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Charges Dropped Against Utah Doctor Accused of Destroying $28,000 in Covid Vaccines
The federal government on Saturday dismissed charges against a Utah plastic surgeon accused of throwing away COVID-19 vaccines, giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine and selling faked vaccination cards. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on the social media platform X that charges against Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, of Midvale, Utah, were dismissed at her direction.
Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison after being charged with conspiracy to defraud the government; conspiracy to convert, sell, convey and dispose of government property; and aiding and abetting in those efforts. The charges were brought when Joe Biden was president.
“Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so,” Bondi wrote. “He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.”
FDA approves new blue food dye derived from gardenia fruit
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved a new blue color additive derived from the fruit of the gardenia, a flowering evergreen. The color is approved for use in sports drinks, flavored or enhanced non-carbonated water, fruit drinks, ready-to-drink teas as well as hard and soft candy.
Petitioned by the Gardenia Blue Interest Group, the additive is made by refining the compound genipin — derived from crushed Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fruit, which is often used in traditional Chinese medicine — by reacting it with soy protein hydrolysate.
Though soy, a potential allergen, is used to make gardenia blue, the group has asked the FDA to exempt it from having to declare it as such. In its request, it says the soy protein is not expected to be detected in the final color additive and therefore will not cause allergic reactions. The FDA says it is still reviewing the request.
“Every day, children are exposed to synthetic chemicals in food that serve no purpose and threaten their health,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news release. “The FDA’s approval of gardenia blue shows we’re finally putting kids first. Thanks to Dr. Marty Makary’s bold leadership, we’re cutting through industry influence and taking decisive action to Make America Healthy Again.”
RFK Jr. And Ice Cream Makers Say They’re Churning up Healthier Ice Cream
A group of ice cream makers that produce 90% of the nation’s ice cream and frozen dairy desserts are pledging to eliminate many artificial food dyes from their offerings by the end of 2027.
The announcement, less than a week before the National Ice Cream Day on July 20, is expected to be made by the International Dairy Foods Association, a trade group for dairy companies, in conjunction with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has championed the cause through his Make America Healthy Again platform.
Kennedy, who has long blamed America’s chronic health problems, including obesity and heart disease, on the food industry, announced in April that eight artificial dyes will be phased out from medications and the nation’s food supply by the end of 2026, including those found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams.
