Pap Smears: A Technican Speaks Out About Problems and Profits

June 20, 2013 ~Mark K. is a laboratory technician whose job it is to read PAP smears, the annual test recommended to screen for cervical cancer for most women. In a rare insider opinion, he shares with readers of MDND what he feels is not working.

It is a rare look at what many rank and file technicians are afraid to say about this commonly used medical device. Thank you Mark for speaking up!

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Jerky treat mystery: Nearly 600 pets dead; still no source, FDA says

Several years ago, American pets were dying from poisoned Chinese pet food (both cats and dogs)...now here we go again!

Diversification is the key...

...to avoiding all that arsenic in your rice!

Brought to you by the friendly folks at Consumer Reports & the FDA.

Under Obamacare, the FDA has determined that a person’s own body is considered a drug and subject to regulation

The FDA has even suggested that bottled water when used to treat dehydration should be regulated as a drug. Under the organization’s “Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration,” the agency said it should have the authority to regulate all vitamins, supplements, herbs and other natural substances, including water when used to “treat” dehydration.

Blogger threatened with jail for writing on health

FDA: DIAMOND PET FOOD recall (dog food) - UPDATES

 UPDATE #3

Diamond Pet Foods Expands Voluntary Recall Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food Production Code DSL 0801 Due to Small Potential for Salmonella Contamination

05/21/2012 06:09 PM EDT

Diamond Pet Foods is expanding a voluntary recall to include its Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011 due to potential exposure to Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported.

UPDATE #2

UPDATED: CORRECT PRODUCTION CODE INFORMATION Diamond Pet Foods Expands Voluntary Recall of Dry Pet Food Due to Potential Salmonella Contamination 05/07/2012 10:05 AM EDT Diamond Pet Foods today announced that it is expanding a voluntary recall to include batches of nine brands of dry pet food formulas manufactured between December 9, 2011 and April 7, 2012 due to potential Salmonella contamination. In April 2012, Diamond Pet Foods initiated three voluntary recalls of Diamond manufactured dry dog food.

UPDATE #1

Diamond Pet Foods Expands Voluntary Recall to Include Diamond Puppy Formula due to Possible Salmonella Contamination 05/01/2012 10:07 AM EDT Diamond Pet Foods is expanding a voluntary recall to include Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food. The company took this precautionary measure because sampling revealed Salmonella in the product.

You are subscribed to Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts for U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

This information has recently been updated and is now available.

Diamond Pet Foods Expands Voluntary Recall of One Production Run of Dry Dog Food Due to a Potential Health Risk Recall is limited to one formula of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul distributed to 10 states

04/27/2012 01:57 PM EDT

Diamond Pet Foods is expanding a voluntary recall to include one production run and four production codes of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light formula dry dog food. One bag of the product has tested positive for Salmonella, and the recall of the four production codes is being conducted as a precautionary measure.

Lovely Lilies and Curious Cats: A Dangerous Combination

I didn't see this FDA WARNING about cats and lilies until after Easter...but it's very important to know so keep it in mind if you have cats.

OBAMA'S FDA BANS ASTHMA MEDICATION

The only over-the-counter asthma inhaler sold in the United States will no longer be available next year as part of an international agreement to stop the use of substances that damage the environment.

HAT TIP: InstaPundit

Kroger Recalls Pet Foods Due to Possible Health Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CINCINNATI, Ohio, - December 18, 2010

The Kroger Co. said today it is recalling select packages of pet food sold in some of its retail stores because the products may contain aflatoxin, which poses a health risk to pets.

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America Did You Know Obama Did This?

He effectively launched Codex Alimentations in the US, which is intended to bring ALL vitamin and mineral supplements and natural health remedies and technologies to an end.

The CDC and the HHS can now make illegal, all alternative health remedies and technologies.

This bill renders all alternative health remedies “unscientific” and not provable by the FDA.

This legislation is a huge step in population control, giving the pharmaceuticals full control over the health of all individuals, which is what the global socialists have wanted for years.

Look up the Executive Order and read it for yourself. But use startpage.com and not Google.

Google keeps records of your inquiries and sends all your inquiries to the NSA. Startpage.com does not.

Read the whole thing

RATIONING: Now that we have entered the implementation phase of ObamaCare, things are becoming more clear. Many of the bold promises that were offered to sell ObamaCare to the American public were not based in reality.

ObamaCare Promise of No Rationing Broken by FDA...

The FDA is considering designating the drug Avastin "off-label" for stage four breast cancer patients in the next few weeks...

It's starting: ObamaCare: Why Avastin Matters

FDA Issues Final Rule Restricting Access and Marketing of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products to Youth

Manufacturers and retailers who do not comply with the rule may be subject to enforcement action.

For the HHS Press Release, click here.

FDA says food recall is urgent health threat

Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:49PM EDT
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A recall of canned meat products and dog food made at a Georgia plant due to botulism fears could involve tens of millions of cans that pose an urgent public health threat, U.S. officials said on Monday.

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www.castleberrys.com

Scandal...lawsuits: Strange new twist in pet food recalls

After the initial warnings about pet food contamination, I decided to sign up for ALL the FDA Alerts (both human AND animal). I wanted to know first hand and right away what products might be harmful--no accidentally catching the evening news anymore.

Imagine my surprise at the one I just got today:

Blue Buffalo Recalls Can and Biscuit Products Due To Tampering By American Nutrition Inc.

Folks, this is heavy (to use an old hippie term). If this is true (and it sure seems to be -- see FDA Alert below) then how many other products had American Nutrition compromised?

Worse, could OTHER companies be doing this sort of thing too???

Recall -- Firm Press Release


FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company. This listserv covers mainly Class I (life-threatening) recalls. A complete listing of recalls can be found in the FDA Enforcement Report at:

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/Enforce.html


Blue Buffalo Recalls Can and Biscuit Products Due To Tampering By American Nutrition Inc.
Contact:
Consumer Inquiries:
1-800-919-2833
Media Inquiries:
David Petrie
1-203-762-9751

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Wilton, Connecticut, April 26, 2007- We at the Blue Buffalo Company have just learned that American Nutrition Inc. (ANI), the manufacturer of all our cans and biscuits, has been adding rice protein concentrate to our can formulas without our knowledge and without our approval. This is product tampering, and it apparently has been going on for some time. The can formulas that we developed, and trusted them to produce, never contained any rice protein concentrate. It appears that only an FDA investigation of ANI's rice protein concentrate supplies forced them to reveal this product tampering to us.

While this activity by ANI is in itself unlawful, the situation is further clouded by the fact that ANI has been receiving rice protein concentrate from Wilber-Ellis, some of which the FDA has determined to be contaminated with melamine.

So while no BLUE or Spa Select canned product has tested positive for the presence of melamine, and there has been no reported illness due to any of our canned products, we simply cannot be sure of what ANI has been including in our formulas. For this reason, we have decided to remove all of our canned and biscuit products from retail distribution. While this may seem to many to be a major over-reaction, as other ANI customers will probably only recall the products that tested positive for melamine, we see this as a matter of integrity.

We founded Blue Buffalo on the principle of providing dogs and cats with the highest quality and most nutritious food, and we will not sell any product that doesn't meet this standard. And under these circumstances, we cannot say that any products manufactured by ANI measure up.

The obvious question is "how could Blue Buffalo not know that ANI was putting rice protein concentrate into our canned food?" The answer is we trusted them. In business and in life, we all trust our partners to deal with us honestly. When we buy produce from our local grocery store, we are trusting growers, shippers and a series of handlers to have delivered a product that is safe and nutritious for our family. If any one of these parties betrays our trust, contaminated products can make their way to our dinner table.

And while we test for known toxins and contaminants, we don't test for protein sources, like rice protein concentrate, especially when we did not formulate our products to contain them.

In the end, this all comes down to an issue of integrity, and ANI has not been honest with us and with the pet parents who buy our products. We will not put any product made by ANI on the shelf, and are temporarily withdrawing an important part of our business in order to be true to our pet parents.

We have already started the process of identifying a can and biscuit manufacturer with whom we can build a partnership based on trust. Once we have accomplished this, BLUE and Spa Select cans and BLUE Health Bars will be reintroduced with the high quality and superior nutrition that our brand stands for and that dogs and cats deserve.

We have informed our retail partners and the FDA about this action and will be cooperating with them to complete this recall quickly. The specific product involved includes all "BLUE" brand can dog foods, all "Spa Select" brand can cat foods and all "BLUE Health Bar" treats.

Consumers who have unused or partially used packages of any of these products should return them to their place of purchase for a complete refund.

All "BLUE" dry natural food for dogs and "Spa Select" dry natural foods for cats are not affected by this recall and are safe for consumption. Should consumers have a specific question, they can call the Company at 1-800-919-2833, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, to receive more information.

####

FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts Page: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

UPDATE - - - - - UPDATE - - - - - UPDATE

Well you know the shit is hitting the fan when this happens--here's an update I received an HOUR later (it's abbreviated):

American Nutrition, Inc. Issues Voluntary Recall

The FDA has urged American Nutrition to issue a voluntary recall of pet foods manufactured using Wilbur-Ellis rice protein. None of these products is sold under an American Nutrition brand, but are sold through other independent companies. No American Nutrition brands or other products they manufacture for other businesses are affected by this recall. [emphasis mine]

WARNING: Human food may be tainted like pet food

Last Thursday, the F.D.A. expanded its already large pet food recall after it found more evidence that an industrial chemical called melamine had contaminated the supplies of additional pet food makers, including Royal Canin US and C. J. Foods.

The agency, which has already recalled more than 60 million packages of pet food, is also investigating imports of rice protein from China.

Regulators in California said this week that they had found melamine in rice protein animal feed that was fed to livestock, and the fear is that the chemical could have entered the human food supply chain through hogs.

Laboratory testing in California had detected melamine in urine from hogs at the American Hog Farm in Ceres, Calif. California regulators have alerted anyone who purchased pork from American Hog Farm from April 3 to April 18 to be cautious.

“If the melamine level is high, it must have been added intentionally.” Liu Laiting, a professor of animal sciences at the Henan University of Technology.

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