The House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee temporarily postponed a bill that seeks to introduce warning labels on food products that contain synthetic dyes.

Lake Clarke Shores Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich filed the measure (HB 641). She detailed how the health of Floridians, particularly children, are negatively impacted from ingredients that are added into food and drinks.

“Basically, my bill just requires warning labels in the front of food packages and drink packages that have synthetic dyes,” Tendrich explained. “This bill is about protecting consumers, especially our children, by requiring the warning labels. This is about awareness, transparency and, most importantly, public health.”

Tendrich noted that over 100,000 children in Florida had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to state statistics.

“Let’s talk about Florida’s children. According to the Florida Department of Health in 2022, about 13.6% of children ages 3 to 17 in Florida have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. That’s 3.1% higher than the national average of the United States,” Tendrich said.

“That 3.1% is actually equivalent to 130,000 children. … That’s 571 children actively diagnosed with ADHD, and one of the health outcomes from the synthetic dyes is behavior and neurological problems for kids, which includes ADHD and poor concentration and behavior.”

Stuart Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf asked what the costs would be associated with the bill, and whether Tendrich had made concessions to accommodate them.

Tendrich explained that the proposed legislation differs from other states aiming to completely ban food dyes and additives by focusing on less costly labeling requirements. Unlike the more expensive food policies being enacted in over 30 states, the bill includes a one-year delay before taking effect and allows additional years to implement a sticker option.

In January, the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of erythrosine, FD&C Red No. 3, or Red 3. The dye was removed from the list of approved color additives used in food, oral medicines and supplements. It was removed for use from cosmetics over 30 years ago due to lab tests showing the dye caused cancer in rats after they consumed it.

“If there’s any additional cost, it’s such a minute cost, but the actual biggest cost is the cost of our health care system, which if we don’t take this change is actually costing our health care system even more,” Tendrich noted.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would be responsible for enforcing the food labeling if adopted into law. Tendrich said that currently the Department inspects food manufacturers every two years and pointed out that the Department would be able to include the new measure into current practice.

Tendrich stated that manufacturers would also be responsible for adding the appropriate labeling, regardless of where the food is manufactured to take the burden off small-business owners.

A title amendment was adopted Wednesday, which, according to House rules, left the committee unable to vote on it. The bill was temporarily postponed and could be heard again as early as next week.

Post Views: 0

As a law enforcement officer, I spent my career protecting the public from various threats. Today, I feel compelled to address a growing danger many may not be aware of: the risks associated with compounded medicines.

While these drugs can serve important medical needs, they also pose significant dangers, including the potential for exposing the public to counterfeit medicines or counterfeit ingredients used to make compounded medicines.

Moreover, I heard that some in Congress want to allow Medicare to cover compounded medicines. Quite frankly, this is a terrible idea because it would exacerbate these risks, ultimately jeopardizing patient safety.

Compounded medicines are custom-made drugs prepared by compounding pharmacists to meet the specific needs of individual patients.

These medications are not FDA-approved, meaning they do not undergo the rigorous testing for safety, effectiveness, and quality that brand-name drugs do. While compounding can be beneficial for patients with unique needs like allergies, it also opens the door to significant risks to patient safety.

Due to the lack of oversight, poorly compounded medicines have resulted in severe adverse reactions and even death of patients. These non-FDA-approved drugs put patients at risk of contamination from unsanitary conditions, incorrect dosages, and substandard ingredients. Unfortunately, we saw this tragically play out in 2012 when a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections from a compounding pharmacy caused more than 60 deaths and hundreds of illnesses.

And in 2019, patients suffered eye injuries from non-sterile compounded eye injections made in a Florida outsourcing facility.

The lack of regulation and oversight also creates opportunities for counterfeit medicines to enter the market. Counterfeit drugs, which can be harmful or deadly, may contain incorrect ingredients, improper dosages, or harmful substances. The FDA has issued numerous warnings about counterfeit and poorly compounded drugs, including those for popular medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide.

We have seen for years the toll counterfeit opioid pills made with fentanyl have had on our communities. Opening the door to more counterfeit drugs in our communities is not the answer.

I witnessed the devastating effects of counterfeit drugs throughout my years in law enforcement. During my tenure, I was involved in several investigations to seize counterfeit drugs manufactured in unsanitary conditions and distributed through illegal channels run by organized crime syndicates that are driven solely by profits with no regard for the public’s health and safety.

Patients who unknowingly received these counterfeit drugs experienced treatment failures, adverse reactions, or worsening medical conditions.

The proliferation of counterfeit drugs undermines trust in the healthcare system and puts countless lives at risk. Allowing Medicare to cover compounded medicines may seem like a way to increase access to treatments, but it would have unintended consequences.

By covering compounded drugs, Medicare would effectively endorse treatments that lack FDA approval and oversight, which could increase Florida seniors’ exposure to counterfeit, substandard or adulterated compounded drugs.

Furthermore, expanding Medicare coverage could strain the already limited resources of regulatory agencies like the FDA. With more compounded medicines on the market, the FDA would face greater challenges in monitoring and ensuring the safety of these drugs. This could result in more cases of contamination, incorrect dosages, and counterfeit medications slipping through the cracks.

Maintaining strict oversight of compounded medicines is crucial to protecting patient safety. Regulatory agencies must have the resources and authority to enforce high standards for compounding practices. Additionally, healthcare providers and patients should be educated about the risks associated with compounded drugs and encouraged to use FDA-approved drugs whenever possible.

While compounded medicines can serve important medical needs, they also pose significant threats we cannot ignore. Expanding Medicare coverage of compounded medicines would only exacerbate these dangers, putting patient safety at greater risk. As a retired law enforcement officer, I urge policymakers to prioritize patient safety and maintain strict oversight of compounded medicines. Our health and lives depend on it.

___

Mark Baughman is a 35-year law enforcement veteran whose career in Florida included serving in the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Post Views: 0

House candidate Brian Hodgers sent out an email blast saying political opponents fabricated his arrest record. “I was NEVER ARRESTED,” Hodgers wrote.

But he admitted in an application for a Florida real estate license that he once pleaded no contest to selling a minor a beer.

Hodgers is one of three candidates running in the Republican Primary in a House District 32 Special Election to replace outgoing Rep. Debbie Mayfield.

He fired out the email blast after appearing in a Florida Today forum in which opponent Terry Cronin said, “I’m the only candidate who doesn’t have a criminal record.” Hodgers also alludes in letters to paid attacks from “one of our opponents and his liberal allies” that attempt to “frame me as having a criminal past.”

“On the issue of the criminal past, my father and I owned a gas station together about 30 years ago,” Hodgers wrote. “One of our clerks was cited for selling beer to an underage adult, and our business had to pay a fine. I was NEVER ARRESTED. My opponent is making things up and using a falsified document to suggest that I was arrested.”

But a LexisNexis search shows court records indicating that he was cited in May 1996 and required to appear in court on a second-degree misdemeanor. The document indicated he pled “nolo contendere” and adjudication was ultimately withheld. The document lists a sentence of two days in jail.

A license application with the Department of Business and Professional Regulations reveals further details. A portion of that form asks if applicants have ever been convicted of a crime, been found guilty or pleaded no contest. Hodgers marked “Yes.”

He also lays out a more detailed narrative explaining the crime, and acknowledging that the clerk cited was himself.

“I also realize that my application may be held up due to a misdemeanor offense in which I received adjudification with held for selling an alcoholic beverage to an underage minor while working for a gas station convenience store in 1996,” Hodgers wrote in the application.

In the candidate forum, Hodgers said there was no record of him being arrested with Broward County, which does not publish records on its website dating back to 1996. He said Cronin had “embellished” a minor offense. He again said that he and his father owned multiple gas stations, and he again blamed someone else for the offense.

“We had a clerk who was caught up in, I guess what you would call a sting operation where they brought in an underage person and they sold a beer to this underage person. And I, as the business owner, received a citation,” Hodgers said. He denied ever spending “days in jail.”

But that differs significantly from the account he hand-wrote in the state application for his license. There, he made clear he was the one who made the sale.

“As a cashier at a gas station, I mistakenly sold a can of beer to a underage minor,” he wrote. “I paid court costs and adjudification was witheld.”

The application also includes further written explanation about the incident, including that a Judge had informed him the sting was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and that the incident was a “lesson to be learned” but “should not show up on my record.” “I have never been in any kind of trouble and have a clean record except for this one instance,” Hodgers wrote.

The LexisNexis document shows the court costs amounted to only $45. Hodgers was 23 at the time of the offense.

FL DBPR – License – Hodgers[29] by Jacob Ogles on Scribd

Post Views: 0