This is a tough recall to sift through, mainly because there are no identifying stickers or marks on some of the affected items.

Five Crowns Marketing announced today that they are… “voluntarily recalling cantaloupes packed under the Majesty label because of a potential health risk due to possible contamination of Salmonella.”

“Cantaloupes were packed in various sizes with and without individual label stickers. All cartons carry the label “Majesty” and are further identified with lot numbers 198 2 or 198 3, packed dates Nov 4, Nov 6, and Nov 10. Also those cantaloupes that contain stickered labels are identified with the label “Majesty”.”

So pretty much you have to remember if you saw “majesty” on the box you picked them from at the grocery store because not all the cantaloupes are properly identified.

I’ve always wondered why RIFD tags aren’t on each stem of everything in the produce isle. RIFD tags cost a fraction of a penny to make, and this would help out immensely in cases like this. I would tag everything as it comes into the US as it enters the nation’s food supply and keep all this information in a master database at the FDA. When a bad batch comes up, you know where everything went. The RIFD tag would be wiped at the checkout scan, and can be tossed along with the stem or skin of the produce. This tagging would help keep a safer food supply chain and definitely create jobs as part of the labeling and cataloging process.

Here’s the link to the FDA recall notice.

This one specifically applies to the New York area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Portland.

Service Smoked Fish Corp is recalling some of their “Brooklyn’s BEST brand SMOKED NOVA SALMON” because they may be contaminated with Listeria. The press release explains that “Listeria monocytogenes… can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.  Although healthy individuals may possibly suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”

I love the placement of “only” in that last part. Hey, it’s “only” a 103 degree fever! Whatsamatter with you?

Anyhow, the specific recall is limited to… “3 oz., 4 oz., 8 oz., 12 oz., 16 oz. and random weight sides with the brand name “Brooklyn’s BEST” appearing on a circular label inside the vacuum bag. A “Use-By” date appears on the bottom of the gold board. Units with “Use-By” dates of 12/03/09 through 12/19/09 are being recalled.  The product was also air-packed in bulk boxes. Air-packed units with lot numbers 060 through 043 are being recalled.  No other use-by dates or lots numbers are involved in this recall.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall notice.

Some lots of Vicks Sinex are being recalled due to a finding of bacteria in some lots that were shipped to the US, the UK and Germany.

The press release says “The company said it is taking this precautionary step after finding the bacteria B. cepacia in a small amount of product made at its plant in Gross Gerau, Germany.  There have been no reports of illness.  However, the bacteria could cause serious infections for individuals with a compromised immune system, or those with chronic lung conditions, such as cystic fibrosis.  B. cepacia poses little medical risk to healthy individuals.”

The problem lot numbers, listed on the outside carton and bottle, are

Here’s the link to the official recall notice.

This is pretty serious. The FDA just announced that there is a big problem If you take the anti-clotting drug Plavix in addition to the stomach acid reducer Prilosec. It turns out that Prilosec cuts the effectiveness of Plavix by half. For people with blood clotting problems, that’s really bad.

The official announcement says… “patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use Plavix to prevent platelet aggregation will not get the full effect of this medicine if they are also taking Prilosec.”

The science behind it is pretty straightforward. “Plavix does not have anti-clotting effects until it is converted or metabolized into its active form with the help of the liver enzyme, CYP2C19. Prilosec blocks this enzyme, thereby reducing the effectiveness of Plavix.”

But it’s not just Prilosec that causes problems with Plavix. Others on the hit list are… “Nexium (esomeprazole), Tagamet and Tagamet HB (cimetidine), Diflucan (fluconazole), Nizoral (ketoconazole), VFEND (voriconazole), Intelence (etravirine), Felbatol (felbamate), Prozac, Serafem, Symbyax (fluoxetine), Luvox (fluvoxamine) and Ticlid (ticlopidine).”

The good news is that … “Zantac (ranitidine), Pepcid (famotidine), Axid (nizatidine), and antacids [that] do not inhibit the CYP2C19 enzyme aren’t expected to interfere with the anti-clotting activity of Plavix.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA warning here.

To me, a “Dietary Supplement” is a glass of OJ with my eggs. Some bacon in my Whataburger. Things you actually consume with a meal as part of a meal to enhance said meal.

Having said that, I still fail to see how something called “RockHard Weekend” from RockHard Laboratories has anything to do whatsoever with “Dietary Supplement”. It’s either that or I’ve been doing something horribly wrong for breakfast, lunch and dinner this whole time.

The FDA announced that “RockHard Laboratories is conducting a voluntary recall after being informed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that voluntary lab analysis found… sulfoaildenfil, an analogue of Sildenfil, an FDA-approved drug used as treatment for male Erectile Dysfunction (ED) making RockHard Weekend an unapproved drug.”

In other words, just like the “stiff nights” recall, “RockHard Weekend” has some prescription-based ingredients that they tried to slip under the radar.

The FDA’s justification for the recall is the same one they used on the “stiff nights” recall. It might kill you! Maybe.

“The undeclared ingredient may pose a threat to consumers because the analogue may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates. ED is a common problem in men with these conditions, and consumers may seek these types of products to enhance sexual performance.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall notice.