The US Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. (Oakville, ON Canada) and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. (Blasdell, NY). Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures cardiovascular disorders and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching and loss of appetite.
 
The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:

Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
Hydroxycut 24
Hydroxycut Carb Control
Hydroxycut Natural

Although the FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall. Consumers who have any of the products involved in the recall are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase. The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report serious adverse events (side effects) or product quality problems with the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm; by regular mail at MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787; fax at (800) FDA-0178 or by calling (800) FDA-1088.

Howard Schiffer, founder of the charitable Vitamin Angels organization, and his wife, Kim Schiffer, have lost their home in the recent Santa Barbara, CA fires. While they are safe and staying with friends, they have lost everything in the fire.
 
The Vitamin Angels Board of Directors has established a separate fund to help them recover from this devastating experience and is seeding it with an initial personal donation of $1,000 from a board member.
 
Vitamin Retailer Magazine, Inc. joins the Vitamin Angels Board in its request to help Howard and Kim, who have helped so many millions from the devastating effects of malnutrition, preventable blindness and birth defects.

Financial contributions can be sent to:
 
 The Howard and Kim Schiffer Home Replacement Fund
 C/O Vitamin Angels
 P.O. Box 4490
 Santa Barbara, CA 93140

NSF International-owned company, DBA Analytical, is offering a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) training class that will help educate and prepare manufacturers of dietary supplements for new GMP requirements in Ann Arbor, MI.

The two-day training course will be held Wednesday, June 17 and Thursday, June 18, 2009 from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST at NSF International Headquarters located at 789 N. Dixboro Road in Ann Arbor.

This course is geared to those individuals involved in the dietary supplement industry, including those in manufacturing, laboratory operations, supply and distribution, auditing, management, labeling, regularity affairs and quality control.

Registration is $1,495 per person and includes the cost of the course guidebook, continental breakfast and lunch. Participants that register before May 29 will receive a $200 discount. The final deadline for registration is June 10, 2009.  A group discount of 10 percent will be provided to companies sending two or more participants.  To register, contact Casey Coy at (734) 913-5734 or CCoy@DBA-global.com.

The Natural Products Foundation, in response to the economic strain placed on community healthcare programs, has created a new campaign called Healthy Match. This program aims to pair needy healthcare clinics with natural products companies that are willing to donate their products to further a good cause.

To make this program a success, the Foundation needs the assistance of its industry partners. Manufacturers considering donating product to a specific clinic in need can contact Deb Knowles by email (debknowles@naturalproductsfoundation.org), or by calling (941) 349-9044. To make a financial donation or to learn more, visit www.dsib.org/healthymatch.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) expressed delight that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $50 million in new funding to encourage greater production of organic food in the US.

A portion of the funding has been allocated for every state and is available exclusively through a special signup under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. To qualify, a producer must be certified through the National Organic Program or be in the process of transitioning to organic production.

“The Organic Trade Association is pleased to see this support and recognition from USDA that organic farming practices represent positive environmental practices. OTA believes that this funding will further encourage farmers to use such practices and help increase the US production of organic food to meet growing consumer demand,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s executive director.

Under the initiative, new contracts for organic production are being offered for six core practices, which include conservation crop rotation, cover crops, nutrient management, pest management, prescribed grazing, and forage harvest management. Funding is capped at $20,000 per year.  The sign-up period for the special organic contracts begins May 11 and ends on May 29.

Kathleen Merrigan, USDA deputy secretary of agriculture, will give a keynote address 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 17, at All Things Organic directly following the Organic Trade Association's (OTA) Annual Meeting and directly preceding the opening of the trade show. The time allotted will be 30 minutes.

Merrigan is a long-time advocate of organic agriculture and will speak on USDA initiatives that will impact the organic industry in the short and long term. Merrigan was the recipient of OTA’s 2000 Organic Leadership Award for helping shape the regulation implementing the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and her efforts in helping draw up OFPA itself. As such, she represents a positive force in the organic world, said OTA.

The upcoming 2009 All Things Organic Conference and Trade Show will take place June 16-18 at the Lakeview Center at McCormick Place in Chicago.

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