Health Canada is reminding Canadians of the importance of properly cooking fresh fiddleheads before eating them. Fiddleheads are the curled, edible shoots of the ostrich fern. They are collected along the banks of rivers and streams and sold as a seasonal vegetable at farmer's markets, roadside stands and in some grocery stores. There have been … Read more
Health Canada released its Second Report on Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in Canada. This technical report provides the results of the biomonitoring component from the second cycle of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) – the first of which was released in August 2010. It presents a comprehensive set of data on the exposure … Read more
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq (Nunavut) hosted a meeting in Ottawa with concerned parents and community members to outline action that will be taken by the government in the coming months to help support the health and safety of Canadian families. Aglukkaq identified measures that will be taken related to consumer product safety, drug safety and … Read more
Health Canada has been informed by Apotex Inc. that the company will be recalling additional lots of Alysena-28 birth control pills as a precautionary measure while it investigates why one lot of the product contained packages with extra placebo pills in place of active pills. Packages of Alysena-28 should have three rows of pink (active) … Read more
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health Colin Carrie (Oshawa, Ont.) highlighted the ongoing success of Health Canada's more efficient approach to natural health products (NHPs), with more than 60,000 products authorized. Under the new approach, the measures in place to protect consumer safety stay the same, and products continue to be labelled with important … Read more
Partners in Canada's blood system met with key stakeholders in Toronto to discuss the issue of paid plasma donations and the potential impact on Canada's blood system. In response to recent public discussion, Health Canada invited key stakeholders to a round table discussion to share their views on this issue. The discussion brought together representatives … Read more
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health Colin Carrie (Oshawa, Ont.) attended the second meeting of the Advisory Council on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), on behalf of Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq (Nunavut). The mandate of the Advisory Council is to provide the government with advice on current and emerging issues related to TCM, such as … Read more
Health Canada is reminding Canadians of the importance of food safety when using microwave ovens. Microwaves are often used as a quick way to cook, reheat or defrost foods. However, as with all other ways of heating food, it is important to remember that foodborne bacteria can only be killed by proper cooking. The full … Read more
Health Canada is encouraging Canadians to report health or safety concerns with consumer products. Health Canada said that by reporting hazardous products, Canadians have the opportunity to protect others from injury by providing industry and Health Canada with the right information to take action as appropriate. The full statement is available online. Call 613-957-2983.
Health Canada is informing Canadians and Canadian health care professionals of the potential risk of bone fractures associated with the use of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are drugs used to reduce stomach acid and are widely used to treat conditions such as acid reflux (heartburn) and stomach ulcers. Several … Read more
