Dangerous Drug Alert: Dietary Supplements Can Cause Liver Damage

The New York Times reported that a new study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that dietary supplements cause 20 percent of drug-related liver injuries. The $32 billion dietary supplement industry is largely unregulated and operates on an “honor system” where most manufacturers do not study the drugs for safety before selling them to consumers.  According to the NYT article about 0.3 percent of supplements sold in the U.S. have been studied closely enough to determine their side effects. As a result, health care providers and the public know little about their ingredients and injuries they can cause. Green tea extract, a supplement commonly labeled as a fat burner, can have high concentrations of catechins (a type of antioxidant) that can be toxic to the liver.  The article describes how a teenager trying to lose some weight nearly lost his liver due to a green tea extract.  

So be wary of the quick-fix diet pill as you make your New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds.  They may be doing more harm than good. 

All of us here at the Washington Product Liability Blog wish you a healthy and happy 2014!

Defective Product Alert: Two Manufacturers Recall Food Products Due to Mislabeling

The California food producer DelMonaco Specialty Foods recalled 5,616 pounds of its Aramanino brand bolognese sauce products.  The food product manufacturer failed to properly label milk, a known allergen, when the allergy label was not applied to all of the products in each lot that was produced.  Multiple versions of the Aramanino “Bolognese Sauce with Beef & Pork” sauce are being pulled from grocery store shelves due to the mislabeling.

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service announced last Friday that a Utah-based food producer, Creminelli Fine Meats, is recalling approximately 101 pounds of fully-cooked-not-shelf-stable, ready-to-eat pork roast products that were sold exclusively online. The product is being recalled because the company was using a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan for a different category of ready-to-eat products.

Defective Product Alert: "Breathable Baby" Wearable Blankets Recalled due to Choking Hazard

BreathableBaby has issued a recall on its BreathableSack wearable blanket for infants because the blankets can be a choking hazard to small children. According to the recall, "The zipper pull tabs and sliders can detach posing a choking hazard to infants."  Federal law requires that these items be removed from shelves and are prohibited from being sold. BreathableBaby has urged customers to immediately discontinue use of the defective product and contact them for a replacement.