At the Food and Drug Administration, regulators are going after dietary supplements with “steroid-like” substances, and have told consumers to stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and Zicam Cold Remedy swab products or else risk losing their sense of smell. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and her staff have already told General Mills to stop telling consumers Cheerios can lower cholesterol by 4%, because of a lack of scientific evidence backing up the claim.

 

Inez Tenenbaum, the new head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, sent all 100 of her agency’s inspectors across the country last month to enforce a law requiring special drains on swimming pools to prevent children from drowning. She also wants the manufacturer of a new off-road recreational vehicle, which has been linked to 59 deaths, to redesign it and make it safer for consumers.

 

At the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, acting head Jordan Barab is trying to revive rules to protect workers from repetitive-strain injuries, much to the frustration of employers.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

A Vigorous Push From Federal Regulators (by Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post)

FDA Says Cheerios Health Claims Unsubstantiated (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)