FDA Recognizes Salt As Generally ‘Safe’; Advocacy Group Wants That Status Removed
In other public health news, researchers find that intense early intervention can lead to recovery for people diagnosed with schizophrenia.
McClatchy:
Consumer Group Sues FDA For Inaction On Salt
A prominent consumer advocacy group sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday for failing to regulate the amount of salt in the nation’s food supply.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest wants the FDA to act on the group’s 10-year-old petition to lift salt’s status as “generally recognized as safe.” Doing so would reclassify salt as a food additive, which subjects it to more stringent regulation, like limits on the amounts allowed in processed foods. The legal action is the latest chapter in the group’s decades-long efforts to combat excessive sodium consumption. Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, kidney failure and stroke. (Pugh, 10/8)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Intense Early Intervention For Schizophrenia Leads To Recovery
When the Places for People outreach team found Chandra Thirdkill, she was about 40 years old and had been homeless for two years. Her struggles, however, began as a teen. Everyone looked at her like she was ugly, she thought. No one liked her. She constantly got into fights. Thirdkill dropped out of high school, turned to alcohol and drugs, and was in and out of jail as the fights grew to involve dishes, knives and bricks. Shooting and injuring her then-husband landed her in prison for three years. That's when she was finally diagnosed with schizophrenia. (Munz, 10/8)
