For as welcome as the new food safety programs are, the FDA is still plagued with problems. It moves at a glacial pace in the face of pressing health hazards, like its three-decade-long refusal to act on its own findings that the use of antibiotics in livestock feed threatens human health.

The FDA first proposed a rule that would have removed triclosan and triclocarban from soaps in 1978. Until this rule is finalized, these chemicals can be widely used with no regulatory oversight.

Whether your farm fits in a window box or spans several acres, ensure a truly green thumb with these Earth-friendly gardening gizmos.

Scientific studies have shown that soaps with Triclosan or Triclocarban are not any more effective at preventing disease than regular soap, but they are more harmful to the humans who use them.

I was reading my toothpaste tube the other day, and noticed something I hadn't expected in the list of "active ingredients:" the antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal chemical triclosan.