The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been using social media for over a year now and has expanded and built-out its channels to include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr.  Below are some statistics on the agency’s social media channels and engagement in 2011.  (As of 1.5.2012)   For more on the FDA and social media please read our other related blog, “What Does American Think of the FDA?”

 
Facebook Page
18,346 likes

101 posts in 2011

22 Average comments per post in 2011

Most commented … READ MORE

Share

The FDA, like most other government agencies, has moved past its previous reticence and launched fully into the world of social media.  The FDA now has a Facebook page, multiple Twitter accounts, a YouTube channel and Flickr account, linking to each of them from every page on its voluminous website.  The fact that a government agency would embrace social networking tools created by a horde of tech-savvy 20-somethings from California is stunning in and of itself, but … READ MORE

Share

Myth #1:  If FDA tests/rejects something then there must be a problem with it The FDA tests things all the time, even if there is not a problem with the shipment. The FDA uses Import Alerts, which are country or industry-wide notices that flag shipments due to prior problems, even if the problem does not actually appear in the current shipment. The FDA refuses countless shipments which might be just fine simply because they come from a region that is on Import Alert. This occurs because FDA … READ MORE

Share

Click To Enlarge

Click To Enlarge

Sources

• http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/FruitsVegetablesJuices/ucm286302.htm

• http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/FruitsVegetablesJuices/ucm287783.htm

• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title40-vol24/pdf/CFR-2011-title40-vol24-sec180-371.pdf

Share

The FDA has implemented a “test and hold” policy for all incoming orange juice into the United States, looking for evidence (or not) of Carbendazim, a pesticide residue.  Yet FDA clearly states that the EPA “has concluded that consumption of orange juice with carbendazim at the low levels that have been reported does not raise safety concerns.”  So just to clarify… there are no safety concerns with the presence of Carbendazim in imported orange juice at the detected levels, but FDA has a … READ MORE

Share

As Orange Juice speculation drives juice futures all over the map and consumers brace for spending more on Orange Juice than gasoline per gallon, one must ask, “How is Big Juice assuaging the masses with all of this concern over orange juice?”  As any cultural connoisseur would do we look to social media, notably Facebook, for our answer.  Below are the canned responses used by the major orange juice brands in response to consumer’s questions, fear, anger and … READ MORE

Share