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Bush approves plan to tighten U.S. food safety rules
The administration is seeking new legal authority for the FDA, including the power to issue mandatory recalls; plan also calls for fines of up to $10 million for companies that flout rules, and for deployment of more U.S. government inspectors overseas
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FDA works on creating ID system for medical devices, supplies
A boost to RFID technology: FDA is working on a system to track and identify all medical devices and supplies; when finalized, the new requirements would drive adoption of RFID in the medical supply chain and in reporting adverse events
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Web site offers unsafe-product alerts
Consumer Union launches a new Web site offering news on the latest recalls from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Ensuring imports' safety offers lucrative business opportunities
Mounting worries about hazardous substances in food, toys, and other consumer goods is creating opportunities for makers of devices which detect such dangers; Bay State businesses seize opportunities
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Seattle biotech start-ups have difficult time raising VC funds
The greater Seattle area may have been the birth place of several dot.coms — Microsoft comes to mind — but present-day biotech start-ups say they find raising funds from VCs exceedingly difficult
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Critics see problems in EU plan to shift to biofuels
The EU plans to require that a growing percentage of European cars shift to biofuels to ease pressure on the environment; critics charge plan may harm farmers in developing countries
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BioFactura develops diagnostic kit for viral hemorrhagic fever infections
BioFactura and its partners conduct clinical tests in West Africa of test kits for viral hemorrhagic fever diagnosis; kits will be useful diagnostic tools in the event of bioterror attacks — but also for viral hemorrhagic fever infections common in Africa
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Mail-order bioterror nears
The risks of bioterrorism are real, and mail-order bioterror is around the corner; yes, the authorities need to keep a close eye on biotechnology research, but “a robust biotech research sector that is not hobbled by excessive regulation is our best defense against bioterrorism”
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China says food safety progressing
Criticized for lax safety standards and lack of enforcement, China’s agricultural authorities intensify campaign to monitor food safety; a system of barcodes to track catfish implemented
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U.S. drug makers buy ingredients from unregulated Chinese companies
Chinese drug companies are supervised — whatever that means in China — by China’s regulators; there are 80,000 chemical companies in China, but they do not come under the jurisdiction of China’s drug regulators; trouble is, these unregulated, uncertified companies sell ingredients of uncertain quality to U.S. drug makers
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U.S. faces water shortage crisis
Government projects at least 36 states will face shortages within five years; “The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency,” one experts says
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The public health lessons of 9/11, anthrax letters
A new book examines the responses by different government authorities to the public health aspects of 9/11 and anthrax letters; conclusion: In a crisis the available public health infrastructure makes all the difference in the quality of the local and federal response
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Troops, key health workers to be first to receive U.S. bird flu shots
Government unveils plan which creates four categories of people to be vaccinated in case of pandemic outbreak; the top tier of each category will be vaccinated first
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Palm Beach County prepares for bioterror attack
New foot soldiers in the war against bioterror attack in a Florida county: Country clubs and condo board presidents, who will help distribute antibiotics to the county’s 1.3 million people in 48 hours
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New alliance aims to offer pathogen-free food
VeriPrime alliance — it is an alliance of livestock and poultry producers, packing companies, and retail and food service vendors — says it can market meat that is 99.9999998% free of deadly pathogens
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More headlines
The long view
Ransomware Attacks: Death Threats, Endangered Patients and Millions of Dollars in Damages
A ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a company that processes 15 billion health care transactions annually and deals with 1 in 3 patient records in the United States, is continuing to cause massive disruptions nearly three weeks later. The incident, which started on February 21, has been called the “most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system” by the American Hospital Association. It is just the latest example of an increasing trend.