The FDA has warned consumers to stop using Hydroxycut Products and have alerted the public that “Dietary Supplements Linked to One Death; Pose Risk of Liver Injury”. 

 The FDA does not regulate and police dietary supplements and other products that are manufactured for weight loss, muscle enhancement, energy drinks, vitamin supplements, etc.  Due to the large number of products being sold to the consumer, this long has been a real issue that needs to be addressed.  The consumer relies on the manufacturers of these products and the FDA to make sure they are safe before they are “unleashed” for sale to consumers.  There is no doubt that the FDA needs to assert itself into the application of its rules, regulations and restrictions on all products manufactured and sold to consumers by the manufacturers of these “health” products. This is Big Business – Big Profits and requires appropriate safeguards.

 This matter should also apply to “vitamin cocktails” that are produced in pharmacies in the United States that are made up of drugs that are not allowed to be manufactured in the United States such as the horse supplement that killed several polo ponies in Wellington, Florida.

 In the case of Hydroxycut Products, the FDA did step in and issue a formal warning and listed the products being recalled by Iovate, the lab that manufactured the supplements. 

 If you have ingested any supplement that adversely affects your health you should immediately contact a physician and/or go to a local hospital, keep a sample of the product, the receipt, and contact the FDA so they may investigate.  If you feel that legal representation is warranted due to your injuries that remedy, for the present time, is also available to the consumer.

See the following links below:

www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
www.myfitnesswithchris.com

A cosmetic surgeon once told me that anorexia nervosa was not a disease in this country until the fashion industry made “thin” good. The look of a Renoir  is that for which women used to dream. Now we see news labelling certain States as the 1st most obese, the second, etc. No doubt obesity in our Western civilization has become a very significant health issue. So what has happened and how has it affected our men and women who constantly fight the fat issues of their lives? Companies manufacture over the counter drugs that are sold in grocery stores and drug stores without FDA approval or a physician’s prescription. These companies take advantage of those folks in our country who are unable to lose weight by controlling how much they eat or who are unable to exercise with good nutrition to lose weight. They instantly grab at any over the counter pill that advertises as  a “weight loss” pill or a “fat burner”  that will dissolve away flab without any discomfort from food limitations or exercising. This is risky business. (more…)

On April 30, 2009, Jardine Enterprises, a major manufacturer of cribs for infants, in conjunction with federal product-safety regulators, expanded a recall of their products.  The recall of infant cribs manufactured by Jardine was originally issued last June. This most recent action is the second expansion of the additional recall.  The ever increasing number of potentially lethal cribs added an additional 96,000 cribs to the initial recall which included 320,000 cribs and 28 models, and the first expansion of the recall.  In January of this year, a supplemental recall increased the number of defective cribs by 56,450, and adding three additional models.  Thursday’s expansion adds 96,000 cribs to the nearly 400,000 already recalled, and it comes amid regulatory efforts to improve crib safety following the recalls of 4.2 million cribs of varying brands during the past two years.  The reason for the recall was the result of wooden slats and spindles that can break, entrap and strangle infants.

The recalls highlight problems not only with crib safety but also with the consumer-product-recall system. Many buyers or users of the recalled products never know of the recall.  Recalls aren’t required to be widely advertised by crib makers, and many users don’t respond when they become aware, typically assuming their product is an exception because they haven’t experienced problems with it.  That leaves hundreds of thousands of potentially hazardous cribs in homes, day-care centers and some secondhand stores that don’t stay informed about recalled products.

At the time of Jardine’s original recall, CPSC acting chairwoman Nancy Nord said the wood Jardine had used “was not as strong as it should be.”  Still, the agency allowed similar models of Jardine cribs to continue being sold because it said it hadn’t received any complaints about them.

Consumers must take upon themselves to research manufacturers and products before and after purchases. A regular visit to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. http://www.cpsc.gov   is a good start, but don’t end it there.  Be alert, report faulty products to the manufacturer, and alert the CPSC if you have any concerns.  Recalls of thousands of dangerous products begin with the eyes and voices of the diligent consumer.   Encourage your Senator or Congressman to open discussion and explore changes in the reporting requirements of those manufacturers who produce a dangerous product, to advertise any and all recalls.  A dash of bad press could be the key ingredient necessary to sift out the hazardous products from our recipe for consumer safety.