JONEL ALECCIA

JoNel is a national reporter covering food and nutrition.

FILE - Donna Cooper holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a drug used for weight loss, at her home, March 1, 2024, in Front Royal, Va. The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy may be paid for by Medicare — as long as patients using it also have heart disease and need to reduce the risk of future heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems, federal officials said Thursday, March 21. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Medicare can pay for obesity drugs like Wegovy in certain heart patients

Certain Medicare patients may get help paying for the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, as long as they also have heart disease.

FILE - Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 8, 2023. Catastrophic hunger is so dire in two world hotspots that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and approaching in Haiti, with hundreds of thousands of people in both places struggling to avoid starvation, according to international food security experts and aid groups. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)

Gaza and Haiti are on the brink of famine, experts say. Here’s what that means

A new report warns that famine is imminent in Gaza as fighting between Israel and Hamas continues. Aid groups also say that 1.4 million people in Haiti are on the verge of famine.

FILE - Stick and ground cinnamon is displayed for a photograph in Concord, N.H., on March 2, 2008. Many foods, including spices, contain lead from natural sources such as soil and water, said Karen Everstine, technical director for FoodchainID, a company that tracks food supply chains. Spices can accumulate lead from other sources in the environment, such as leaded gasoline or other pollution. Some lead in spices may come from manufacturing, storage or shipping processes. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe, File)

Lead-tainted cinnamon has been recalled. Here’s what you should know

Several U.S. discount retailers are recalling packages of ground cinnamon after health officials warned they were contaminated with high levels of lead.

FILE - This image provided by Novo Nordisk in January 2023, shows packaging for the company's Wegovy medication. The popular weight-loss drug, which has helped millions of Americans shed pounds, can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday, March 8, 2024. (Novo Nordisk via AP)

Obesity drug Wegovy is approved to cut heart attack and stroke risk in overweight patients

The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious heart problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity.

Donna Cooper pets her cat Cade at her home in Front Royal, Va., on Friday, March 1, 2024. Cooper has heard that people gain back weight when they stop using drugs like Wegovy, but she hopes to be an exception. She's on her last box of Wegovy injections. Once she's done, Cooper said she’ll just continue with a strict diet and exercise plan. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy are meant for long-term use. Some patients want to stop

Millions of Americans who have used new obesity drugs like Wegovy to lose weight and improve health are wondering what happens if they stop taking them.

This combination of photos provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 shows cinnamon products sold in U.S. discount stores which contain elevated levels of lead. Top row from left are distributed by La Fiesta Food Products of La Miranda, Calif.; Moran Foods, LLC of Saint Ann, Mo., and MTCI of Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Bottom row from left are from Raja Foods LLC of Skokie, Ill.; Greenbriar International, Inc. of Chesapeake, Va., and El Chilar of Apopka, Fla. (FDA via AP)

Ground cinnamon sold at discount stores is tainted with lead, FDA warns

Ground cinnamon sold in U.S. discount stores is contaminated with high levels of lead and should be discarded. The U.S.

FILE - Yogurt is displayed for sale at a grocery store in River Ridge, La. on July 11, 2018. On Friday, March 1, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said yogurt sold in the U.S. can make claims that the food may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, based on limited evidence. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Yogurts can make limited claim that the food reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, FDA says

Yogurt sold in the U.S. can make claims that the food may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes based on limited evidence. The U.S.

This electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a cluster of norovirus virions. On Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that cases of norovirus, a nasty stomach bug that spreads easily, are climbing in the Northeastern U.S. (Charles D. Humphrey/CDC via AP)

Norovirus illnesses are up in some places. Here’s what you need to know

Cases of norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug, are climbing in the Northeastern U.S. Nationwide, about 12% of most recent norovirus tests sent to the U.S.

FILE - A Burger King Whopper in a wrapper, left, rests next to a McDonald's Big Mac in a container, in Walpole, Mass., Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Food wrappers and packaging that contain “forever chemicals” that can harm human health are no longer being sold in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Fast-food wrappers that contain PFAS are no longer sold in the US, the FDA says

Fast-food wrappers and packaging that contain so-called forever chemicals are no longer being sold in the U.S.

FILE - A sign for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside their offices in Silver Spring, Md., Dec. 10, 2020. Smartwatches and rings that claim to measure blood sugar levels for medical purposes without piercing the skin could be dangerous and should be avoided, the FDA warned Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FDA warns against smartwatches and rings that claim to measure blood sugar without needles

Smartwatches and smart rings that claim to measure blood sugar levels without piercing the skin could be dangerous and should be avoided. The U.S.

FDA expands use of asthma drug Xolair to treat severe food allergies

A medication used to treat asthma can now be used to help people with food allergies avoid severe reactions. The U.S.

FILE - Party chicken wings with cilantro sour cream dip and honey sriracha are displayed in Concord, N.H., on Nov. 16, 2015. Preparing and keeping foods at the right temperature, avoiding cross contamination -- no double dipping! -- and being mindful about leaving out perishable snacks like chicken wings, meatballs and veggie platters are all keys to avoiding illness at your Super Bowl party, health experts said. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead, File)

How to defend against food poisoning at your Super Bowl party

There’ll be lots of parties across the country for this weekend’s Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. There’ll also be lots of snacks.

This image provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 shows brands of cheese recalled due to a decade-long outbreak of listeria food poisoning that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen. More foods are being recalled in the wake of a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning. They include snack foods that may be part of Super Bowl Sunday party menus. Seven-layer bean dip, chicken enchiladas, cilantro salad dressing and taco kits sold at stores including Costco, Trader Joe’s and Albertson’s are part of the growing recalls of products made by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc., of Modesto, California, federal health officials announced on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (CDC via AP)

Bean dips, enchiladas and taco kits are among new recalled items linked to listeria outbreak

More foods are being recalled in the wake of a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning. They include things that may be part of Super Bowl Sunday party menus.

Ecuador officials name likely source of tainted cinnamon that poisoned U.S. children

Officials in Ecuador have named a likely source of contaminated ground cinnamon used in fruit pouches tied more than 400 cases of lead poisoning in U.S. children.

This image provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 shows brands of cheese recalled due to a decade-long outbreak of listeria food poisoning that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen. More foods are being recalled in the wake of a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning. They include snack foods that may be part of Super Bowl Sunday party menus. Seven-layer bean dip, chicken enchiladas, cilantro salad dressing and taco kits sold at stores including Costco, Trader Joe’s and Albertson’s are part of the growing recalls of products made by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc., of Modesto, California, federal health officials announced on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (CDC via AP)

Deadly decadelong listeria outbreak linked to cotija and queso fresco from a California business

A California cheese and dairy company is the source of a decadelong outbreak of listeria food poisoning that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, chef Amir Ilan prepares a lab-grown steak during a presentation by the company Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, Aleph Farms received the green light from Israeli health officials to produce and sell the world's first steaks made from cultivated beef cells, not the entire animal. The move follows approval of lab-grown chicken in the U.S. in 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

Israeli company gets green light to make world’s first cultivated beef steaks

Aleph Farms of Israel has received the preliminary green light from health officials to produce and sell the world’s first steaks made from cultivated beef cells, not the entire animal.

FILE - The Quaker Oats sign is seen in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The Quaker Oats Company has expanded a December recall of more than 40 products that may be contaminated with salmonella to include two dozen additional types of granola bars, cereals and snack foods, Friday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette via AP, File)

Quaker Oats expands recall of granola bars and cereals for salmonella risk

Quaker Oats has expanded a December recall of more than 40 products that may be contaminated with salmonella.

FILE - The injectable drug Ozempic is shown Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Houston. A preliminary review of side effects from popular drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity shows no link with suicidal thoughts or actions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. But the agency also said officials cannot definitively rule out that “a small risk may exist" and that they'll continue to look into reports regarding more than a dozen drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy show no link with suicide, FDA says

Federal officials say a preliminary review finds no connection between suicidal thoughts and a new class of diabetes and obesity drugs. But U.S.

Lead-tainted applesauce pouches also contained another possible toxic substance, FDA says

U.S. health officials say that recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches tied to lead poisoning in U.S. kids contained chromium, a chemical element that can be toxic.

FILE - This image provided by Novo Nordisk on Friday, June 4, 2021 shows a package of injection pens for the company's semaglutide medication, named Wegovy. People taking the popular diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other medications to treat the same conditions, according to research, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, published Friday, Jan. 5, 2023. It comes as European and U.S. regulators look into anecdotal reports that people taking the drug, semaglutide, had thoughts of self-harm. (Novo Nordisk via AP, file)

People taking Wegovy and Ozempic have lower risk of suicidal thoughts vs. older drugs, study finds

A new federal study finds that people taking popular diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other medications to treat the same conditions.

This photo combo provided by the FDA shows an authentic Ozempic needle, left and a counterfeit needle, right. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, that had been distributed through legitimate drug supply sources. (FDA via AP)

FDA says fake Ozempic shots are being sold through some legitimate sources

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss.

Alan Shurtleff, left, Morgan Shurtleff, right, and their daughter, 1-year-old Cora Dibert, pose for a photo at The Bridge Church, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Mustang, Okla. When Cora went for a routine blood test in October, the toddler brought along her favorite new snack: a squeeze pouch of WanaBana cinnamon-flavored apple puree. Within a week, the family got an alarming call. The test showed that the 1-year-old had lead poisoning, with nearly four times as much lead as the level that raises concern. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Parents of children sickened by lead linked to tainted fruit pouches fear for kids’ future

Parents of children who posted sky-high blood lead levels after eating potentially tainted apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches are worried about their kids’ futures.

FDA finds ‘extremely high’ lead levels in cinnamon at Ecuador plant that made tainted fruit pouches

U.S. food inspectors found “extremely high” lead levels in cinnamon at a plant in Ecuador that made applesauce pouches tainted with the metal.

Cantaloupe halves are displayed for sale at a supermarket in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. In 2023, hundreds of people in the U.S. and Canada have been sickened in a growing outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to contaminated whole and pre-cut cantaloupe. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)

Here’s what you need to know about the deadly salmonella outbreak tied to cantaloupes

A deadly outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to contaminated whole and pre-cut cantaloupe continues to grow.

Cut cantaloupe is displayed for sale at a supermarket in Philadelphia on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. On Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, U.S. and Canadian officials reported additional deaths and illnesses in a salmonella outbreak tied to tainted cantaloupe. (AP Photo/Jonathan Poet)

Deaths from tainted cantaloupe increase to 3 in U.S. and 5 in Canada

A salmonella outbreak tied to tainted cantaloupe has now killed eight people _ three in the U.S. and five in Canada.

Asian Davis, 33, of Sikeston, Mo., cradles her 8-month-old daughter, Mira White during an interview on Oct. 3, 2023, in St. Louis. Davis and her lawyers say Mira suffered brain damage in March after developing bacterial meningitis tied to powdered infant formula contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii, a germ known to cause severe disease in young babies. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

Two babies infected with dangerous bacteria sometimes found in powdered infant formula

A Kentucky child is dead and a Missouri infant has brain damage from the same kind of bacteria that sparked powdered formula recalls and shortages last year.

FDA is inspecting plant in Ecuador that made lead-tainted fruit pouches

U.S. health officials have launched an inspection of a plant in Ecuador that made the cinnamon applesauce pouches linked to dozens of cases of acute lead poisoning in U.S. children.

FILE - Cantaloupes are displayed for sale in Virginia on July 28, 2017. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, said it was advising people to stop eating precut cantaloupe if they don't know where it came from due to a deadly outbreak of salmonella poisoning that continues to grow. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Don’t eat pre-cut cantaloupe if the source is unknown, CDC says, as deadly salmonella outbreak grows

U.S. health officials say consumers should not eat pre-cut cantaloupe if they don’t know the source.

FILE - Cookies cool on a table on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, in Enid, Okla. Holiday meals may be changing for millions of Americans struggling with obesity and taking a new generation of weight-loss drugs in 2023. Experts and consumers say the drugs are shifting dining habits and social norms around food-centric holidays like Thanksgiving, Passover and Christmas. (Bonnie Vculek/The Enid News & Eagle via AP, File)

New obesity medications change how users think of holiday meals

Holiday meals may be changing for millions of Americans struggling with obesity and taking a new generation of weight-loss drugs.

Salmonella in cantaloupes sickens dozens in 15 states, U.S. health officials say

U.S. health officials said at least 43 people have been sickened in 15 states by salmonella linked to certain whole and cut cantaloupes and pre-cut fruit products.