Featured Issue Briefs
The Battle on the Home Front: Jonathan Gadsden's Story
Marine Lance Corporal's story reflects the growing need for new antibiotics that can treat dangerous diseases, against which most drugs are useless. Read More
Facilitating Medical Device Innovation: De Novo Reform
The de novo process -- which requests lower-risk reclassification of medical devices and entry into the marketplace -- as it exists now is not achieving its purpose and has instead added unnecessary and time-consuming requirements. Read More
Food Products Recalled by FDA
Since President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act into law, at least 149 FDA-regulated food products have been recalled due to potential pathogenic contamination. Read More
More Issue Briefs
| Date | Issue Briefs | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2012 |
Businesses to FDA: End Overuse of Antibiotics in Food AnimalsSeveral business leaders, including the CEO of Chipotle, wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the FDA increase its efforts to curtail the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Mar 3, 2010 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Alternatives to Routine Antibiotic Use in Food AnimalsOn March 2, 2010, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill with Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch; Steve Ells, co-CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill; and other successful livestock producers and businesspeople who discussed how they sustain profitable ventures based on antibiotic-free meat production. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Dec 21, 2009 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Industrial Animal Farms and Worker Health and SafetyOn December 17, 2009, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in collaboration with Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Leading experts discussed the public health and sociological effects of industrial farm animal production for farm workers and rural communities. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| May 15, 2010 |
Capitol Hill Briefing: Reducing Antibiotic ResistanceOn May 5, 2010, Pew hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in collaboration with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Louise Slaughter, and Rep. Howard Berman. Panelists included an official from the World Health Organization, a veterinarian from Denmark's Technical University, the proprietor of a Danish hog farm and a scientist from Denmark's State Serum Institute. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| May 16, 2012 |
Case Studies: How Unsafe Drugs Can Reach PatientsThe following case studies illustrate breaches to the pharmaceutical supply chain—the route a drug travels from its raw material origins to the delivery of a finished medicine. These examples, all of which are discussed in Pew Health Group’s report After Heparin: Protecting Consumers from the Risks of Substandard and Counterfeit Drugs, demonstrate the different ways in which contaminated, fake, or otherwise unsafe medicine can reach patients, and underscore the need for reform. More info |
Drug Manufacturing and Distribution, Drug Safety |
| May 23, 2011 |
Changing the Menu in ChicagoIn an effort to improve the quality of foods served in its schools, CPS debuted new breakfast and lunch menus in the 2010-2011 school year which are now among the healthiest in the country. More info |
School Food |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
Charts Displaying Denmark's Decline in Antibiotic ResistanceThese charts summarize Denmark's decline in antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance, as well as the increase of livestock and poultry production after a ban on the nontheraputic use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in food production animals. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Nov 12, 2009 |
Children and Foodborne IllnessChildren are disproportionately affected by foodborne illness, a serious public health problem. Approximately half of the reported foodborne illnesses occur in children. Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that tens of millions of Americans fall ill, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands die from foodborne illnesses. More info |
Food Hazards |
| Mar 1, 2012 |
Clostridium difficile: Rapidly Emerging Bacteria that Flourish in the Face of AntibioticsNearly 45,000 Americans died from CDI between 1999 and 2009. More info |
Food Hazards |
| Jan 15, 2013 |
Comments on Stage 3 of the the Meaningful Use of Health Information TechnologyIn comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the American College of Cardiology and The Pew Charitable Trusts urge the ONC to incorporate medical device identifiers developed under the FDA’s unique device identification (UDI) system into both electronic health record (EHR) certification criteria and Stage 3 meaningful use (MU) objectives. More info |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Feb 5, 2013 |
Comments on the Health Information Technology Patient Safety Action and Surveillance PlanIn comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the American College of Cardiology, Consumers Union, the National Women's Health Network, the National Research Center for Women and Families, the Trust for America's Health, and The Pew Charitable Trusts urge the ONC to promote adoption of the unique device identification (UDI) system for medical devices to improve the safety of medical care. More info |
Drugs and Devices at the FDA |
| Apr 13, 2010 |
Comments Submitted to the Federal Reserve by the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project (Regulation Z, Reasonable and Proportional Penalty Charges and Other Rules Under the Credit CARD Act of 2009)The Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project submitted comments to the Federal Reserve Board regarding the Board’s proposed rules under Regulation Z (Docket No. R-1384). The rules cover “reasonable and proportional” penalty charges and other requirements under the Credit CARD Act of 2009. More info |
Credit Cards |
| Feb 17, 2012 |
Comments to CMS on Sunshine ImplementationPew’s main goals in commenting on the proposed rule are to ensure timely implementation and to promote the interest of full transparency by ensuring that data is collected, reported, and published in the most complete, consistent and accurate manner possible. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
| Feb 24, 2010 |
Comprehensive Fact Sheet: Denmark’s Ban on Growth Promoting Antibiotics in Food AnimalsIn human medicine, antibiotic use is generally confined to treatment of illness. In contrast, antibiotics and other antimicrobials (drugs that kill microorganisms like bacteria) often are routinely given to food animals in the U.S. in order to grow animals faster and to compensate for unsanitary conditions on many industrial farms. More info |
Antibiotics in Food Animal Production |
| Jun 16, 2008 |
Consumer Survey - Disclosure of Industry Payments to PhysiciansA majority of Americans say that it is important to know their physician’s financial ties to pharmaceutical companies and support legislation requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose gifts to doctors. More info |
Conflicts of Interest |
