• Food Business News, Thursday, July 15, 2010 10:56 AM

A Food and Drug Administration panel voted on Wednesday to keep GlaxoSmithKline's troubled diabetes drug Avandia on the market, but with added restrictions for its use. Physicians will have to undergo specific training to ensure that they fully understand the risks associated with the drug, Alice Park reports, and patients may have to sign consent forms indicating their willingness to take those risks. Twelve members of the 33-person panel voted to ban the drug outright; the FDA commissioner and deputy commissioner will make a final decision on the drug's fate.

Over at the Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, Nestle HealthCare Nutrition has agreed to drop advertising claims about the health benefits of its children's drink BOOST Kid Essentials, Keith Nunes reports in Food Business News.

"Nestle's claims that its probiotic product would prevent kids from getting sick or missing school just didn't stand up to scrutiny," says David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. The agreement involves no admission of wrongdoing or monetary payment by Nestle, which says it will "continue to advertise BOOST Kid Essentials Nutritionally Complete Drink as providing complete nutrition for kids ages 1 to 13."

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