• Food

Government Report About Heavy Metals In Baby Foods Causes Widespread Concern

• baby food
• brain development
• children
• FDA
• infants
• toxic metals

A government report released last week raised alarm due to the high levels of heavy metals found in most baby foods.  The House Oversight Committee reviewed documents provided by four of the largest baby food makers in the U.S. — and found that all four used ingredients containing high levels of arsenic, mercury, and lead.

Why This Matters:  Even low levels of exposure to these metals can cause serious damage to brain development in kids.

• Food

The FDA Reaches Agreement With Companies to Phase Out Food Packaging Containing PFAS

• #fightforeverchemicals
• #ForeverChemicals
• Environmental Working Group
• fast food
• FDA
• PFAS

Last week, in a major but voluntary step, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it had secured and agreement with three manufacturers to phase out food packaging that uses the “Forever” chemical called 6:2 FTOH – one of the PFAS chemicals that has been linked to cancer. 

Why This Matters:  Many states are beginning to ban PFAS chemicals in food packaging, so this announcement by the FDA is a step in the right direction.

• Health

Consumers Beware: Some Hand Sanitizer Brands Are Toxic

• CDC
• COVID-19
• FDA
• hand washing
• methanol
• toxic

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now has identified fourteen brands of hand sanitizer products on the market that contain methanol, “a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested,” according to the agency. 

Why This Matters:  After the President suggested that disinfectants might be a good treatment for COVID-19, many worried about the public improperly using household cleaning products to treat themselves.  But there are also manufacturers who peddle dangerous products and we need to be able to trust the government when it says a product should or should not be used in fighting COVID.

• Food

Food Safety Rules Being Rolled Back During Pandemic

• EPA
• FDA
• food safety
• USDA

At a time when there are growing concerns over future food shortages and food waste, the added worry of food being unsafe to eat is one more reality Americans must face in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.  As Civil Eats reported, the FDA, the EPA, and the USDA oversee the nation’s food safety net […]

• Health

What’s Really in Our Sunscreen? Human and Environmental Health Risks Prompt More Oversight

• Chemicals
• coral reefs
• FDA
• oxybenzone
• sunscreen

New research from the FDA has shown that 7 chemicals traditionally found in chemical (vs mineral) sunscreen enter the human bloodstream at levels that exceed safety thresholds. Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the arm of the FDA which conducted the studies explained that just because an ingredient enters […]

• Food

Frankenfish or AquaBounty? GE Salmon To Be Raised in Indiana

• FDA
• Frankenfish
• GMO
• Salmon

For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has determined that genetically engineered (GE) AquaAdvantage salmon are safe to eat — that their genetic modifications are safe for the fish and thus for humans too.  The FDA also found that the claims about the rapid growth of the fish are also true and also will not cause harm to humans.