Health Highlights: Dec. 23, 2008
Dec. 24 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
FDA Says Diet Coke Plus Claims Violate Regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, that its claims that Diet Coke Plus contains vitamins and minerals violate federal regulations, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The agency said the company product is misbranded, because it includes the content claim "plus," and it urged Coca-Cola to "take prompt action to correct these violations," according to the FDAs Web site. Coca-Cola disputed the finding, saying the complaint doesn't involve health or safety issues, according to the news agency.
The FDA letter said it was not appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages. Diet Coke Plus has vitamins and minerals, including 10 percent of the recommended daily value for magnesium and 15 percent for vitamin B12.
A company spokesman said the label on Diet Coke Plus complies with FDA policies and regulations and that it plans to reply in detail to the complaint in early January, Bloomberg reported.
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Michael Jackson's Publicist Says Illness Rumors False
Singer Michael Jackson's publicist says reports that the "King of Pop" is seriously ill "are a total fabrication."
"Mr. Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances," Dr. Tohme Tohme, identified as Jackson's "official and sole spokesperson," told CNN Monday night
Tohme was responding to reports Monday in the London's Sun newspaper that quoted writer Ian Halperin, author of an upcoming book on Jackson, as saying the singer was suffering from Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a potentially fatal disease that required a lung transplant. Major media outlets picked up the story, and the report also spread through Internet message boards, CNN reported.
