Category: Issue 334
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Panel Urges Obesity Screenings, Comprehensive Weight-Management for Kids
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a recommendation statement advising clinicians to screen children ages 6 and older for obesity and to refer them for intensive counseling and behavior treatment if warranted. USPSTF bases its guidance “on a systematic review of the evidence of the benefits and harms and an assessment of the…
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OSHA Seeks Public Input on Workplace Health and Safety Issues; Meeting Scheduled
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a notice scheduling a public meeting February 10, 2010, in Washington, D.C., to consider a range of issues relating to workplace safety. According to the notice, OSHA will also establish a public docket as part of this initiative, which is “in keeping” with a presidential memorandum…
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Preliminary Steps Taken to Nullify EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program
After the Congressional Research Service (CRS) questioned the validity of agency regulations that had not been submitted as required by law to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness wrote to House and Senate leaders asking Congress to advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its endocrine disruptor screening program “is…
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Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to Meet, Comments Solicited
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services have published a notice announcing the fifth meeting of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Scheduled for February 9, 2010, the meeting will be conducted as an online webinar and is expected to consist of discussions about (i) nutrient adequacy, (ii) energy balance and…
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DeLauro Urges Independent Review of USDA Inspection Practices
U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Calif.) has called for an independent review of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) meat and poultry inspection system, citing the recent recall of approximately 864,000 pounds of beef possibly contaminated with E. coli. Issued by a Montebello, Calif.-based meat packing company, the recall involved ground beef products identified by USDA’s…
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Petition Seeks Withdrawal of FDA Approval for rBGH
Scientists and others objecting to the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to stimulate milk production in dairy cows have reportedly resubmitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) challenging the new animal drug application approval for an rBGH drug. FDA apparently failed to respond to the original petition, filed in 2007.…
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Industry Responds to FDA Finding on Bisphenol A
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has responded to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent review of bisphenol A in food contact applications, praising regulators for stopping short of a ban on the ubiquitous chemical but criticizing their concern for “hypothetical and non-existent health risks.” FDA has stated that it now shares…