U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that taking hydroxychloroquine is “ultimately” a choice between patients and their health-care providers, appearing to soften its earlier advisory against taking the anti-malaria drug outside of a hospital. “The decision to take any drug is ultimately a decision between a patient and their doctor,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in...

President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19 that he has vigorously promoted, NBC News reported.

Kibbles for Fido? Nope. These days he’s getting diced chicken with sweet potatoes and spinach. U.S. pet owners are increasingly feeding fresh food to their dogs and cats. Some order pre-proportioned meals of meat and vegetables or frozen raw meat online. Others find them in refrigerators at big retailers like Walmart. Later this spring, Petco and its partner, California-based JustFoodForDogs,...

Anyone under 21 can no longer legally buy cigarettes, cigars or any other tobacco products in the United States. The new law enacted last week by Congress also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping products that heat a liquid containing nicotine. Usually, new legislation doesn’t take effect right away. The change simply increased the age limit in existing law, so…

Fresh Express recalled some of its prepackaged salad mix from Wal-mart stores in the Southeastern United States after a dead bat was found inside a container sold in Florida.

U.S. health officials on Friday told people to avoid romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, California, because of another food poisoning outbreak. The warning comes almost exactly one year after a similar outbreak led to a blanket warning about tainted romaine.

U.S. health officials announced a breakthrough Friday into the cause of a mysterious outbreak of vaping illnesses, reporting they have a “very strong culprit.” The same chemical compound was found in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The compound — vitamin E acetate — was previously found...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has approved the first drug combination to treat most cystic fibrosis patients. Boston-based company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. created Trikafta, which combined three drugs in one. Trikafta has been approved for those aged 12 and older with at least one F508del mutation, which affects 90%, or 27,000 patients, with the lung...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says more than 6,000 pounds of frozen sausage patties manufactured in Tennessee have been recalled over concerns they may be contaminated with salmonella. A Food Safety and Inspection Service statement released Friday says the ready-to-eat pork and turkey sausage products were made by George’s Prepared Food in Caryville, Tennessee.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the second drug to help prevent HIV infections on Thursday. Descovy is a PrEP or pre-exposure prophylaxis drug, which means the drug is taken daily to lower the risk of getting HIV among people who don’t have the disease but are at risk. “PrEP drugs are highly effective when taken as indicated in...

Rite-Aid and Walgreens have joined CVS in halting the sales of popular heartburn treatment Zantac and its generic store brand after warnings by U.S. health regulators. It’s the latest precautionary move by retailers and manufacturers after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently warned consumers about a potentially dangerous contaminant in prescription and over-the-counter versions of Zantac.

The pharmacy chain pulled Zantac and generic versions of the heartburn drug from its stores after traces of a known carcinogen were found in some products.

General Mills has issued a nationwide recall over certain five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour due to the risk of a potentially deadly form of E. coli, the company and U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced. The voluntary recall affects bags of flour with a better if used by date of Sept. 6, 2020, a recall...

A Massachusetts woman has been indicted by a grand jury for performing illegal silicone injections at her Lawrence business, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. According to court documents, 71-year-old Gladys Araceli Ceron of North Andover allegedly obtained “gluteal material” from a source in Florida and used it to provide injections for buttock and face enhancement.

A Vermont-based flour company is voluntarily recalling some bags of flour due to potential E. coli contamination. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted on its website a statement from King Arthur Flour saying the company is recalling more than 14,000 cases of 5-pound unbleached all-purpose flour. The company said Thursday that to date no illness had been reported in...

Teva Pharmaceuticals has expanded its recall of blood pressure and heart medicine by discontinuing sales of certain 50 mg and 100 mg strength losartan potassium USP Tablets, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Teva’s recall started on April 25 due to the detection of a carcinogen in an active ingredient. The drugs listed in recall notices this week...

If milk is a few days past its “Sell By” date, is it safe to drink? U.S. regulators are urging food-makers to be more consistent with labeling terms like “Best By” and “Enjoy By” that cause confusion. By clarifying the meaning of such dates, they are trying to prevent people from prematurely tossing products and to reduce the mountains of...

A Massachusetts woman is facing federal charges for allegedly offering illegal silicone injections in exchange for money. Gladys Araceli Ceron, 71, of North Andover, appeared in federal court in Boston Wednesday on one count of delivery for pay of an adulterated or misbranded device received in interstate commerce. According to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s office, Ceron allegedly injected individuals with...

The notice arrived at the home of Denise Schreck, a New Jersey woman who suffers from high blood pressure, last July. Valsartan, the blood pressure medication used by Schreck and millions of other Americans, was tainted, NBC News reports. “URGENT PRODUCT RECALL,” blared the words at the top of the letter from her pharmacy. Since last summer, drug companies have...

Several active ingredients in popular sunscreens don’t just sit on the top of the skin, they are absorbed into the bloodstream, according to a new study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NBC News reported. Researchers determined that far higher levels of these ingredients are absorbed into people’s systems than the amount considered benign enough to avoid safety testing...