Food / Product Safety

CFC's Richard Holober talks with Michael Finney about the chemical flame retardant deception and the Chicago Tribune's recent investigative bombshell.

"An obsolete CA. regulation...de facto forces companies to use toxic chemicals in their products..." comments Richard Holober of Consumer Federation of California.

...Carfax data are limited and questionable given the company reveals few details about its gathering due to proprietary rights. Others opposed include...the Consumer Federation of California and Consumer Watchdog.

Like other interest groups - such as gun owners, property rights advocates and environmentalists - the Consumer Federation of California tracks legislation that affects its particular concerns.

Pan authored AB 688 with the support of the Consumer Federation of California. The bill stated that any store selling expired baby food, formula or over-the-counter medication would be fined up to $10 a day for each item sold.

This bill had extensive support from disparate groups throughout the state, including MADD, Consumer Federation of California, California Police Chiefs, Alcohol Justice, California's Police Officers (PORAC), California Professional Firefighters, California Council on Alcohol Problems, California Narcotic Officers Association and many of the states religious leaders.

California Governor Jerry Brown finally signed a bill to ban alcohol sales through self-serve checkout machines in California.

Stores in California could soon have to keep a much closer watch on the expiration date of products if the governor signs a bill increasing fines for retailers who offer past due items for sale.

Today, for example, Assemblyman Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) summoned the Consumer Federation of California, the California Alliance of Retired Persons, and other groups to the Capitol to express support for a bill that would prevent stores from selling out-of-date baby formula and medications, like aspirin.

Outdated baby food and formula and expired over-the-counter medications could soon be pulled from store shelves if Gov. Brown signs a bill to make these items illegal.

There actually isn't a law that requires stores to make sure that doesn't happen. And grocer and retail groups believe one isn't necessary. They say existing enforcement efforts already work - and stores allow refunds or exchanges for expired products.

The Consumer Federation of California, sponsor of AB 688, will discuss major investigations by then-Attorney General Jerry Brown's office, News 10 San Diego and others that found major retailers throughout California have been selling these expired products.

A broad alliance of supporters for AB 183 includes MADD, Consumer Federation of California, California Council on Alcohol Problems (CalCap), Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California, California Police Chiefs, Alcohol Justice, California Narcotic Officers Association, Metro United Methodist Urban Ministry, California's Police Officers (PORAC), California Professional Firefighters, and other organizations throughout the state.

SB 869 - authored by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco - would create a new crime with a penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or one year in prison for an automotive repair dealer who purports to replace a deployed airbag but who in fact fails to fully repair and restore it.

In addition to the Center for Auto Safety, SB 869 is supported by Certified Automotive Parts Association, Consumer Federation of California, Consumers Union, Trauma Foundation, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, among others.

Last year, a bill that would've outlawed selling expired baby food and formula in California passed the state Legislature, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who argued that current laws were sufficient. Holober said the amount of expired food and formula that the I-Team found for sale shows that the current law is not sufficient.

The bill, SB 1237, would require hospitals and clinics to record radiation dose of CT scans. The bill would also require CT services to be accredited by an organization approved by CMS and calls for facilities to report any overdose to the patient, treating physician, and California Department of Public Health.

...nearly 50 environmental, public health, consumer and worker safety advocates from every region of California have written to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and to Cal-EPA Secretary Linda Adams, saying the draft regulations issued last month "fall far short of meeting the worthy goals of the Initiative."

...it is the big oil, drug and insurance groups who have the most to gain by smearing someone backed by environmentalists, medical attorneys and consumer protection groups and defeating Betsy Butler.

"At the end of the day, there's no reason why patients who get sample drugs at a doctor's office should be less informed than if they filled a prescription at any licensed pharmacy," said Richard Holober, Executive Director of CFC.

Consumer Federation of California explains: If you believed a certain baby formula would make your child smarter, would you buy it? Infant formula manufacturers are banking that you would.

Joining the CPTC to file the lawsuit was a diverse coalition of groups: the Center for Environmental Health, the Consumer Federation of California, the Planning and Conservation League, California Professional Firefighters and Sierra Club California.

The service workers contend that toxic chemicals used in cleaning supplies are environmental and health hazards. The SEIU is pushing hard on this issue in California, where the state government is perceived to be among the most responsive to green issues.

Legislation introduced by California State Senator Fran Pavley controls exposure to toxic chemicals. Sponsored by Service Employees International Union and the Consumer Federation of California, the bill would require environmental health regulators to assess health risks associated with the use of commercial cleaning products in supermarkets.

The law, sponsored by the Consumer Federation of California, prohibits retailers from selling baby formula, baby food or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals after the "use by" date, a news release from the organization states.

"40 percent of the Rite-Aid stories in California today are selling expired over-the-counter medicine, baby food and infant formula," said Richard Holober, Consumer Federation of California.

Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California gave a status update on SB 772 (Leno, D-San Francisco) which seeks to protect children from toxic baby products.

A bill pulled from the state Senate last week leaves the door open for shoppers to continue buying alcohol at self-checkout lanes in grocery stores. AB 1060, which would have banned the practice...(and) was supported by the Consumer Federation of California.

AB 1060 was seeking to ban grocery stores from permitting shoppers from purchasing alcoholic beverages in the self-checkout lanes now popular at many stores. The bill was supported by...the Consumer Federation of California.

Senate Bill 772...would give manufacturers the option of forgoing toxic fire retardants, and give consumers the opportunity to purchase chemical-free furniture for their kids...But lobbying efforts by the chemical industry last week extinguished the bill—at least for the rest of this year.

Banning chemicals is hard to do. Richard Holober of the Consumer Federation of California says that the petrochemical industry will slightly alter a banned chemical, "sort of chasing one version after another."

CFC's Zack Kaldveer discusses why the elimination of OEHHA would cost Californians far more than it would save through increases in public health services dedicated to the treatment of illnesses that would have been prevented.

The bill is...supported by the California League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Planned Parenthood, Consumers Union, and Consumer Federation of California...

Consumer Federation of California reported last week on a new finding that BPA is linked to heart disease in women. Allayaud said the concern is especially great for pregnant women and nursing mothers...

One Wednesday, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee voted 3-2 along party lines in favor of an alternative plan to save the OEHHA by tapping other funds. Committee staff will now begin drafting a trailer bill to put the plan into legislation.

"Retailers either have to remove the product from their shelves or post a notice that its recalled and program their computers, their cash registers, not to allow someone to purchase that product," said Richard Holober from the Consumer Federation of California.

...a controversial bill...would require chain restaurants in the state, including quick-serves, to post nutritional information on menu boards and printed menus..."There's a health epidemic in this country, and people deserve to know what they are putting in their bodies." says Zack Kaldveer, a spokesman for CFC.