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Tainted cinnamon applesauce pouches that have sickened scores of children in the U.S. may have been purposefully contaminated with lead, according to FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones. “We’re still in the midst of our investigation. But so far all of the signals we’re getting lead to an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain and we’re trying to sort of figure that out,” Jones said in an exclusive interview. “My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” Jones said. ... U.S. and Ecuadorian authorities have traced the cinnamon to Negasmart, which supplies Austrofoods, the food manufacturer in Ecuador. (Brown and Hill, 12/14)

Either American products are getting worse, or scrutiny over their safety is getting tougher. Whichever the case, product recalls by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) more than doubled between 2018 and 2022, according to new research published on Wednesday by life sciences software company MasterControl. (Merelli, 12/14)

Coca-Cola is recalling 2,000 cases of Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta Orange soda cans because they may contain "foreign material." The recall comprises 12-packs of 12-ounce cans, including 1,557 packs of Sprite, 417 of Diet Coke and 14 of Fanta Orange. The cases were distributed in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, an FDA filing shows. It remains unclear what the potential "foreign material" could be and what risks, if any, it poses to consumers. The FDA did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment. (Napolitano, 12/14)

Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that its investigation into a multistate Salmonella outbreak tied to onions has ended. Seven more people, for a total of 80, have been sickened in the Salmonella Thompson outbreak linked to fresh-diced onions. Cases have been reported in 23 states, including 1 death in Wisconsin, and 18 case-patients have been hospitalized. (Soucheray, 12/14)

House Republicans threatened the US Food and Drug Administration with a subpoena as they intensify scrutiny of the agency’s efforts to deal with quality problems with drugs made in India and China. US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, along with leaders of subcommittees on health and oversight, sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf demanding answers to questions about the agency’s work conducting inspections of drug facilities abroad. (Griffin, 12/14)

Methotrexate, a drug used to treat leukemia and other cancers, is commonly prescribed, usually tolerated, often given as an injection. Much of it is manufactured in India. It’s a pale yellow liquid that’s always supposed to be sterile, free from any bacteria. Employees at Naprod Life Sciences were rushing to complete orders for thousands of vials. No one had been in charge of the quality department for months. The methotrexate they were manufacturing was destined for the most vulnerable: leukemia patients, some of them children, in developing countries. (Taggart and Pulla, 12/15)