High Failure Rate for ASR Hip Implant
Doctors are being warned that an artificial hip implant made by DePuy Orthopaedics may have a high failure rate in some patients such as women, patients of small stature, and those with weak bones.
The alert in a March 6 letter comes just a few months after DePuy, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, said it was phasing out the ASR hip implant because of slowing sales, The New York Times reported.
Some experts question why DePuy didn't stop sales of the ASR earlier, while others say the device had a design flaw that made it difficult to implant properly. The company says the ASR had no safety problems.
The ASR is not widely used in the United States, but has been implanted in thousands of patients worldwide.
In a statement, DePuy said it issued the advisory to doctors as it's halting sales of the device because "this is new and important information surgeons who continue to use ASR should have to inform their clinical decision making," The Times reported.
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Baby-Sling Warning Expected
A warning that baby slings pose a suffocation hazard is expected to be issued this week by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Baby slings are infant carriers that parents sling around their chests.
Some safety advocates have said that certain slings, in which an infant is cradled in a curved or "C-like" position, can restrict breathing and cause suffocation, the Associated Press reported.
In discussing the general warning to the public, CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum didn't single out any specific slings or discuss the seven reported deaths linked to baby slings, the AP reported.
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Preschoolers Recognize Brand Names: Study
Children as young as 3 years old recognize brand logos and products, say U.S. researchers. Most studies have suggested children don't have an understanding of brands until age 8 or older.
"Findings like this show us that we need to think about materialism developing in very young children," said lead researcher Anna McAlister, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, MSNBC.com reported.
"We also need to realize that it's not completely 'safe' to leave a 3-year-old alone with a TV set without proper supervision or a parent to help them to understand that they are on the receiving end of targeted advertising," she added.
The study appears in the March issue of the journal Psychology & Marketing.
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FDA Panel Gives Blessing to Drug for Rare Lung Disease
A federal advisory committee on Tuesday recommended that an experimental drug be approved to treat a rare but deadly lung disease.
According to the Associated Press, the blessing came despite the fact the studies have produced mixed results on the drug's effectiveness. The medication, known as pirfenidone, is made by InterMune Inc. and would be used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. There are currently no approved drugs for the treatment of this debiltating disease, the wire service reported.
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