Product safety

After an October 23 Food and Drug Administration warning to consumers, the manufacturer of Hyland’s Teething Tablets, the Standard Homeopathic Company, is recalling the supplement.  The FDA recommends that parents stop administering this product and discard it.

The FDA claims that the homeopathic tablets, intended to help babies with the discomfort and irritability associated with cutting their first teeth, have varying amounts of potentially toxic belladonna.  According to the FDA, they have received “reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity. An ongoing FDA inspection at the manufacturer indicates substandard control of the manufacturing operation.”
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Independent testing by a White Plains, NY firm, ConsumerLab.com, has found that 7 of 24 fish oil supplements tested exhibited quality problems.  Some products exhibited multiple issues.

• Three products contained less of the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and/or DHA than claimed,
• Three product were spoiled (including a children’s supplement)
• One enteric-coated product released its ingredients too early
• One supplement for pets exceeded the contamination limit for PCBs.

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European ophthalmologists are jumping on the “green” bandwagon and attempting to develop a program dedicated to the recycling and recovery of surgical instruments.

As single-use surgical instruments grow in popularity, so have environmental concerns as people consider the effect their manufacture and disposal have on the planet.  European fabricator of medical devices, Blink Medical, is working with doctors to help them recycle their equipment.  The company is taking responsibility for the collection, cleaning, and recycling of the instruments at no charge to the physicians.
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Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has initiated a voluntary recall of its 1-Day Acuvue TruEye contact lenses made of narafilcon A. According the Associated Press, these lenses were only distributed in Japan and parts of Asia and Europe, according to the AP; 100,000 boxes in total have been recalled.  No consumers in either the U.S. or Canada should be effected (the North American lenses are made of narafilcon B).

The recall is bases on a limited number of user complaints related to a stinging sensation felt when the lenses were placed on the eye.  According to Johnson and Johnson  the problem stems from a malfunctioning manufacturing line in Ireland.
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