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FDA issues rules on fruits, vegetables

By TIMES WIRES
Published March 13, 2007

WASHINGTON

IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT MORE ILLNESSES FROM BACTERIA-TAINTED PRODUCE, THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ON MONDAY ANNOUNCED VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES FOR PROCESSORS OF PREPACKAGED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, THE FASTEST-GROWING SECTOR OF THE PRODUCE INDUSTRY. THE LIST OF STEPS TO MINIMIZE THE SPREAD OF BACTERIA INCLUDES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WASHING THE PRODUCE MULTIPLE TIMES, COLD STORAGE, REGULAR WATER TESTING AND MONITORING EMPLOYEES FOR SIGNS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE. BUT CRITICS IN CONGRESS AND AT CONSUMER GROUPS SAY VOLUNTARY IS NOT ENOUGH.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

Merck loses suit over Vioxx

Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx contributed to an Idaho postal worker's heart attack, a jury in Atlantic City ruled Monday, reversing the verdict in the man's first trial and hitting Merck with $47.5-million in damages. The jurors awarded the man and his wife $20-million in compensatory damages and $27.5-million in punitive damages. The verdict in the case of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 61, of Boise, who was granted a second trial in light of new evidence, means Merck has won nine cases and lost five in the litigation over its former blockbuster arthritis pill.

PALM SPRINGS, CALIF.

Ex-President Bush okay after fainting

Former President George Bush was treated at a California hospital for dehydration and released Monday after collapsing during a golf outing in Palm Springs. Jean Becker, Bush's chief of staff, said Bush, 82, fainted while playing golf with friends Sunday in 94-degree heat. "He's fine, he really is fine," Becker said. "He became dehydrated, and he had a fainting spell. He came to right away, but as a precaution, they took him to the hospital and then - much to his dismay - as a precaution, they held him overnight."

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

Woman arrested in kidnapping

A woman accused of snatching a newborn from a hospital in the middle of the night and hiding her 100 miles away in New Mexico was being taken to Texas on Monday to face a kidnapping charge. Rayshaun Parson, 21, waived extradition and U.S. marshals expected to have her in Lubbock by evening, said District Attorney Matthew Chandler of Clovis, N.M.

Elsewhere

Washington: Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said Monday he would not enter the 2008 presidential race - for the time being, at least - so he could concentrate on domestic and global concerns, particularly helping end the Iraq war.

Albuquerque, N.M.: New Mexico is on the verge of becoming the second state after Texas to require sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. The state House approved the bill Sunday, and Gov. Bill Richardson will sign it, spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Monday. -Richardson signed a measure Monday that outlaws cockfighting in New Mexico, leaving Louisiana as the only state where the blood sport remains legal.

Chicago: Mary Smith, 43, whose given address is a homeless shelter, was charged Monday with arson and murder for allegedly setting a series of house fires near Wrigley Field, including one that killed four people.

[Last modified March 13, 2007, 00:47:29]