FDA Introduces New Advisory Committee Rules
Stricter limits on financial conflicts of interest and improved voting procedures are among the new policies meant to improve transparency and public disclosure at U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committees.
Under the new rules, the FDA has imposed a cap of $50,000 as the maximum personal financial interest an advisor may have in all companies that may be affected by a particular advisory committee meeting. If an advisor's personal financial interest is greater than $50,000, he or she won't be allowed to participate in the meeting. If the financial interest is less than $50,000, the FDA may grant a waiver, but only if it's determined there is an essential need for an advisor's particular expertise.
Details of such waivers will be posted on the FDA's Web site in advance of meetings.
Most of the announced changes to advisory committee policies will go into effect immediately and all are expected to be fully implemented within 120 days.
The FDA's advisory committees include outside, independent experts who advise agency officials as they consider regulatory issues, such as the approval of new drugs or medical devices. Last year, the FDA convened 48 meetings of advisory committees.
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Some Restaurant Workers Ignore Food-Safety Practices: Study
A lack of training and resources are among the factors cited by restaurant workers for not adhering to food-safety practices designed to prevent food-borne illness, says a U.S. study that included focus groups of 125 restaurant employees.
The Kansas State University researchers identified 90 barriers to food-safety practices. Inadequate training and resources, time constraints and inconvenience were the top reasons for not applying three important food-safety practices: hand washing, using thermometers, and cleaning work surfaces, United Press International reported.
The study included workers with no formal food-safety training and those who took part in a formal ServSafe training program. The workers who'd received formal training listed a number of other barriers to using food-safety practices: no incentive to implement the practices; dry skin from hand washing; lack of working thermometers; inconvenient location of sinks; and managers not monitoring if staff cleaned work surfaces.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Most Nations Falling Short of Pledge to Fight AIDS
Most nations have failed to honor a commitment they made two years ago to fight AIDS and likely won't meet the U.N. AIDS Millennium Development Goal to reverse the spread of the disease by 2015, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Monday at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.
In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly set a goal to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010.
"Most countries still have a long way to go" to achieve that target, which will make it difficult to meet the 2015 goal, according to Ban, CBC News reported.
There's a "huge shortfall in resources" and richer nations will have to assist the poorest countries, which are worst-hit by HIV/AIDS, Ban said.
He noted that failure to make progress against AIDS hinders other goals, such as strengthening health systems, reducing poverty, and curbing the spread of malaria, CBC News reported.
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Kids' Menus Packed With Calories: Report
Most children's meals at major U.S. restaurant chains are loaded with calories, says a report released Monday by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit public health group.
The examination of the nutritional quality of kids' meals at 13 major restaurant chains found that 93 percent of 1,474 possible choices exceed 430 calories, the Associated Press reported. That amount is one-third of the daily calorie intake for children ages 4 to 8 recommended by the U.S. National Institute of Medicine.
In addition, the report found that 45 percent of kids' meals exceed recommendations for heart-damaging saturated fats and trans fat, and 86 percent of children's meals are high in sodium.
The group said there are some healthy options on restaurant menus, but "parents have to navigate a minefield of calories, fat and salt to find them," the AP reported.
"Parents want to feed their children healthy meals, but America's chain restaurants are setting parents up to fail," CSPI nutrition director Margo G. Wootan said in a news release.
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Workers Lose Weight, Boost Productivity in Office Designed for Activity
Workers in an office re-engineered to boost physical activity lost weight and increased their productivity, according to a six-month Mayo Clinic study.
The restructuring of the office at a financial staffing firm in Minneapolis included: removing chairs and traditional desk seating; adding desks attached to treadmills; replacing traditional phones with mobile sets; introducing walking tracks; and providing high-tech activity monitors. Staffers were encouraged to conduct meetings while walking and counseled about nutrition, United Press International reported.
The 18 volunteers lost a total of 156 pounds, 143 of that in body fat. Individual weight loss averaged 8.8 pounds. Triglyceride levels decreased by an average of 37 percent, the study found.
While the workers shed pounds, the company's bottom line added weight. During the first three months of the study, revenues increased nearly 10 percent. At the study's midpoint, the company recorded its highest-ever monthly revenue, the news service reported.
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Virginia Boy Scout Camp Closed Due to E. Coli Outbreak
The Goshen Scout Reservation in Virginia was closed Sunday due to an E. coli outbreak and will remain closed until further notice, the Boy Scouts of America said Sunday, The Roanoke Times reported. The Virginia Department of Health has been notified about the situation.
The decision to close the camp came after three more boys showed symptoms of E. coli infection. On Friday, it was confirmed that at least 14 boys and one adult were infected with E. coli while attending the camp. Nine of the boys were hospitalized.
As of Sunday, there was no confirmation about the source of the outbreak at the 4,000-acre-plus campground in the mountains. Last week, there were more than 1,310 Scouts, adult learners and staff members residing at the camp, The Times reported.
E. coli is a group of bacteria that can cause a variety of serious symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems.
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