It's Your Week: FDA recalls since 2012
In December, four lots of the blood pressure medication Quinapril were recalled by the manufacturer Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. due to potential cancer risk. Another drug maker had already recalled two lots of the drug over the same concern in October. So our journalists decided to create an interactive and searchable database with all the drug recalls from 2012 until today.
👋 Hi, Nicole Fallert here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for USA TODAY subscribers like you. This week, we talk with USA TODAY investigative data reporter Bianca Pallaro about her work compiling the FDA recall database.
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A complete list of FDA recalls
Some drug recalls garner more news coverage than others due to their impact on public health. But when our team set out to put together a decades-worth of recalls, they wanted to make it comprehensive and easy-to-use.
That's why our searchable database has every potential recall mentioned by the FDA, no matter how popular the medication.
"We wanted the USA Today audience to have access to the complete list of products that were removed from the market, relabeled, or destroyed due to potential health risks," Pallaro said to me in an interview this week.
Pallaro and her team designed a database that allows readers to easily search for a drug by the firm's name, date of recall and product description.
The results explain the reason behind the recall, where the drug was distributed, the nature of the recall and the manufacturer's country of origin. It also links to the FDA's official report on the recall so users can get as much information as possible.
"Our next steps will be to have the database automated for updates so users can check the page regularly for the latest recalls," Pallaro said.
Thank you
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Mass shootings; the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria; a toxic train derailment; Super Bowl 57: there's been no shortage of news in 2023.
I'm thankful to have this column every week where we can take a step back and understand the meaning of the news. The USA TODAY network has a global presence covering these stories and couldn't be there without your support - so thank you. Take care and see you next week!
Best wishes,
Nicole
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It's Your Week: FDA recalls since 2012
