A warning from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): CPSC and EB Brands have recalled three million fitness balls made in China after reports they can pop unexpectedly if they are overinflated, even though the balls say they are burst-resistant. The recall includes balls from Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, Valeo and Body Fit Fitness Balls.

This is being referred to as a “recall,” but EB Brands won’t actually be taking the balls back unless they have burst. And the balls will remain in stores.

The CPSC says 47 people have reported that the fitness balls have burst. Injuries include a fracture and multiple bruises.

If you have one of these balls, the CPSC says you should contact EB Brands to get a copy of the updated instructions on how to safely inflate it.

For more information, call EB Brands at (800) 624-5671 or go to EBbrands.com.

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The Food and Drug Administration is warning Americans to avoid cookies, crackers, ice cream and other foods that have peanut butter in the ingredients until it can determine how widespread the salmonella outbreak is across the country.

The FDA now says dozens of products made with peanut butter may be contaminated with salmonella. The warning does not include peanut butter jars sold in retail stores.

Officials found salmonella contamination in peanut butter and peanut paste made at Peanut Corporation of America’s plant in Blakely, Georgia which ships peanut products to 85 food companies. But a direct link has not yet been found to the strain that has now made 474 people sick and may have caused six deaths.

Kellogg Company expanded its recall and now includes Austin and Keebler peanut butter snacks and some Famous Amos and Keebler Soft Batch cookies.

And today, McKee Foods Corporation recalled its Little Debbie Peanut Butter Toasty sandwich crackers and Little Debbie Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers.

The FDA says to throw away any recalled products. It has a complete list here.

All the illnesses began between September 8, 2008 and January 2, 2009. Below is a map from the CDC showing the spread of the outbreak across the U.S.

The death rate is high compared to last summer’s outbreak in tomatoes and jalapenos. The CDC says the outbreak strain – salmonella typhimurium – is not especially poisonous, but the peanut butter was  distributed to schools, hospitals and nursing homes. Salmonella is especially dangerous to the very old and the very young.

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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More Chinese candy contaminated with melamine is showing up in the U.S. – White Rabbit Creamy Candy was found at two stores in New Haven, Connecticut. Tests found traces of the industrial additive, melamine.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put out a warning about White Rabbit candy. The candy was distributed in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The American distributor has ordered a recall, but some of the candy may still be in stores.

The FDA is also warning that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products are being recalled by the Taiwanese company, King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd., because they may contaminated with melamine.

Melamine was first found in powdered infant formula made in China but has now been popping up in dozens of other products. More than 50,000 children in China have gotten sick from formula or other products containing melamine. Four babies have died.

Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.

I wonder what products we’ll see it in next.

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It’s in chocolate, too. The disturbing and frightening melamine mess has made its way to candy bars. British candy maker Cadbury just recalled chocolate made in its Beijing factory after tests show it contains melamine, the industrial chemical that has made tens of thousands of Chinese children sick.

The recalled products were sold in parts of Asia and the Pacific and include Cadbury Dark Chocette, Cadbury Eclairs, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate and Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate.

Cadbury’s chocolates sold in the United States were not affected, a spokesman for Hershey’s – Cadbury’s U.S. distributor – tells the Associated Press.

Kraft Foods and Mars Next?
Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency says tests have found melamine in some products distributed nationwide, including M&Ms, Snickers bars and Oreos.

Kraft Foods, the maker of Oreo cookies, and Mars, the maker of M&Ms and Snickers, say they will comply with an Indonesian recall but plan to do their own tests and look into the possibility the tainted products were counterfeits.

Melamine Mess

Melamine was first found in powdered infant formula made in China, but has now been popping up in dozens of other products. More than 50,000 children in China have gotten sick from formula or other products containing melamine. Four babies have died.

Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.

It’s the same chemical from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.

So, is your food safe from melamine? Check out this very thorough and entertaining take on the melamine mess over at Healthhabits.

I hope the next headlines don’t say melamine is in food here in the U.S.

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I’ve written about energy drinks a couple of times already here at FFTV. You can see the results of a  Consumer Reports test on 12 of these caffeine-filled beverages over here. And just last month, I mentioned a new study that finds just one can of Red Bull may increase the risk of heart damage. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say some energy drinks are so packed with caffeine they should carry prominent warning labels. Their study found some energy drinks had up to 14 times the caffeine as a can of cola, or the same as seven cups of strong coffee. Yikes! I agree they should come with warnings. What do you think?

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