AT YOUR SERVICE

Data finds links to fatal overdoses; agency orders new safety study

From ConsumerAffairs.com

Perhaps partly satisfying its critics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is taking several actions to reduce the risk of overdose in patients using pain medications such as Darvon and Darvocet that contain propoxyphene. The agency said the actions were taken because of data linking propoxyphene and fatal overdoses.

The consumer group Public Citizen has been calling on the FDA to ban Darvon altogether, saying that the “old pain killer is a plain old killer.”

Instead, the agency is requiring manufacturers of propoxyphene-containing products to strengthen the label, including the boxed warning, emphasizing the potential for overdose when using these products. These manufacturers will also be required to provide a medication guide to patients stressing the importance of using the drugs as directed.

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~Sandy G.

Knife blade found in energy drink

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy or use Hardcore Energize Bullet or New Whey liquid products sold in test tube-like vials.

The agency suspects product tampering and the products are being recalled.

The suspected tampering involved a utility knife blade found in one vial of Hardcore Energize Bullet drink, manufactured in the United States and sold in Canada. Another blade was discovered in one vial of New Whey liquid products, manufactured and sold in the United States. No one is known to have been hurt.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

No recalls despite numerous complaints about Power Sentry

By Lisa Wade McCormick, ConsumerAffairs.com

A product designed to protect electronic devices from dangerous spikes in electricity may have contributed to a handful of fires nationwide that damaged homes and office equipment. Consumers also blame the product’s failure for frying their computers and other expensive electronics.

ConsumerAffairs.com uncovered these potential hazards during a review of complaints from homeowners across the country.

The product at the heart of these complaints is the Power Sentry Surge Protector. Since 2003, ConsumerAffairs.com has heard repeated safety concerns about this brand of surge protectors.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.

By Matt Soniak, Mental_Floss.com

Have you ever wondered why that bottle of Poland Spring has a “drink by” date on it when common sense dictates that water doesn’t go bad? You can thank the great state of New Jersey.  A 1987 NJ state law required all food products sold there to display an expiration date of two years or less from the date of manufacture.

Labeling, separating and shipping batches of expiration-dated water to the Garden State seemed a little inefficient to bottled water producers, so most of them simply started giving every bottle a two-year expiration date, no matter where it was going.

Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never established or suggested a limitation on the shelf life of bottled water as long as it’s produced in accordance with regulations and the bottle remains properly sealed. Makes sense, because it’s, you know…water. Even Dirty Jerz caught on to this fact and amended the law a few years ago. But the expiration date has been an industry norm for so long that many producers have just kept it on there.

FOR COMPLETE STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

~Sandy G.