Month: August 2012

Antiseptic wipes made in China pulled in U.S.

Antiseptic wipes made in China pulled in U.S.

 

By JoNel Aleccia, NBC News

Chinese-made antiseptic wipes and swabs distributed in the U.S. by a New York medical supply company have been recalled because of potential microbial contamination.

DUKAL Corp. of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., issued a nationwide voluntary recall of 4,300 cases of benzalkonium chloride swabs and antiseptic wipes, saying they may contain Burkholderia cepacia, bacteria that can cause infection and illness in people with underlying health problems. The recall was issued on July 25, but posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday.

“All customers are advised to discontinue use of products identified in this recall immediately as their use could lead to infections, some of which pose certain health risks in immune-suppressed patients,” the company said in a statement.

Two of some 50 lots of products, including Zee antiseptic swabs and Dukal BZK swabs, were found to contain the bacteria, John Grasso, vice president of operations for DUKAL, told NBCNews.com.

We’ve actually recalled the product back to 2009,” Grasso said.

The swabs were manufactured by Jianerkang Medical Dressing Co. The company’s website indicates it’s located in Jintan City in Jiangsu Province, China.

For information about specific brands and packages, click here.

Grasso said FDA officials detected the contamination during a routine port inspection of imported products. The problem was traced to a faulty machine at the Chinese plant, he added. It has since been resolved.

DUKAL makes a wide range of medical products including antiseptics and cleansers, bandages, tapes and gauze dressings. Many of those products are included in first-aid kits and medical kits sent to people with medical problems. They are sold both over-the-counter and as part of kits.

No illnesses have been associated with the potentially tainted products, Grasso said.

“For average healthy people, the presence of Burkholderia cepacia is not likely to cause serious health risks,” the company said.

FDA officials could not immediately comment on results of inspections or other enforcement actions at the Chinese plant.

Echoes of past tainted wipe recalls

The recall of antiseptic wipes comes more than a year after a massive recall of swabs, wipes and other products made and distributed by sister Wisconsin firms highlighted serious health risks and regulatory failures regarding microbial contamination in medical supplies.

As of June, FDA officials said H&P Industries Inc. and the Triad Group of Hartland, Wis., remained closed under the terms of a federal consent decree that prohibits the firms from making or distributing products.

The firms have been cited in nearly a dozen lawsuits nationwide that alleged that contaminated wipes or other products led to serious illnesses and death.

The family of a 2-year-old Houston boy, Harrison Kothari, alleged that he died after contracting an infection caused by Bacillus cereus, the bacterium detected in the H&P wipes. The boy’s parents, Sandra and Shanoop Kothari, settled their lawsuit with H&P Industries in April, according to court records and interviews.

Other wipe-makers have recalled products because of potential contamination as well. Last September, Professional Disposables Inc. of Orangeburg, N.Y., recalled all lots of five different kinds of non-sterile alcohol prep pads because of possible contamination with Bacillus cereus.

And in April 2011, Rockline Industries of Springdale, Ark., recalled nearly a million units of baby wipes, including brands sent to Winn-Dixie stories and Walmart, because of potential contamination with Enterobacter gergoviae.

In February 2011, as scrutiny of the Triad alcohol prep pad recall was heating up, the DUKAL Corp. issued a press release from its Shanghai office.

“Dukal’s alcohol wipes are manufactured in accordance with all applicable FDA guidelines and strictly controlled and monitored by Dukal’s quality assurance department,” the release said.

Just In – Garden Fresh recalling 7 tons of packaged salads

Garden Fresh recalling 7 tons of packaged salads

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin company that makes packaged salads is recalling nearly seven tons of products because they contain onions that are the subject of a separate recall.

Milwaukee-based Garden Fresh Foods makes packaged pasta salads and chicken salads. The company is recalling 13,600 pounds of products that contain onions possibly contaminated by the bacterium Listeria.

The onions are from supplier Gills Onions LLC. The Oxnard, Calif., company launched its own recall last month due to contamination concerns.

The Garden Fresh products have the establishment number “P-17256” or “Est. 17256” inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection. A list of the specific recalled products is available on the USDA website.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the products, which are sold nationwide.

Rhyming Charge of the Goddess

Rhyming Charge of the Goddess

 

I am the harmonious tune of the songbird And the laughter of a gleeful child.
I am the bubbling sound of the running brook
And the scent of the flowers wild.

I am the floating leaf upon the breeze
And the dancing fire in the forest glade.
I am the sweet smell of rains upon the soil.
And the rapture of passion when love is made.

I am the germination of seed in the Spring
And the ripening of wheat in the Sun.
I am the peaceful depth of the twilight
That soothes the soul when day is done.

I am found in the twinkling of an aged eye…
And found in the birth of a newborn pup…
Yes…Birth and Growth and Death, am I
I am the gracious Earth, on whom you sup.

I am your sister, your mother, the wise one.
I wrap you gently in the warmth of my love.
That which your seek you shall find within:
Not without…not below…not above!
Remember always, my children, be reverent.
Be gentle, loving and kind to each other
And hold sacred the Earth and its creatures:
For I am the Lady: Creatrix and Mother!

-Kalioppe-

Quiz of the Day – Is the Simple Life Right for You?

Is the Simple Life Right for You?

by Annie B. Bond

Many of us yearn for plain, simple surroundings where our basic needs are  supplied in very simple ways. But there are always trade-offs. There is a  paradox that comes along with simplicity: choosing a simpler life usually  entails more activity on your part.

Given the sort of person you are and the sorts of things you enjoy, do you  think simplifying your life physically would yield you greater pleasure? Here is  a quiz that will show if a radically, physically simple life would work well for  you:

1. Would you delight in the extra exercise and sensual experience involved  in, for example, chopping wood, riding a bicycle, kneading dough, sweeping,  using a pole lathe, hand-sanding old furniture?

2. Does reading about people doing those sorts of things or seeing pictures  of them give you a feeling of excitement, pleasure or envy?

3. Do you feel a yearning for more exertion and the kind of weariness that  comes at the end of a day of physical labor?

4. At those times in your life when you have done that sort of work, or when  you have shaped something by hand instead of buying it, did that feel especially  satisfying to you?

5. Do you go camping and enjoy the simplicity of a tent and a campfire (or  even a caravan) and then find yourself slightly averse to all the demands of a  modern house when you return?

6. Do you love taking trips to places far away from telephones and  television, where mobile phones don’t work?

7. Were you a boy scout or a girl guide and do you remember, with pleasurable  nostalgia, what fun it was to go tracking, to make campfires, collect firewood,  make “gadgets” by lashing sticks together?

8. Do you enjoy gardening? Cooking? Sewing? Crafts?

If you said “yes” to all or most of these questions, you are a likely  candidate for  radical, physical simplicity. If you said “no” to most of them,  you will need to think carefully before implementing anything which simplifies  your life physically. You must watch that you don’t simplify in ways which will  create chores you later come to resent. Or chores which, one day, you may be  physically unable to do. (If osteo-arthritis sets in, will you still be able to  chop wood and ride your bike?)

Lighten Up – Flying Spell

Flying Spell

Upon 40 days of Prayre and Fasting, with Purest Faithe and Calling unto the Gods…

I. Clasp near thy rod of power (a.k.a. a telephone)

II. Call forth for ye Spirits of Travelle and theire nefarious Agents

III. Yea, state and visualize thy destination –thrice, for the Agents of Travel to Comprhende Thee…

IV. Yea, Task them and overcome them in Ye Test of Wills

V. SPEAKE THE WORDS OF POWER: VISA, MASTERCARD, AMEX

VI. Two weeks hence, take ye under New Moon to Clearing of the Travel

VII. Present Thyself in Trembling and Loathing to the Guardians of the Towers of the North, East, South and West and Present to them the holy scroll of the High Priestess: TICKET

VIII. Pass ye surely through the Elemental Detector and its “Ever Alert” guardians of Thy Safety (But not Thy Rights)

IX. Wait Until the Stars show, the wind blows and the new grass grows

X. When your Gryphon of Metal arriveth (and, ha, craven fool, it arriveth not when ye expect but only upon the winged beast’s good and fickle pleasure), board it and fly away.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for August 2 – ‘Pear Blossom’

According to Feng Shui there are auspicious places and optimal times to align flower energies with our own in order to bring a bloom and some growth into our lives. In August the pear blossom acts as a bridge to heaven luck, and it is believed to have a language all its own. In fact, the language of flowers, also called floriography, was often used (especially during the Victorian era) as a means of communications that would allow individuals to express emotions and feelings that might have otherwise gone unspoken. The pear blossom is believed to bring lasting friendship and they’ve been referenced in Eastern poetry as a symbol of hope and longevity. The pear blossom is a flower of the pear tree, long a traditional Chinese symbol of long life and so it’s said that to partake of a pear with this intent in mind will keep you sharp and intact for years to come!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com