Current Events in February 2013

BMW has issued a couple of recalls to rectify electrical and braking problems.

In the first, the automaker is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 1-Series coupes and convertibles manufactured December 2007 through July 2011; and 2007-2011 3-Series coupes and convertibles manufactured March 2007 through July 2011; 2007-2011 3-Series sedans manufactured March 2007 through October 2011; 2007-2011 3-Series sports wagons manufactured March 2007 through June 2011; and 2009-2011 Z4 vehicles manufactured March 2009 through June 2011.

The connector for the positive battery cable connector and the corresponding terminal on the fuse box may degrade over time. The resulting high current flow and heat from electrical resistance may lead to a breakage of the connection, and a loss of electrical power to the vehicle. If there is a loss of electrical power to the vehicle, the vehicle may unexpectedly stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the positive battery cable connector and secure it with an improved method, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2013.

The second recall involves certain model year 2007-2010 X5 SAV vehicles, manufactured September 12, 2006, through March 18, 2010 and equipped with an 8-cylinder engine.

The brake vacuum pump may leak a small amount of lubricating oil into the hose. The contamination could result in a loss of power assist braking.

The loss of power assist in braking could increase stopping distance and lead to a vehicle crash.

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake vacuum line with one that contains a check valve, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in February 2013.

For both recalls, owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or by email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

Congratulations! You're about to become a mother.

No doubt you're getting all kinds of advice about what you should do to ensure your baby is healthy. But what about those things you should not do?

Of course you want to avoid alcohol, tobacco and so-called “recreational” drugs. However, because pregnancy affects your immune system, you and your unborn baby are more susceptible to the bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause foodborne illness.

Even if you don’t feel sick, some “bugs” like Listeria and Toxoplasma can infect your baby and cause serious health problems. Your baby is also sensitive to toxins from the food that you eat, such as mercury in certain kinds of fish.

Here, from the President's Food Safety Working group, is a checklist to help you keep you and your unborn baby healthy and safe. Another piece of advice: Invest in a food thermometer to check the temperatures of cooked food.

Sometimes morning commutes can be all-out war and the battlefield is either the highway, the local roads or public transportation, and just to survive and make it to work on time, commuters will arm themselves with whatever they can to make the commute easier, whether it’s loud music to drown out the surroundings, a book or newspaper for public transportation or a nice morning drink to help calm the nerves.

And whether it’s a cup of coffee, an energizer drink or a smoothie, a nice early-morning beverage can be all that’s needed to get you into your workplace on time and ready to go.

Some folks will stop in at a convenience store for their beverage, others will go to a local drive through, but the easiest and most time-saving way to get your morning drink is to simply make it at home and bring it along with you.

The Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender for $14.99 on Amazon is supposed to be an easy way to blend smoothies, shakes or ice drinks with just one touch of a button, and it’s also supposed to blend everything in just a few seconds.

From there, the Hamilton is supposed to be easy to unscrew, so it can go from a blender to a travel cup pretty much instantaneously.

The blender makes beverages about 14 ounces in size, and is supposed to be faster and less messy than using a traditional sized blender, since you don’t have to transfer the contents into a separate cup.

The company says the Hamilton is also supposed to be all about convenience and speed, which are two things that every morning commuter needs, because fumbling around with a heavy kitchen appliance while you’re still half asleep just isn’t ideal.

Smoothly blended

I must say, it was more powerful than I anticipated, as it blended the ingredients of my banana smoothie in just a few seconds without the blades getting caught or slowing down.

After blending the smoothie for a few seconds, there were one or two ice-chips left behind, but I'm confident if I would have pressed the button for just a few more seconds, there wouldn't have been any ice chips at all.

In addition, the-one-touch-of-the-button aspect of the blender makes it very easy to use, since you don’t have to turn a knob to a specific speed or fumble around with multiple buttons -- you just have to add your contents, press the button slightly and then lift the container from its base so you can bring it along on your travels

The company says the container fits in most drink holders, so you don’t have to lug it around while you’re driving or leave it in the seat where it’ll probably spill.

The blades are made of stainless steel and the blender is small enough to store in your cupboard or leave on your countertop without taking up too much space.

Price is right

And although I liked the Hamilton upon first use, it’s obviously difficult to determine how durable the blades will be after extended use or how long the plastic container will hold up after many washes or after a lot of years of wear and tear.

I also found the container to be easy to lift off the base, as I didn’t have to struggle or keep twisting it to remove it. I barely used any force at all and the blender came off very easily.

But probably the best thing about the Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender is its price of $14.99 on Amazon, since it shouldn't break the bank. And even if it only lasts for a couple of years before it’s less powerful, I think it’s still a pretty good bargain.

However if you decide to pick up the blender in a department store like Target or Bed Bath & Beyond, it will probably run you a little bit more.

So the next time you want a new weapon in the battle of getting to work, the Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender should serve you pretty well. Now whether it stands the test of time after repeated use is another story entirely.

For years, pet owners have been complaining that their dogs became ill and, in many cases, died after eating jerky treats from China, many of them containing chicken. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been investigating but in a recent update, admitted that it has not found a definitive cause.

However, the agency noted that in the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in pet food imported from China, much of it containing chicken.

It turns out that Chinese consumers prefer dark meat, which leaves a lot of white chicken meat available for export. But Chinese chicken is not approved for human consumption in the U.S. because of concerns about bird flu and unsanitary conditions in Chinese factories, meaning all that white meat -- the very same meat deemed unfit for humans -- is available for use in pet food and treats.

By the FDA's count, the amount of pet food imported from China has grown 85-fold in recent years, with nearly 86 million pounds of pet food being imported in 2011.

"Pet treats, including jerky pet treats are currently considered the fastest growing segment in the pet food market," the FDA noted.

2,200 reports

The FDA says it has received about 2,200 reports of pets becoming ill or dying after eating jerky treats; 360 died. Most of those reports involved dogs, although a few cats have also become ill.

ConsumerAffairs receives a constant stream of such reports, like this one from Lucinda of Strasburg, Va.:

"After wondering why our dog was getting so sick, I started hearing about the Waggin Train Jerky Treats. I checked in her box of different treats and discovered that I have an almost empty bag of Waggin Train Jerky Tenders! I am so upset and broken hearted because my dog is dying! ... Our sweet girl is dying because of this poison!"

The majority of the cases in dogs report primarily gastrointestinal signs, including vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood or mucus, and can involve severe signs such as pancreatitis or gastrointestinal bleeding.

The next most common signs relate to kidney function, including frequent urination, increased urine, severe thirst, kidney failure and some cases resemble a rare kidney related illness called Fanconi’s syndrome. 

There does not appear to be a geographic pattern to the case reports, the FDA said. Cases have been reported from all 50 states and 6 Canadian provinces in the past 18 months.

Warnings issued

The FDA has issued warnings to pet owners about the potential threat posed by tainted jerky treats from China but hasn't ordered the products off the shelves because it can't prove they are responsible for the reported illnesses.

Why is it so hard to get to the bottom of the mystery? The FDA says its investigation is "complex, multifaceted and includes a wide variety of experts at the FDA including toxicologists, epidemiologists, veterinary researchers, forensic chemists, microbiologists, field investigators and senior agency officials."

It seems pretty simple, though, to pet owners whose animals are ill. Many try to avoid pet treats from China only to learn too late that they did not read all the fine print.

"To my surprise, these treats were made in China," said Beverly of Palmetto, Fla., whose two rat terriers became ill after eating Waggin Train treats. "The packages say product of the US, but if you search hard enough you'll find 'Made in China' somewhere on the bag.

What to do

So what's a pet owner to do?

In November 2011, the agency issued a warning to pet owners that echoed a similar advisory from 2007:

“FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding the products: decreased appetite; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; increased water consumption and/or increased urination.  If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours.”

The agency issued a similar warning just a few days ago.

Amidst all the verbiage, the advice boils down to this: if you want to feed your dog treats, make them baked cookie-type treats rather than meat jerky. But be aware that these can also cause problems in some dogs and be ready to respond if your pet shows signs of illness.

Frustrated with the lack of action, some pet owners have gone to court seeking action. Last July, a class action suit against Nestle Purina charged that the company's Waggin' Train treats had sickened their pets. 

Companies named

Most major pet food companies are included in the complaints on file at the FDA. A few of the more familiar brands identified by the agency include:

• Milo's Kitchen;
• Dogswell;
• Smokehouse Pet Products Inc.;
• Waggin' Train; and
• Kingdom Pets.

There is, of course, no fool-proof way to avoid contaminated pet food just as there is no absolute protection against contamination in the human food supply. But sticking to baked snacks, along with carefully monitoring your pet's health and responding quickly to illness, is a good start. 

Maybe someday, the FDA will find an answer. Or, then again, maybe it will approve chicken from China for human consumption, which will at least put humans and their pets on equal footing. 

Think you're not getting the download speed your broadband provider promised? You might be right but a study by the Federal Communications Commission finds many providers are not only meeting but exceeding their advertised speeds.

That's a big improvement over 2011, when the first FCC survey found many providers not delivering the speeds they promised.

In the latest report, Verizon FiOS service averaged download speeds that were 118% of advertised download rates. Cablevision was at 115% and Comcast 103%.

“Faster broadband has brought untold benefits to millions of Americans - from distance learning to distance healthcare," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. "This is good news for consumers and the economy, but we can’t be satisfied. To unleash innovation and realize broadband’s full potential, we must continue to see increases in broadband speed and capacity.”

In this year’s report, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) maintained 
their performance levels, delivering 97 percent of advertised speeds during peak periods. One provider significantly improved actual performance speeds by 13 percent from the previous report.

Did they do it by downgrading the speeds they promised, as some skeptics might suspect? No, said the FCC, the providers have actually improved their networks to improve performance.

Consumers have also doing some upgrading of their own, the report found, ordering faster speeds to satisfy their thirst for movies, music and other bandwidth-hungry applications.

The FCC found that the average speed tier subscribed to by consumers increased from 14.3 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 15.6 Mbps. Nearly half of consumers who subscribed to speeds of less than 1 Mbps six months ago have adopted higher speeds, and nearly a quarter of the users who subscribed to speeds between 1 Mbps and 3 Mbps have upgraded to faster speed tiers. 

Satellite performance

In what may come as a surprise to many consumers, the FCC also found that "significant improvements" have been made to satellite broadband technology service quality.

For the first time, the report includes results on satellite technology based on test results from ViaSat, a major satellite services provider.

"Although satellite technology has the highest overall latency, test results indicate that during peak periods, 90 percent of satellite consumers received 140 percent or better of the advertised speed of 12 Mbps," the report said, adding that there was "very little difference" between peak and non-peak performance.

ViaSat and HughesNet have both launched new satellites, which they say should provide vastly better service than their earlier models, a claim that's supported by the FCC's findings.

The "latency" that the FCC report referred to is the time it takes a signal to travel from earth to the satellite and back again. This creates a noticeable lag that often causes consumers to see the service as "slow" when in fact the data transfer rate is usually on par with advertised speeds, as the FCC report confirmed. 

Until someone figures out how to increase the speed of light, the satellite lag is here to stay and is not the fault of the service provider. 

To read the complete February 2013 "Measuring Broadband America" report, see www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america.

There’s an extremely thin line when it comes to being a little knowledgeable about a product and being completely in-the-know about it.

And in many cases, the Internet is responsible for drawing that line, because anyone who wants to learn about the ins and outs of a particular item or brand, all they have to do is conduct a little research, and pull up all the information they can to be properly armed when dealing with a store or salesperson.

Because let’s face it, being able to walk into a store or showroom with days of research at your disposal allows you to deal with a salesperson way more confidently and it also makes it harder for the salesperson to sell you something that you don’t want or need.

So in short, the Internet has leveled the playing field between the consumer and the salesperson, which was much harder to do, say, 15 years ago.

This ability for the consumer to almost be an expert if they choose, has really taken place within the auto industry and according to Craig LaRosa, Principal at Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy firm, consumers are able to walk into a dealership with just about the same amount of facts and figures about a vehicle that the dealer possesses.

The same information

“The biggest change in the auto sales world is that the customer now has access to the same information as the dealer,” said LaRosa in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.

“So the customer can find out the dealer cost of the car. This changes the whole bargaining dynamic because bargaining is based on one side not knowing the bottom dollar price. As such, the consumer in many ways now has the upper hand.”

LaRosa also says that many dealers are more concerned with further educating the consumer instead of taking advantage of their ignorance, because 1.) the level of ignorance among car buyers has decreased over the years, and 2.) brands know it’s increasingly harder to trick customers into purchasing something they were never in the market for.

“Many dealers are moving towards a model where frontline sales employees are non-commissioned, which allows the consumers to drop their defenses — allowing them to be receptive to recommendations and education to find the right car for their needs,” said LaRosa.

“Toyota and BMW are beginning to roll out this model. Toyota has started a program in their Wellesley, Mass. showroom, where they’ve separated the education from the buying — the red shirts and the white shirts."

“The red shirts are non-commission employees who are the frontline folks who are there to only educate the consumer on the models and get them into the right model for them. Then they pass the torch to the white shirts who are the actual sellers who find the inventory and facilitate the purchasing process,” he said.

Difficult dynamics

When it comes to which brands are making these changes, in terms of not being just about sales and being more about service, LaRosa says it’s hard to pick just one since state laws prevent brands from making these changes from state to state.  

“One of the dynamics of the car industry is that it’s difficult for brands to create consistency from dealership to dealership,” he explains. “This is because of the state laws in place to protect dealers. Historically, dealers have had laws in their favor because originally dealers took on all the risk to get a particular franchise started.

“Still, some dealer groups are instituting changes. So it may not be reflected in the larger brand across the board. For example, buying a car at Herb Chambers in Massachusetts or at Fletcher Jones in California, though it would be the same car, will be a completely different experience.”

“That being said, some brands are making the effort to work with the dealers to create better customer experiences across their brands. Brands like Toyota and Audi have committed to prioritizing customer service. Each is doing it in their own way, testing different models, but this is the beginning of a larger trend across the board in the industry,” LaRosa stated.

Bold steps

He also says the Silicon Valley based Tesla Motors has taken bold steps to give the company total control in the area of selling and customer service.

“Tesla is unique because they are foregoing the dealer altogether and selling direct — to the chagrin of many state dealer organizations,” said LaRosa. “This gives them control over every aspect of the selling cycle, but a disadvantage in service because they don’t have the volume of locations to serve their customers all over the country.”

Another huge benefit for consumers in the market for a vehicle is that it’s harder for dealers to do a bunch of upselling, forcing consumers to pay more than they initially planned, which makes one wonder if overselling will eventually be an outdated technique among reputable dealers.

“There are two types of upselling,” said LaRosa. “The first is getting you into a bigger model, which is on the wane. Today, the sales team wants to get you in the right car — not the most expensive car — to provide the best driving experience possible. It’s about establishing loyalty, so you come back for your next car as well. Dealers make more money on volume than on the actual profit from each car.”

“The second type of upselling is the add-ons after you’ve agreed on the purchase price," he added. "Such as tire protection and extended service warranties. There is actually value in those plans, but the way it’s presented, often as a surprise after you’ve made one of the biggest purchases in your life, isn’t designed well.”

“For example, if you're the type of consumer who doesn’t want to worry about service, the warranty could be good for you. But in the context it’s offered, it feels like they’re trying to get a bigger piece of your wallet,” he explained.

'Genius Bar'

In a recent AdAge article, BMW announced it’ll be starting an Apple-esque Genius Bar, and hiring college-aged workers who will carry tablets to answer any questions customers may have about a vehicle, while only focusing on service and giving product information instead of sales.

Whether these “product geniuses” will really be able to help consumers more than consumers are able to help themselves remains to be seen, suggests LaRosa, and the success or failure of the new program will hinge on just how well it’s implemented.

“By referring to it as the Genius Bar, they are setting up a very high expectation that the way current dealer models are set up, will make it very difficult to meet,” he says.  

“Now, committing to a customer-centered service approach is great. The car dealership ecosystem is one of the most complex environments --  BMW regulations and franchise laws that vary from state to state — and makes instituting change very challenging. So the key here will be in the execution.”

Would you pay $10,000 for a TV? It's probably not a good investment but the new LG 55-inch OLED TV is gong on sale in South Korea Monday and the company says it has pre-orders for more than 100 of the next-generation displays.

What's so great about it?

Well, primarily, along with the other bells and whistles -- built-in WiFi, "smart" technology and so forth -- the OLED uses an organic light-emitting diode display, which is where the OLED name comes from.

OLED is a new way of displaying an image on a screen and is considered the technology that's most likely to replace liquid-crystal display (LCD) TVs, which is what most of us have scattered around the house.

It's thought that Samsung has a similar model just about ready to go but hasn't said when it will start full-scale production, so LG is taking the opportunity to get out ahead of its primary competitor.

And what's so different about OLED? Its main advantage is a thinner screen and, we're told, a sharper, brighter image.

Or as LG puts it on its website: "OLED uses an organic substance that glows when an electric current is introduced. This revolutionary material is part of new design approach that drastically reduces the thickness and weight of the TV. The light passes through a combination of filters to reproduce spectacular high-definition images."

It's sort of like those phosphorescent fish you may have seen the last time you were in a diving bell at the bottom of the sea. Maybe.

OLED displays work without a backlight, which improves the contrast ratio -- blacker blacks in other words. An OLED display should also have a faster response time and a wider viewing area.

Longevity and energy consumption are question marks, however.  Manufacturers will no doubt claim hurdes in these areas have been overcome, but cautious consumers may want to wait a cycle or two before emptying out their checking accounts to cart one of these new playthings home.

Toyota is closing yet another chapter in its long unintended-acceleration saga, agreeing to pay $29 million to 29 states and American Samoa to settle disputes about how it handled recalls.

Besides the payment, Toyota agreed to make vehicle information more easily accessible to consumers to help them operate their vehicles safely and make more informed choices. 

“Companies have an obligation to quickly and openly inform customers of product safety concerns,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said. “That’s particularly true of an automobile maker, where consumers’ lives may be at stake.”

Toyota sought to put a positive spin on the settlement.

“Resolving this inquiry is another step we are taking to turn the page on legacy issues from Toyota’s past recalls in a way that benefits our customers," said Christopher P. Reynolds, group vice president and general counsel, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. "Immediately after this inquiry was launched in 2010, Toyota began cooperating fully with the Attorneys General and implementing ‘customer-first’ initiatives to address their concerns and those of our customers."

Toyota also agreed to continue other customer-focused initiatives, including its rapid-response service teams, its expanded network of product quality field offices across the U.S., and a range of customer care amenities for owners of vehicles subject to certain recalls. 

Other actions

In December 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fined Toyota  $17.35 million -- the maximum fine allowable under the law -- claiming the automaker failed to report a safety defect to the federal government in a timely manner. It's the single highest civil penalty amount ever paid to NHTSA for violations stemming from a recall.

Also in December, Toyota agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle lawsuits growing out of unintended acceleration incidents. About 16 million owners of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles are eligible for payments and safety updates to their cars.

Toyota recalled millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles to replace accelerator pedals that could get trapped in floor mats or carpeting. 

A 10-month investigation by NASA engineers determined that electronic flaws were not to blame for the unintended acceleration incidents.

Editor's Note:In this guest commentary, Prof. Ferguson responds to a recent story that linked media coverage and violent video games to mass shootings. 

The tragic shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, this past December have left the country reeling.  At such moments it is common for societies to experience what are called “moral panics.” 

During such times, extraneous phenomena, often media, are blamed for societal problems despite lack of evidence they are significant contributors.  These moral panics serve to give us an illusion of control over uncontrollable events and give us a “boogeyman” to blame. In the 1950s, comic books were blamed for delinquency, and media ranging from books to music to television have long been blamed for societal ills. 

Hyperbole from politicians, activists and some scholars often contributes to these moral panics.  Thus it was a shame to see a credible group, the National Science Foundation (NSF), find its name attached to a report commissioned by a politician with a clear agenda that almost surgically avoided mentioning any research that conflicted with a highly ideological and alarmist view of media effects.

Speaking as a video game researcher, the report commissioned by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) grossly misrepresents the field of video game violence.  One meta-analysis of media violence by Joanne Savage is cited as if supporting links between media violence and violent crime when, in fact, Dr. Savage concluded quite the opposite. 

Otherwise, the report misses countless studies that find no links between media violence and aggression or societal violence.  This is an issue known as citation bias … when scholars only cite studies that support their personal views and ignore studies which do not (or misrepresent them as in the case of Dr. Savage’s work). 

Grossly misrepresents

Generally this is considered to be an ethical violation.  This type of flawed scholarship grossly misrepresents the field of media violence and contributes to societal moral panics.

In fact, research on media violence has always been inconsistent and often flawed.  The NSF report can be contrasted with, of all things, an almost simultaneous report by Common Sense Media (CSM) which functions as an anti-media “watchdog” group. 

Although I disagree with many of CSM’s conclusions, I commend them for acknowledging the debates and discrepant evidence in this field.  CSM presents an honest argument for media effects, one I disagree with, but at least without the blatant misrepresentations of the field found in the NSF report. 

It is a surprise to find an anti-media advocacy group, one whose funding presumably depends on selling the notion of how bad the media is, outshining the NSF on accurate and careful reporting of the literature. 

The best research we have coming out now, using well-validated measures of clinically significant aggression and controlling well for other variables, has not found consistent evidence for harmful media effects.  Societal violence, including among youth, has been plummeting, not rising in recent decades.  Countries which consume almost identical media cultures as ourselves across the Western world have much lower violence rates. 

And, contrary to what one might read from the NSF report, consumption of violent media is not a commonality among mass shooters.  The 2002 Secret Service report (cited in the NSF study, but not in the section on media violence) found no evidence school shooters consume high amounts of media violence.  And in recent weeks we’ve seen a spate of high-profile crimes by elderly men who presumably were not gamers.  But society tends to ignore these cases that don’t fit the profile.

Writing before the Brown v EMA Supreme Court case (where the court found that current evidence did not support links between video games and societal violence) scholars Hall, Day and Hall warned that exaggerating the effects of violent video games would ultimately damage the credibility of the scientific field.  Unfortunately, the NSF report, blatantly misleading and biased as it is, contributes to this loss of credibility. 

Scientific organizations should be wary about associating with blatantly politicized calls for “research” to suit a political agenda.  I call upon the scientific community to do better. 

Since the beginning of 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate has been stubbornly high. Many people have been out of work so long they've stopped looking for a job. Recent college graduates have been lucky to find any kind of work.

In conditions like these, you need every job market advantage you can get. Knowing the right way to go about looking for and applying for a job can be a big advantage indeed.

“There are four common denominators between what an employee is looking for and what a potential employer should be looking for. And they're mutual,” said Roger Haggerty, author of Hire Me: A Practical Guide to Standing Out in the Crowded Job Market. 

What both parties want

They are, in no particular order, dependability, integrity, will the prospective employee's skills be utilized properly and will the person fit in with the organization? Haggerty says the answers are important to both the employer and employee, but in most cases neither asks the questions.

Haggerty has spent the last 30 years adding to his expertise. Not only has he hired people, he volunteered through a professional services organization on a committee helping unemployed people get jobs. After providing guidance to his wife, who was preparing for a job interview, she insisted that he write a book.

The take-away from the resulting book is that job applicants have to do more than just respond to an ad or online posting with a resume. That just doesn't cut it. In fact, Haggerty calls that approach “lazy.”

Instead, he says applicants must first do their homework, not so much learning about the prospective employer as much as analyzing their own skills and accomplishments.

What makes you special?

“In the vast majority of cases, they're not looking for people that are duties and responsibilities oriented, they're looking for people who have accomplishments,” Haggerty said. “What have you done that will help my bottom line? What have you done that will help my company be better? Why are you special?”

For example, Haggerty says a truck driver might tell a prospective employer that he's been driving trucks for five years. But the employer probably won't be impressed by that.

What they should say is “I've had an accident-free, ticket-free record over the last five years. I've never had any thefts off my truck.”

“Anybody can drive a truck but someone who can drive it safely and preserve the assets aboard it is even more valuable,” Haggerty said.

So your homework is to evaluate your past performance and figure out what your accomplishments are, verses what you did at previous jobs.

Getting an interview

If sending out resumes isn't the way to go about it, how do you get an interview?

“About 80 percent of jobs are filled through networking, they're not posted or advertised,” Haggerty said.

To land one of these jobs, the candidate needs to know someone who knows someone. It works this way: You're at a networking event and someone says 'how can I help you?' You say you want to meet the HR person or marketing director at any of a number of companies.

Once you are in front of them you ask them for advice on your job search, you don't necessarily ask them for a job or if they have any openings. You simply ask them for advice. Haggerty says they are likely to refer you to someone they know who is looking for someone with your accomplishments.

Preparation

When you finally do get a job interview, Haggerty says applicants need to be prepared to ask a lot of questions. Remember, the object is to address those four issues of dependability, integrity, skill usage and fit. It's on you to make sure those questions get asked and answered.

“If you've been through the three stages of an interview where there's a screener, a hiring manager and the hiring manager's boss, none of them ask the questions that get at those answers,” Haggerty said. “So there's a whole section of the book devoted to how to answer company questions with those four factors in mind.”

The book also provides over 100 questions an employee should expect and suggestions on ways to answer them, getting to the four common denominator issues.

“What you want to have is a very brief story on each accomplishment, addressing what the problem was, what action you took and what the result was.,” Haggerty said.

Over 55 and no one wants me

A growing segment of the unemployed is made up of people within 10 years of retirement who are completely discouraged by their prospects in the job market.

“A lot of people give up,” Haggerty said. “They say 'I'm too old, over-paid, and so on.' You've got to remarket yourself.”

In many cases, Haggerty says someone in their 50s or 60s has many examples of their dependability and integrity. And they shouldn't hesitate to bring up subjects a hiring manager may be thinking about but not mentioning – like pay.

“If your last job paid significantly more than the job you're seeking, the employer may think that you'll leave once you find a higher paying job,” Haggerty said.

You counter that by bringing it up yourself, noting that your children have finished college and are independent, meaning you don't need to make as much money as you once did.

The bottom line, says Haggerty, is the need to stand out from other applicants. You do that by thorough preparation, stressing your accomplishments and asking a lot of questions.

It wasn't your imagination. There were a whole lot of food recalls in the last three months of 2012.

According to Stericycle ExpertRECALL, a firm that tracks product recalls in the U.S., food recalls documented by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement reports reached a two year quarterly high during the fourth quarter of 2012.

This represents an average rate of approximately six food recalls being documented every day, affecting some 18.4 million products -- more than double the units affected in the previous quarter.

"Right before FDA's announcement of two major requirements proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the agency documented 552 food recalls, representing a 33 percent increase over the previous quarter and reaching the highest level of recall activity in more than two years," said Mike Rozembajgier, vice president of recalls at Stericycle ExpertRECALL. "As the agency continues to shift its focus towards prevention rather than simply reacting to foodborne illness outbreaks, we can expect the FDA to pay more attention to what companies are doing to ensure our food is safe and prevent recalls from occurring. Companies with a recall plan that is ready are likely to best weather the impending storm of increased regulatory scrutiny."

Of the recalled food products announced during the fourth quarter, 94 percent fell within the Class I designation as the units could cause serious health consequences or death. 165 of those recalls were related to issues stemming from a plant processing nut products. Salmonella concerns were the number one cause of food recalls followed by undeclared allergens or other allergen concerns.

"The fourth quarter increase in food recalls is due in large part to the many products affected by a single ingredient supplier -- in this case a peanut butter supplier," said Joseph A. Levitt, a Partner in the Hogan Lovells law firm and a former director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, referring to the string of Sunland recalls that started on September 24, 2012. "This also reflects increased vigilance by both food companies and FDA to identify problems before people get sick and recall affected products promptly. Such vigilance will only increase as FDA moves to implement the new Food Safety Modernization Act."

Medical recalls

Meanwhile, recalls of medical devices declined when compared with the third quarter. Still, more than 10 million units were affected and 40 percent of medical device companies named in FDA Enforcement Reports in the final quarter of 2012 were involved in more than one recall.

Fourth quarter pharmaceutical recalls also dropped from the third quarter, returning to a level more in line with the three previous quarters. At the same time, though 45 percent of pharmaceutical companies faced more than one recall event -- the largest percentage of companies with repeat violations in at least two and a half years.

Consumer products

The company also found that recalls within the categories of consumer products and children's and infant products both reached a six-quarter high during the fourth quarter of 2012. While the number of affected consumer product units dropped from over 12 million units reported in the third quarter to just about three million units in the fourth quarter, recalls of sports and recreation products reached the highest level of activity recorded for the category in more than ten quarters.

This category includes products like bicycles, snowmobiles and trampolines. In total, consumer product recalls reported during the last quarter of 2012 were responsible for 2,015 product safety incidents, 58 injuries and six deaths.

Researchers at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles have found that heart attack deaths are 36 percent higher during the winter months than in the summer. Just why is not exactly clear.

Researchers had always assumed the increase in winter heart attacks was due to over-exertions during cold weather activities, like shoveling snow. But this latest research shows a similar death rate in warm climates as well as cold.

Your best defense is a healthy heart all year round and in nearly every case, the power to improve heart health rests with the individual.

“When I tell people that almost 80 percent of heart disease is preventable, they are surprised,” said Mayo Clinic cardiologist Martha Grogan, M.D., medical editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life. “Better yet, there are daily things we all can do that can make a big difference in our effort to keep our hearts healthy.”

Move it

Grogan encourages people to move 10 extra minutes each day. A sedentary lifestyle may increase your risk of heart attack almost as much as smoking does, recent studies show. Movement, she says, provides a significant pay-off.

“Moving even 10 minutes a day for someone who’s been sedentary may reduce the risk for heart disease by 50 percent,” Grogan said.

Getting a adequate sleep is also important since it reduces the chances of obesity and high blood pressure, two major risk factors for heart disease. For women, the risks are especially high.

“The latest American Heart Association statistics reveal that heart disease is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined, killing one woman every minute,” said Liliana Cohen, MD, a board-certified cardiologist with The Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group. “Yet, these same studies show that relatively few women believe that heart disease is their greatest health threat.”

Women at risk

Cohen says 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.  She says these misconceptions could be putting women’s lives at risk every day.

“The symptom many women focus on is chest pain, but the reality is that women are also likely to experience other types of symptoms, including shortness of breath, back or jaw pain, and nausea or vomiting,” she said. “This misperception may lead many women to ignore or minimize their symptoms and delay getting life-saving treatment.”

Other symptoms of a heart attack for both women and men include dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting; pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen; and extreme fatigue.

Mariam Kashani, MS, CRNP and a DNP student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, says the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), which doctors routinely use to predict heart disease in their patients, has a blind spot that could leave many patients vulnerable. She says it ignores family history, which means many patients might never see heart disease coming until it hits them.

No. 1 cause of death

“Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death and disability in the United States,” Kashani said. “Being categorized as low-risk when you are, in fact, truly high-risk could leave patients unaware and unarmed to take action to protect themselves.”

She's working to identify and warn those overlooked by FRS and get them started on an aggressive program to limit the danger.

To be on the safe side, everyone should take steps to improve heart health, and that means no smoking, tracking your cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise. The American Heart Association says reducing sodium consumption is one of the healthiest things you can do for your heart.

Cut the sodium

Americans consume about 3,600 mg of sodium per day — more than twice the recommended limit. Reducing that by 40%, the researchers found, could save as many as 500,000 lives over ten years.

Excessive sodium intake contributes to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.

“These findings strengthen our understanding that sodium reduction is beneficial to people at all ages,” said Pamela Coxson, lead author of the study and a mathematics specialist in the department of medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). “Even small, gradual reductions in sodium intake would result in substantial mortality benefits across the population.”

The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to 1.500 mg per day.

Acting on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. marshals have seized tainted dietary supplements from Globe All Wellness (Globe All) in Hollywood, FL. The products contain an undisclosed active pharmaceutical ingredient and may be unsafe.

Several of the seized products contain sibutramine hydrochloride (sibutramine), the active ingredient in the obesity drug Meridia. Meridia was withdrawn from the U.S. market in December 2010 after clinical data demonstrated that it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Unapproved drugs

Globe All markets its products with claims that its products can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, among others. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), products offered for such use are considered to be drugs, since they are intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.

The company’s products are drugs that have not been approved by the FDA for their claimed uses.

“Companies that distribute products containing undisclosed drugs are not only breaking the law, they are putting consumers at risk,” said Howard Sklamberg, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “With these kinds of hidden dangers, consumers cannot make informed decisions about the products they are taking.”

Failed inspection

During inspections of Globe All conducted in October 2012 and February 2013, the FDA also found that the company distributed dietary supplements that were not manufactured in accordance with the current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements for dietary supplements.

“Two important protections for the public are that a firm may not sell new drugs unless they have been tested and approved by the FDA and a firm may not make false or unsubstantiated claims about drugs they sell,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “When a firm disregards these protections, it not only violates the law but also creates a risk for consumers who may rely on a bogus product and forego effective and proven treatment. The FDA must and will take aggressive enforcement action.”

The FDA seized various lots of the following products:

• SlimXtreme
• SlimXtreme Gold
• SlimPlus
• SlimLee
• GelSlim
• SlimDrops
• Colonew

No illnesses have been associated to date with Globe All’s products.

Perfect Pasta of Addison, IL, is recalling approximately 315 pounds of ready-to-eat roast beef products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

The following product is subject to recall:

• 5-lb. packages of “GINA FULLY COOKED ROAST BEEF WITH SEASONED JUICE” with a lot code number of “040615RB” and a pack date of “02-06-13.”

The products, bearing the establishment number “EST. 19829” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were produced on February 6, 2013, and distributed to institutions in Chicago.

After the company received a positive sample for Listeria monocytogenes, most of its products were held but a portion may have been cross-contaminated as a result of equipment not being cleaned between production shifts and shipped into commerce. There are no reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products.

Consumers with questions should contact the company’s Quality Assurance Manager, Connie DeMarco, at (630) 543-8300.  

An implanted retinal device -- a bionic eye if you will -- has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adult patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, which includes a small video camera, transmitter mounted on a pair of eyeglasses, video processing unit (VPU) and an implanted retinal prosthesis (artificial retina), replaces the function of degenerated cells in the retina (a membrane inside the eye) and may improve a patient’s ability to perceive images and movement.

The VPU transforms images from the video camera into electronic data that is wirelessly transmitted to the retinal prosthesis.

Rare condition

RP is a rare genetic eye condition that damages the light-sensitive cells that line the retina. In a healthy eye, these cells change light rays into electrical impulses and send them through the optic nerve to the area of the brain that assembles the impulses into an image.

In people with RP, the light-sensitive cells slowly degenerate resulting in gradual loss of side vision and night vision, and later of central vision. The condition can lead to blindness.

“This new surgically implanted assistive device provides an option for patients who have lost their sight to RP -- for whom there have been no FDA-approved treatments,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “The device may help adults with RP who have lost the ability to perceive shapes and movement to be more mobile and to perform day-to-day activities.”

For use by adults

The Argus II system is intended for use in adults -- age 25 years or older -- with severe to profound RP who have bare light perception (can perceive light, but not the direction from which it is coming) or no light perception in both eyes, evidence of intact inner layer retina function, and a previous history of the ability to see forms. Patients must also be willing and able to receive the recommended post-implant clinical follow-up, device fitting and visual rehabilitation.

In addition to a small video camera and transmitter mounted on the glasses, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System has a portable video processing unit (VPU) and an array of electrodes that are implanted onto the patient’s retina. The VPU transforms images from the video camera into electronic data that is wirelessly transmitted to the electrodes.

The electrodes transform the data into electrical impulses that stimulate the retina to produce images. While the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System will not restore vision to patients, it may allow them to detect light and dark in the environment, aiding them in identifying the location or movement of objects or people.

Solid clinical testing results

The FDA reviewed data that included a clinical study of 30 study participants with RP who received the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. Investigators monitored participants for adverse events related to the device or to the implant surgery and regularly assessed their vision for at least two years after receiving the implant.

Results from the clinical study show that most participants were able to perform basic activities better with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System than without it. Some of the activities tested included locating and touching a square on a white field; detecting the direction of a motion; recognizing large letters, words, or sentences; detecting street curbs; walking on a sidewalk without stepping off; and matching black, grey and white socks.

Following the implant surgery, 19 of the 30 study patients experienced no adverse events related to the device or the surgery. Eleven study subjects experienced a total of 23 serious adverse events, which included erosion of the conjunctiva (the clear covering of the eyeball), dehiscence (splitting open of a wound along the surgical suture), retinal detachment, inflammation, and hypotony (low intraocular pressure).

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. is based in Sylmar, Calif.

Not much change during the past week in the cost of financing a home.

The most popular average fixed mortgage rates (FRM) were unchanged from last week, according Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, remaining near their record lows.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.53 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending February 14 -- the same as last week. Last year at this time, it averaged 3.87 percent.

The 15-year FRM averaged 2.77 percent this week with an average 0.8 point –unchanged for the week. It averaged 3.16 percent a year ago.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.64 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, compared with 2.63 percent last week and 2.82 percent a year ago.

The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.61 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, up eight basis points from last week's 2.53 percent. At this time last year, it averaged 2.84 percent.

"Mortgage rates remain near record lows and continue to support housing demand, translating into a pick-up in home prices in most markets,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “The median sales price of existing homes rose 10 percent between fourth quarter 2011 and 2012, the largest year-over-year gain in seven years. Among large metropolitan areas, 88 percent saw positive annual increases in the fourth quarter, compared to 81 percent in the third quarter and 75 percent in the second. The largest gains occurred in Phoenix (34 percent), Detroit (31 percent) and San Francisco (28 percent)."

Bankrate

Mortgage rates as tracked by Bankrate.com showed little movement, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching up to 3.79 percent with an average of 0.34 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate also rose slightly, from 3.00 percent to 3.02 percent. The average jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate was a touch higher -- from 4.17 percent to 4.19 percent.

Adjustable rate mortgages were mixed, with the five-year ARM falling slightly -- from 2.76 percent to 2.75 percent, while the seven-year ARM moved up -- from 2.96 percent to 2.98 percent.

The last time mortgage rates were above five percent was in April 2011, when the average 30-year fixed rate was 5.07 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,082.22.

With the average rate now 3.79 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $930.78 -- a difference of $151.44 per month for anyone refinancing now.

If you've had a bad experience with online dating, here's some more bad news. A relationship expert suggests it's the way people get together now. The numbers are in online dating's favor.

“There are 54 million single Americans today,” said Wichita State University’s Deborah Ballard-Reisch, who has researched the subject of communication and relationships for about 20 years. “Forty million of them are online in one way or another. You have a better chance of meeting Mr. or Ms. Right today than you ever have.”

So far, Viola, of South Carolina, isn't convinced, after signing up with a dating site.

“The few guys I did chat with were clearly looking for flings,” she wrote in a ConsumerAffairs post. “Also, I have noticed that since signing up, they don't send emails telling me when someone has flirted or sent emails like before I signed up (I guess they have my money now). I wish I had spent my $80 on a new pair of shoes!”

Maybe Viola would have better luck if she joined activities at church or took a class. You might meet someone with common interests but that universe is small compared to the online world.

Less in-person contact

“We used to develop romantic relationships with people we went to school with or knew through church, or family or friends introduced us to, and now we supplement that by meeting people online,” Ballard-Reisch said. “And the world of people available to us has exploded exponentially because of that.”

But that's not always a good thing. While the opportunity to get to know others has increased because of online dating, Ballard-Reisch says people need to be aware of some of the risks. One of the biggest, mentioned frequently in ConsumerAffairs posts about dating sites, is fraud.

“This site is full of scammers,” complained Chris, of Milwaukee. “I have been asked for money by subscribers several times. I see the same members posting under a different username.”

“There are a number of international consortiums that get on online dating sites and pretend to be someone they’re not in order to get money out of people,” Ballard Reisch said. “So if someone asks you to send them money, especially out of the country, run.”

Language clues

Sometimes it's obvious you are being scammed. Sometimes, there are more subtle tell-tale clues.

“One of the things to look out for in online dating is that, when people claim language fluency and then they have grammar and syntax and spelling errors, if their language doesn’t seem right, it likely isn’t,” Ballard-Reisch.

Even if you are convinced the person you are striking up a relationship with is who they appear to be, it's wise to take nothing for granted. Sadly, it's guilty until proven innocent.

“This might sound coarse, but so much information is available to us online now, if you’re thinking of meeting someone you have met only online, Google them,” Ballard-Reisch said. “Use multiple search engines. Consider seeking criminal background checks. Make sure that people are who they say they are.”

Safety tips

She has other online dating safety tips; If you decide to meet someone in person that you’ve spoken with only online, always meet in a public place the first few times. Drive yourself. Let your friends and family know where you’re going, with whom and when you plan to return. Have a panic word in case you have a quick second to call them if you need help. And keep your phone online so you can be tracked through GPS if necessary.

That might sound a little extreme, but Balland-Reisch says it's simply a prudent precaution. Just last month a Las Vegas woman sued Match.com after she said she was stabbed by a man she met on the dating site. We used to be able to rely on our support networks — our family and friends — to vet people for us. When we meet people online, we can’t do that anymore.

And more and more, we are meeting people online. Despite all the nightmare stories and bad experiences, Ballard-Reisch says an estimated one in five romantic relationships start online today.

The housing market is into a second year of recovery and home sales continue to rise, but who is buying these properties? Increasingly, it's Wall Street.

Hedge funds have poured billions of dollars into snapping up foreclosed homes and turning them into rental property. Throughout most of 2012, first-time home buyers accounted for only 30 percent of monthly purchases, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Investors typically account for more than 20 percent.

Much of the hedge fund activity is centered in the most beaten-down markets, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. After buying distressed properties at a discount, they have no trouble renting them to people who can no longer qualify for a mortgage. After the housing melt-down, many people no longer want to own a home.

Shelter, not investment

People are moving back to buying houses for shelter, not for investment, and that's a very healthy trend,” said Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, in an interview with CNBC.

That may mean more single-family homes will become rentals rather than owner-occupied. And Zell isn't backing away from real estate, saying the demographics are very positive for rental housing.

“I think the rental housing market is going to continue to be very strong,” he said.

Investment in single-family rentals has increased significantly over the past couple of years, prompting the Wall Street Journal and Morgan Stanley to label the segment a new asset class. Because of that, small investors are also picking up real estate.

Small investors

Many are paying with cash, to avoid having to deal with banks. NAR's monthly existing home sales report consistently shows about 30 percent of purchases are made with cash.

Rents are going up nationwide, but perhaps nowhere quite as fast as California. According to a rental pricing analysis conducted by RentRange LLC, La Quinta, Calif., saw the biggest rent spike in the country last year, rising by $932 or 35.75%, from December 2011 to December 2012.

In fact, six other California cities are included in the Top 10 markets with the greatest rental price increases for single-family residences in 2012. Three, like La Quinta, are in Riverside County's Coachella Valley.

Texas, Florida, and Georgia

Two are in San Diego County and one is in Orange County. The other three cities in the Top 10 markets with the greatest rental price increases for single-family homes are Harker Heights, Texas; Sarasota, Florida; and Mableton, Georgia.

"Rental price movement over time is one of many important metrics that investors utilize when evaluating suitable marketplaces. As popular markets become saturated with investment activity it is important for purchasers to leverage specialized rental market intelligence to identify attractive markets that competitors have yet to notice," said Walter Charnoff, RentRange's founder and CEO.

That's resulted in fewer homes for sale – which has begun to push up prices again – and more homes for rent.

It's time to do something about unsafe levels of high-fructose corn syrup or sugar in soft drinks, according to Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), because they cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems

Along with scientists and health-advocacy organizations, CSPI wants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine a safe level of added sugars for beverages. Public health departments in Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, OR, and other jurisdictions are also supporting the proposal.

Too much sugar

A typical 20-ounce bottle of soda pop contains about 16 teaspoons of sugars from high-fructose corn syrup -- twice the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association. It advises consuming no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugars per day for women and no more than 9 teaspoons for men.

CSPI and the scientists say that despite the concerns over artificial sweeteners, diet drinks are safer than today's full-calorie soft drinks. A gradual change to safer drinks will be made easier by the use of new high-potency sweeteners like rebiana, according to the group, which is made from the stevia plant, and "sweetness enhancers" being developed by major manufacturers.

"As currently formulated, Coke, Pepsi, and other sugar-based drinks are unsafe for regular human consumption," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "Like a slow-acting but ruthlessly efficient bioweapon, sugar drinks cause obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The FDA should require the beverage industry to re-engineer their sugary products over several years, making them safer for people to consume, and less conducive to disease."

In a 54-page regulatory petition filed with the FDA, CSPI details scientific evidence that added sugars -- especially in drinks -- causes weight gain, obesity, and chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and gout. In particular, the group says a growing number of clinical trials have found that people who are assigned to drink sugary beverages gain more weight than those assigned to drink sugar-free beverages. Other clinical studies found that high-sugar diets increase triglycerides, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and liver fat.

Expert opinion

"If one were trying to ensure high rates of obesity, diabetes, or heart disease in a population, one would feed the population large doses of sugary drinks," said Walter Willett, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The evidence is so strong that it is essential that FDA use its authority to make sugary drinks safer." Willett is one of 41 scientists and physicians who signed a letter to FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg in support of the petition. Willett and his colleagues have conducted epidemiology studies that strongly link consumption of sugary drinks to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and gout.

Soda pop and other sugar drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet. Americans, on average, consume between 18 and 23 teaspoons -- about 300 to 400 calories worth -- of added sugars per day. Teens and young adults consume half again more than the average. About one-fifth of adolescents aged 12 to 18 consume at least 25 percent of their calories from added sugars, according to the government’s 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 14 million people of all ages consume more than one-third of their calories in the form of added sugars.

Safe levels

The FDA classifies high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose and other sugars as "generally recognized as safe," or "GRAS" in agency parlance. To be GRAS, there must be a scientific consensus that the ingredient is safe at the levels consumed.

CSPI's petition contends that the current scientific consensus is that added sugars are unsafe at the levels consumed. The petition asks the FDA to determine what level of added sugars would be safe for use in beverages, and to require those limits to be phased in over several years. The petition did not propose a specific safe level, but notes that several health agencies identified two-and-a-half teaspoons (10 grams) as a reasonable limit in a healthier drink.

In 1982 and again in 1988, the FDA committed to undertake a new safety determination if sugar consumption increased, or if new scientific evidence indicated a public health hazard. Both of those conditions have been met, which CSPI says obligates the FDA to act.

Changes coming

Some in the soft drink industry seem to see the writing on the wall.

"You will see Pepsi and Coke and Dr Pepper coming up with a whole variety of no-calorie sweeteners," Harold Honickman, the CEO of a major East Coast Pepsi bottler, told The Philadelphia Inquirer in October, describing how the soda market will be changing in the next few years. "I honestly think that you will find 'regular' Pepsi, 'regular' Coke with new kinds of sweeteners. They will be better-tasting drinks than we have today."

Soda pop's role in causing obesity has led many health experts to compare the drinks to cigarettes, and local and state health departments are seeking to decrease the consumption of sugar drinks to prevent obesity.

Under Mayor Mike Bloomberg, New York City will soon cap soda serving sizes at 16 ounces in restaurants and other establishments regulated by the city's health department. Boston now prohibits the sale of sugar drinks on city property. New York City, Los Angeles, and King County (Seattle), Washington, have all run print or Internet advertising campaigns urging people to drink less soft drinks.

Soda pop and most other full-calorie sugar beverages are no longer sold in schools, and two weeks ago the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rules excluding high-sugar drinks from vending machines and elsewhere on school grounds. And state legislators have advocated excise taxes on sugar drinks to help reduce consumption and fund health programs.

Besides asking the FDA to reduce levels of added sugars in beverages, CSPI's petition urges the agency to encourage industry to voluntarily reduce added sugars in breakfast cereals, baked goods and other foods, though beverages are the biggest problem. CSPI says the agency should add a separate line for added sugars on Nutrition Facts labels and mount, perhaps with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, education campaigns aimed at curbing consumption of added sugars.