Purchasing Managers at Kraft Foods, Safeway and Frito-Lay have admitted to taking bribes from now defunct SK Foods, whose employees greased palms in exchange for big contracts and inside information on competitor’s bids. For years, SK Foods shipped tons of tainted tomato paste and puree to customers and falsified documents to hide the fact their products contained unsafe levels of mold, such that sales would have been prohibited under federal law. Purchasing managers at Kraft Foods and other companies awarded lucrative contracts to SK Foods while buying their products at inflated prices. Experts say that more aggressive testing of food products, before they reach the marketplace, is necessary to protect consumers. (2/24) NY Times

To date, Toyota has issued 10 million recall notices for vehicles located on three continents. However, the car maker faces new reports of sudden acceleration problems dating back to at least 2002 in Camrys and some Lexus models that have not been recalled. Data also shows complaints of sudden acceleration fatalities involving a Scion tC and a 2005 Highlander: neither model has been recalled. In a fatal 2004 crash involving a 2003 Camry, the paramedics found the deceased driver with both feet on the brake pedal. A complaint filed shortly after the crash said “throttle stuck-engine surged.” An official at the Center for Auto Safety sadly predicted that the number of sudden acceleration fatalities in Toyota-produced vehicles will without a doubt top 100. (2/15) LA Times

Over the past several months, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has stepped up recalls of unsafe products. So far in February, the commission has issued eleven recalls for pull toys, strollers, drop side cribs, toy guns and jewelry and children’s jackets with drawstrings. All of the recalled products pose significant hazards to the health and safety of children. One company, Schylling Associates, has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine for violating the federal lead paint ban and for failing to make a timely report about the non-compliant toys. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerelfeb10.html

Social Security has now added 39 new Compassionate Allowance conditions to the original list of 50 rare diseases and cancers which were first allowed in October 2008. The expansion of conditions will expedite benefits to tens of thousands of Americans who suffer from severe disabilities. Read the entire list of new approved conditions below.

SOCIAL SECURITY

News Release

Social Security Adds 38 New
Compassionate Allowance Conditions

Expansion Will Speed Benefits to Thousands of Americans with Disabilities

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances.  This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008.  The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children.  The complete list of the new Compassionate Allowance conditions is attached.

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Commissioner Astrue said.  “The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that clearly qualify for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits.  It allows the agency to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals.  In developing the expanded list of conditions, Social Security held public hearings and worked closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups.

“The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s indicates significant cognitive impairment that interferes with daily living activities, including the ability to work,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.  “Now, individuals who are dealing with the enormous challenges of Alzheimer’s won’t also have to endure the financial and emotional toll of a long disability decision process.”

“This truly innovative program will provide invaluable assistance and support to patients and families coping with severely disabling rare diseases,” said Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).  “On behalf of those patients and families, I want to thank Commissioner Astrue and his enthusiastic team for creating and now expanding a program that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of thousands of individuals.”

“The initiative not only assists those whose applications are quickly processed, but also assists those whose applications need more time and attention from SSA adjudicators,” said Marty Ford, Co-Chair, Social Security Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities.  “We are pleased to see today’s expansion and look forward to working with Commissioner Astrue on further expansion of this decision-making tool and other ways to expedite determinations and decisions for disability claims.”

“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances,” Commissioner Astrue said.  “There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”

Social Security will begin electronically identifying these 38 new conditions March 1.

For more information about the agency’s Compassionate Allowances initiative, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.

###

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions

1. Alstrom Syndrome
2. Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
3. Ataxia Spinocerebellar
4. Ataxia Telangiectasia
5. Batten Disease
6. Bilateral Retinoblastoma
7. Cri du Chat Syndrome
8. Degos Disease
9. Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
10. Edwards Syndrome
11. Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
12. Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
13. Glutaric Acidemia Type II
14. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
15. Hurler Syndrome, Type IH
16. Hunter Syndrome, Type II
17. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
18. Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
19. Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
20. Leigh’s Disease
21. Maple Syrup Urine Disease
22. Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
23. Mixed Dementia
24. Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
25. Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
26. Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type
27. Niemann-Pick Type C
28. Patau Syndrome
29. Primary Progressive Aphasia
30. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
31. Sanfilippo Syndrome
32. Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
33. Tay Sachs Disease
34. Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
35. Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
36. Walker Warburg Syndrome
37. Wolman Disease
38. Zellweger Syndrome

Select Medical Corporation and other firms that operate long-term care hospitals are the subjects of lawsuits, and troubling state and federal inspection reports that reflect a sub-standard level of patient care at some of these facilities. Select runs 89 long-term care hospitals which have been cited four times more for serious Medicare violations than regular hospitals. Because of Medicare rules, there has been a rapid expansion of long-term care hospitals. However, Medicare does not scrutinize their care or penalize these facilities for violations as they do regular hospitals. Long-term care hospitals generally spend less on patient care and have higher profit margins than traditional hospitals. (2/9) NY Times

Toyota’s competitors use technology that could have prevented the fatal accidents and sudden acceleration experienced by some Toyota vehicle owners. For years, Nissan, BMW, Chrysler and Mercedes have used such a system, known as the “Smart Pedal”, which tells a vehicle’s engine to give the brakes precedence over the accelerator.  Toyota will begin to install this system on some of its vehicles produced in 2010. (2/8) Wall Street Journal

READ THE FULL ARTICLE BELOW.

Some of the fatal accidents and sudden-acceleration incidents that have caused Toyota Motor Corp. so much trouble may have been avoided if the auto maker had equipped its cars with a technology many of its rivals have offered for years.

Chrysler Group LLC, BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and most other auto makers have a system built into most of their cars that cuts off a car’s acceleration if the driver is hitting both the gas and brake at the same time.

The computer system—known in the industry as “Smart Pedal” —tells the engine to disregard the accelerator if both the brake and gas pedal are pushed while the vehicle is moving.

U.S. regulators, in response to Toyota’s ongoing recall, have asked auto makers to provide information on their use of a technology that instructs the brake to override the accelerator when the gas and brake pedals are pushed at the same time. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration sent a questionnaire to auto makers last week seeking details on how Smart Pedal is implemented on their vehicles sold in the U.S., according to three people briefed on the matter.

“Chrysler Group began implementing the smart brake in 2003,” a Chrysler spokesman said. “We saw the opportunity to use the system as an additional security measure for the driver. When a disagreement exists between the throttle and the brake, the brake signal causes the engine controller to reduce engine power, allowing the operator to stop the car. Safety is indeed a benefit of the system but efficiency and durability are also important.”

As part of Toyota’s recall of 5.4 million vehicles over the floor mat issue, the auto maker said it would install a brake override system in all of its newly produced cars and trucks by the end of the year.

It is also installing that system on all of the 12 models involved in the floor mat recall as owners bring their vehicles into dealerships to have work done. The dealers will reprogram the on-board computer system so that if the brakes and the gas are pressed simultaneously the brakes will take precedence.

Such a feature may have also helped control those vehicles that reportedly accelerated to high speed. Many of those incidents are believed to have been caused by bulky floor mats that could catch on the gas pedals and pin them down.

That was the problem an off-duty California state trooper had on Aug. 28 when the Lexus ES350 he was driving zoomed to 125 miles per hour on a road near San Diego. A passenger in the car called 911 and said the accelerator was stuck and the driver was hitting the brakes. The call ends when the car crashes. The trooper and three members died.

Toyota also said the brake override system would be standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus product lines starting with the January 2010 production of ES 350 and Camry. It is scheduled to be incorporated into new production of most, but not all models, by the end of 2010.

The on-board electronics system in BMW’s vehicles reduces engine power so the driver can stop while continuing to press the brakes, said product spokesman Tom Plucinsky. The safety feature has been offered on all of its vehicles since the 2005 model year.

Hyundai Motor Co. intends to equip all of its vehicles with the feature by the end of February while Nissan Motor Co. already offers the feature on all of its cars.

General Motors Co. offers brake override on its performance vehicles such as the Corvette ZR1, Camero SS and the four-cylinder Malibu. The auto maker installed the system to ensure its high horsepower vehicles, or vehicles with more torque such as the Malibu, meet the company’s internal braking distance standards.

The auto maker hasn’t implemented the override system on its other vehicles since its brakes are always stronger than its engines.

“That means if you stand on the brake and the accelerator the brake wins all the time,” GM spokesman Alan Adler said.

Ford Motor Co. is employing the technology on its Fiesta subcompact car, which will be introduced in the U.S. later this year. Ford plans to roll the feature out to its other vehicles although a timetable hasn’t been disclosed.

Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@dowjones.com

Complaints against Toyota are increasing daily as the automaker is under fire for not doing enough to insure the safety of its vehicles. Toyota is also under pressure to expand its investigation into consumer complaints about its flagship vehicle, the Prius. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, claims that his Prius can unintentionally accelerate to 97 mph with the cruise control engaged. The U.S. Department of Transportation has criticized Toyota for failing to disclose the defects and issuing recalls in a timely manner, putting the traveling public at risk. Eleven class actions suits have been filed again the automaker, while the company faces the threat of huge civil fines imposed by the U.S. government. AP, Detroit News, Bloomberg

A California sports”nutrition” company pleaded guilty to selling products labeled as dietary supplements that had been laced with steroids. The illegal products were sold from 2005 to mid-2009 under the brand names, Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme. After the guilty plea was announced, a Massachusetts-based sports nutrition company recalled 17 of its dietary supplements. Steroid use has been linked to long-term health problems, particularly damage to the liver. (1/20) NY Times

Johnson and Johnson, the trusted company that makes baby care products and touts integrity by “doing what’s right for people”, reluctantly recalled batches of Benedryl, Motrin, Tylenol and St. Joseph Aspirin, among others. It took the company 20 months to issue the recall, in spite of consumer complaints about the moldy-smelling products and reports of digestive problems. In a separate issue, the company is accused of paying kickbacks to a nursing home pharmacy to promote its medications to elderly patients. (1/17) NY Times

Plaintiffs attorneys are working to eliminate mandatory arbitration in all consumer and employment disputes by lobbying Congress to pass the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. Nursing homes will likely be a main target of the push to end forced arbitration in cases involving patient abuse and neglect. Bills introduced in the House and Senate to prohibit arbitration were not voted upon in 2009. (1/11) Blog of Legal Times