Buuuut the free market will sort it out!
/SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
More on this subject, and yes, of course, it gets worse.
The cases identified so far were in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
BUT:
Given that at least one of the recalled products (WanaBana) was sold nationally and through multiple retailers, including Amazon and Dollar Tree, itâs likely that there are more cases in more states.
This just pisses me off
Schnucks, maker of one of the recalled purees, said it linked the lead contamination in its product to âthe cinnamon raw materialâ used in their applesauce cinnamon pouches.
I had read in the last go 'round about something called âred leadâ ( Lead(II,IV) oxide - Wikipedia) being used to adulterate cinnamon in a cost cutting move. Surely not, said I. This makes me rethink that. But yeah, regulation of business is wrong. Just let the kids die.
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Was it this, in 2020 when a mystery illness broke out in 
? Not cost cutting per se, just âproduct enhancementâ. 
Given that the source company, Austro Foods is based (in part?) in Singapore, a supply chain connection to India wouldnât be surprising.
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Something in that article caught my eye: weâre just supposed to throw that in the garbage? I mean, itâs full of lead⌠shouldnât we take it some kind of toxic waste disposal center to get rid of it? Like maybe with our batteries or something?
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Yes, I guess so. From my end, the primary directive is:
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DO NOT FEED THIS TO YOUR BABY!!!
What happens to it after I am truly not sure. I have not seen any advice about hazardous waste protocols. But you are right, this shit has a boatload of lead in it.
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Mouse study but seems rigorous. Also jives with the fairly new idea that sperm from older individuals contribute to fetal anomalies too. Not just the age of the pregnant person.
X-posted to misogyny
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Somewhat related:
Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Mississippi and Alabama are among the states with the highest infant mortality rate. Those states each had an infant mortality rate of at least 7 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to the national average of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Now, what would these states have in common that would make them outliers in this? hmmmm, it is a mysteryâŚ
(Just for clarification, 7/1000 places these states as better than North Macedonia (7.16/1000) but worse than Lebanon (6.88/1000). The national rate places us between Romania (5.65/1000) and Bosnia Herzegovina (5.1/1000). Nothing to be proud of, in either instance. And with a major party determined to make it worse, I suspect improvement is no in the offing.)
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OK, so I knew this was (generally) a thing, & that one should get up from the chair once in a while anyway, but didnât know it actually had a name:
Unfortunately, the fact that Iâm spending time here posting this doesnât make it any better 
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OK, so I should have already known about this one, but I am general pediatrician, not in a tertiary care center, and CF is not very common here. Nonetheless,
The key parts:
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators have drastically improved outcomes for many people with cystic fibrosis (CF), including improved lung function and increased life expectancy by targeting the defective CFTR protein.1
Only a small percentage of people with CF worldwide have access to these disease-altering CFTR modulators due to Vertex not allowing the development of generic forms or lowering pricing for lower-income or middle-income countries (LMICs), as done by other pharmaceutical companies for HIV, Hepatitis C, and Covid-19 medications.4
CFTR modulators are some of the most expensive drugs in the market, priced by Vertex at over $300,000 a year or over $25,000 a month. This has resulted in Vertex reporting $8,900,000,000 in profit in the past year.5
tl;dr: Vertex Pharma developed a drug that makes CF survivable. It then priced it at $300k/year, squashed efforts to make lower priced alternatives for poorer countries, altered their price support program to shaft consumers, and cleared $8.9 BILLION in profits over the last year. Once more for the cheap seats:
PROFIT MOTIVE HAS NO PLACE IN HEALTH CARE!!!
Iâm going to add a tag-on bit of âjust so you knowâ to this one.
The CFTR modulator discussed here targets a specific genetic mutation, F508del which is a very common cause of CF in non-Hispanic white folks. What is not discussed is that neonatal screening for CF is a 2-stage process, first looking for a compound called immunoreactive trypsinogen, and if that is found to be elevated, looks for mutations associated with CF. If it finds none, it is reported out as likely false positive. 50% of Blacks in the US with CF have mutations that are not tested for. This results in delays in diagnosis and management as well as poorer outcomes. Add in that these folks have no effective CFTR modifiers to turn to. Because there is no profit in it, there are too few of them. And I have probably ranted long enough on this. But DAMN!! it is frustrating.
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⌠READING GLASSES, PEOPLE
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Meanwhile, multiple pre-cut cantaloupe and fruit cup products have been recalled so far, including those sold at Kwik Trip, Bix Produce, Aldi, Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Trader Joeâs. Brands of recalled pre-cut fruit include Freshness Guaranteed, RaceTrac, and Vinyard.
This looks worse than it is, due to elderly and very young being more likely to be exposed, but bad enough. Be very careful!
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I hate to revisit this, but just holy shitâŚ
The agency said health officials in Ecuador found that cinnamon from Austrofoodâs supplier had higher levels of lead than the country allows. The company, Negasmart, is facing sanctions while officials there track down the source of the cinnamon, the FDA reported Tuesday.
Negasmart. Nominative determinism at work again. Seriously, though, fuck anyone who thinks adulterating food intended for babies to increase profits is a good idea.
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Some of you know about my wife having a heart attack a couple weeks ago. The experience really brought home to me how differently women experience cardiac pain from men. This article goes through another womanâs experience, which sounds very familiar, except in my wifeâs case, she ignored it worsening for over 3 weeks before she found herself on the floor. Pay attention to yourself, and to those you love.
A more scholarly review:
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Hep A in homeless populations is not that unusual due to substandard hygiene access, but itâs still worth paying attention to outbreaks, because it is very easy for it to enter the broader populace. We do vaccinate for it now, but most adults are too old to have gotten that vaccine.
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Doesnât Twinrix cover HepA and HepB? As I recall, anyone of any age can take that vaccine course. At $30 over 6 months it seems worth it (but Iâm in Canada, no idea how much it costs stateside).
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