Go Beyond Claims To Stay Safe

Germs and bacteria are the enemy when it comes to staying healthy, so we all wash our hands. If you work in a public office setting, hand washing is frequent and part of the daily routine.
Some offices even take it a step further by installing hand sanitizers and providing antiseptic products – and some of these may come with claims that they can prevent MRSA infections.

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security because such statements are unproven, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a bacterium that can cause severe – even life-threatening – infections that do not respond to standard treatment with the antibiotic methicillin.

“Staphylococcus aureus itself is a very aggressive organism,” says Dr. Edward Cox, director of FDA’s Office of Antimicrobial Products.

“It’s often associated with patients in hospitals who have weakened immune systems, but the bacterium can also cause significant skin infections and abscesses in a normal, healthy person,” Cox says.

“And it can get into the bloodstream and, less frequently, may involve the heart valve, which is very difficult to treat.”

But this antibiotic-resistant strain is even more difficult to treat. “With MRSA, a number of the antibiotic drugs we typically used often don’t work, so we lose treatment options we used to rely upon,” Cox says.

Crackdown On Claims

FDA is cracking down on companies that break federal law by promoting their products as preventing MRSA infections and other diseases without agency review and approval.

“Consumers are being misled if they think these products you can buy in a drug store or from other places will protect them from a potentially deadly infection,” says Deborah Autor, compliance director at FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Examples of unproven claims found on product labels are:

•Kills over 99.9% of MRSA

•Helps prevent skin infections caused by MRSA and other germs

•Effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including MRSA

One company claims that its hand sanitizing lotion prevents infection from the bacterium E. coli and the H1N1 flu virus. And another firm claims its “patented formulation of essential plant oils” kills the bacterium Salmonella. These claims are also unproven and, therefore, illegal.

“FDA has not approved any products claiming to prevent infection from MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella, or H1N1 flu, which a consumer can just walk into a store and buy,” says Autor. “These products give consumers a false sense of protection.”

Advice For Consumers

•Don’t buy over-the-counter hand sanitizers or other products that claim to prevent infection from MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella, flu, or other bacteria or viruses.

•Ask your pharmacist or other health care professional for help in distinguishing between reliable and questionable information on product labels and company websites.

•In general, wash hands often, especially before handling food, to help avoid getting sick.

•Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds. For children, this means the time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.

Staying Safe Strategy

WMB believes the key to keeping yourself safe and protected is getting quality information from reliable sources, especially FDA. Carefully read all product labels and check all claims.

Never take anything at face value, no matter how legitimate it looks. Don’t let fear get in the way of common sense when it comes evaluating products for your personal protection.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Ken Cocuzzo

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing for FREE (link in right sidebar) and sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or your favorite social network. Thank you!

Food Safety Deputies Needed

Ever wonder about the safety of the food served at your local diner or favorite restaurant? Ever worry about the products you buy at the supermarket, or the food prepared at your child’s school?

Chances are any or all of the above has left you concerned, even fearful, since there have been growing reports in recent years of food-borne illnesses from tainted produce, consumer items and prepared meals.

But consumers have allies in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and more than 3,000 state, local, territorial, and tribal agencies which work together to help keep retail food safe throughout America.

The agencies regulate more than 1 million retail food establishments, ranging from restaurants and grocery stores, to caterers and coffee shops, school and hospital cafeterias, and vending machines and mobile food trucks. They also regulate food facilities at temporary events such as state and county fairs.


State, local, territorial, and tribal agencies have the main responsibility for inspecting and licensing food establishments and enforcing regulations. Working closely with these agencies is the National Retail Food Team, which includes FDA food safety experts, trainers, and retail food specialists.

U.S. System of Safeguards

The FDA Food Code is a system of safeguards for retail food establishments to use to ensure consumers are served or sold food that is safe to eat. It includes standards for cooking times and temperatures, refrigeration temperatures, and storage requirements for many kinds of foods.

“All the rules we tell the public to follow — washing hands and food preparation surfaces, separating foods to prevent cross-contamination, cooking to proper temperatures, and refrigerating promptly — are in the code,” says Kevin Smith, director of FDA’s Retail Food and Cooperative Programs Coordination Staff in College Park, Md.

FDA develops, updates, and promotes the Food Code as a model for state and local agencies to adopt and use in regulating retail food establishments in their jurisdictions.

Guidance, Training and Enforcement

While state and local agencies have the authority to pass or fail a restaurant after inspection, remove unsafe products from store shelves, and arrest and fine violators, FDA provides the guidance and training they need to protect food in their jurisdictions.

“Training is a big part of the retail food specialist’s job,” says Capt. Cynthia Kunkel, an FDA regional food specialist in Lenexa, Kan. FDA’s two dozen retail food specialists work within five geographic regions covering the entire United States, with each specialist responsible for a group of states in that region.

A key part of the process is a combination of training and “standardization,” a field exercise involving six to eight inspections with a standard and a candidate. If the candidate successfully completes the exercise, he or she becomes certified as an FDA Standardized Food Safety Inspection Officer.

At FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in College Park, Md., a standardizing official tests agency retail food specialists. Once qualified, these specialists return home to standardize state officials, who, in turn, standardize county and local inspectors.

Any retail establishment with a kitchen may be subject to an inspection by a Standardized Food Safety Inspection Officer. FDA retail food specialist Larry Edwards in Falls Church, Va., standardized the officer who works in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, inspecting the many kitchens which serve Congress, its employees, and the millions of people who visit the federal building.

“Whether the kitchens serve pizza, fast foods, or sit-down dinners for Congress — they are all inspected by people standardized by FDA,” says Edwards.

In the summer of 2009, FDA collaborated with the Illinois Department of Public Health to curb an outbreak of hepatitis A. This liver-damaging viral infection can be spread by consuming food or drinks handled by an infected person.


In this case, two infected employees at a fast food restaurant in Milan, Ill., handled food served to the public. The infection spread to 34 other people, including 14 who needed to be hospitalized.

Jayne Nosari, a food program manager in the Illinois Department of Public Health, says FDA helped guide the state on hepatitis A control measures during the outbreak and gave provided a six-step disinfection process designed for hepatitis A virus cleaning and sanitizing.

The state and county health departments then worked together to carry out the disinfection, allowing the restaurant to reopen after a three-day closure.

Emerging Problems Addressed

FDA’s food safety experts identify research needed to address emerging food safety concerns, and often work cooperatively with other federal agencies to conduct the research.

For example, FDA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study practices for cooling foods in school cafeterias and to develop educational materials that highlight the most effective methods. “Without rapid cooling, bacteria can grow in foods and cause food-borne illness,” says FDA’s Smith.

Food Deputies Needed

We at WMB believe food safety requires a partnership between the FDA, agencies and the public. While the FDA handles the training and enforcement aspects, it’s up to the public as educated consumers to serve as watchdogs by paying attention to details, especially when it comes to lawbreakers.

When you visit a diner, for example, see how the staff prepares and serves food, especially if the kitchen area is open to public view. Do they wear rubber gloves when handling food… are their uniforms clean … do they keep their long hair contained?

At the grocery store, check the expiration dates on everything, from canned items to meat products. If a can is dented or package appears a bit off, do not purchase it. As a courtesy to others, report any out of date or damaged stock to management.

As for schools, ask your kids about the food and get clued in to what the cafeteria routine is on a daily basis. While districts have standards for food workers, ask if random inspections are performed. If so, ask to see written reports – public tax dollars for schools means you have to right to review this information.

Finally, when it comes to food safety, WMB believes the best defense is a good offense. Don’t leave things to chance: Be an advocate for yourself and others!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. Please share this post with family, friends and colleagues.