I love this job, because the learning is non-stop. When I first came to the natural products industry, I knew about as much as the average consumer—not much. Now I feel so educated, but probably only as much as the average natural products consumer, which says a lot. We rely on many experts in the fields of botanical medicine, agriculture, nutrition, formulation, regulation, etc. to help us with our articles.

In fact, besides learning something new with each assignment, I think our access to experts is one of the blessings of this job. Rather than fusing information and comments from experts, we let them do the talking. One such example is our eBook section, chunks of specialized information on a specific topic, available online in a sort of digital book format. Don't worry, not all of these are long, exhaustive reviews, but some are quiet succinct yet informative.

Take our recent eBook on ginseng, contributed by Hsu's Ginseng Enterprises, which has been growing high-quality ginseng in Wisconsin since the 70s. I'm sure their ginseng saw the insides of some crazy disco clubs in that decade, and now I'm positive ginseng is in the hands of modern clubbers, whether as an herbal supplement or an ingredient in a functional beverage.

• How and where is American ginseng grown?
• What is the ying and yang of ginseng?
• What is the best form of ginseng to take?
• What are the many different ways ginseng can be used?
• What quality and trade standards are involved in the American ginseng trade?

These are a few of the questions this concise eBook can answer. So what did I learn about this adaptogen? I learned that the "make-up of a person’s body and the purpose for using ginseng determines what type and how much one should take." So, everyone can benefit from ginseng, but each one of us may need to consume this herb differently.

Check out this eBook from Hsu's Ginseng to learn more, and visit our other informative eBooks to learn about stevia, lycopene, GMP certification, recession tips and more.

Those of you who love to eat some raw cookie dough while baking cookies or even use it to make homemade cookie dough ice cream might want to rethink these practices, unless abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhea are your thing.

FDA and the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) have issued a warning on prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7. Their advice? Throw any such packages away, as even cooking the dough is not advisable, due to possibly contaminating cooking surfaces and the cooks' hands.

CDC and several state and local health departments have been conducting an ongoing epidemiological study on this cookie dough, finding 66 reports of illness across 28 states since March 2009. Of these, 25 people were hospitalized, 7 with a severe complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). There have been no deaths associated with this E. coli-contaminated cookie dough.

Nestlé is cooperating fully with federal authorities, who have recommended consumers who have eaten any such cookie dough consult their doctors and brush up on food safety practices.

HydroxyCut made headline news with an FDA warning letter last month. The NY-based manufacturer voluntarily recalled several products SKUs. The recall was based on 23 AER (Adverse Event Reports) related to potential liver problems. The source of the problem is still under investigation.

Alli, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is the next weight-loss product under the microscope. Currently, Alli is the only FDA-approved over-the-counter weight-loss product available on the market today. You may remember it as the diet program which requires you to wear brown pants in the event of oily, loose, spontaneous bowl movements!!! (Risky) Currently, FDA is in an investigatory state, and no recall or warning has technically been issued. Liver problems are taking center stage for Alli as well.

FDA obviously has its hands full with everything that is happening in the world of food contamination these days, in addition to AER for the supplement and OTC industry. Hopefully we are witnessing two “fair and balanced” reviews of weight loss products from both a pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

Regardless of the outcome, these actions are very taxing on the natural products industry and consumer spending habits. Millions of people have purchased Hydroxcut, and manufacturers are being “gently pushed” into a recall situation over 23 AERs? Do these AERs stem from dosage issues? Are consumers taking more than suggested dosage and combining the products with street and/or prescriptions drugs? Will the GlaxoSmithKline case evolve beyond just an investigation? Hummm ... so many questions, too few answers.

Currently the Jury is still out on both cases. Meanwhile, we will sit tight and “weight” for the results.

Jodi