Cell phone warnings blocked in San Francisco: judge

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By Dan Levine

Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:00pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - A U.S. judge blocked most of a San Francisco ordinance on Thursday that required warnings about cell phone safety risks, saying it violated the First Amendment.

Health questions about cell phone use grew this year after a group of World Health Organization cancer experts suggested that such use be deemed "possibly carcinogenic." Industry groups say this does not mean that cell phones cause cancer.

Among the ordinance's provisions is one requiring retailers to display large posters stating in bold that "studies continue to assess potential health effects of mobile phone use."

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said it was acceptable that customers be given "fact sheets" to discuss possible risks of cell phone use, but insisted on changes to the current sheets so they do not mislead customers into believing that cell phones are dangerous.

The judge disallowed provisions of the ordinance that mandate large posters and warning stickers on in-store displays.

The city will ask a federal appeals court to uphold part of the ruling which allows the fact sheet to go forward, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement.

However, Herrera said he will also ask the appeals court to make clear the city has even broader authority.

"I disagree with his decision to limit the city's message in the way he has done," Herrera said of Alsup's ruling.

John Walls, VP of public affairs for wireless industry group CTIA, said the organization was considering its options.

"CTIA respectfully disagrees with the court's determination that the city could compel distribution of the revised 'fact sheet,'" Walls said in a statement.

Alsup ruled that most of the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution. San Francisco may "within reason" force retailers to communicate its message, Alsup wrote, but "cannot paste its municipal message over the message of the retailers."

Alsup temporarily blocked enforcement of the ordinance through November 30 pending expected appeals, and said he will void it entirely if the city refuses to revise the fact sheets.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is CTIA-The Wireless Association v. The City and County of San Francisco, California, 10-cv-3224.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco and Jon Stempel in New York, editing by Bernard Orr)

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Tainted cantaloupe warnings continue

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Jensen Farms is recalling Rocky Ford whole cantaloupes that were shipped between July 29 and September 10.Listeria can take three weeks or longer to make a person sickTainted cantaloupes are linked to 13 deaths; 72 illnesses have been reported in 18 statesIt is the deadliest U.S. outbreak of a food-borne illness in more than a decade

(CNN) -- Federal health officials are expanding efforts to ensure no additional bacteria-tainted cantaloupes get to consumers in what has become the deadliest U.S. outbreak of a food-borne illness in more than a decade.

The Food and Drug Administration said it has teamed up with state officials in the effort.

"FDA and its state partners are conducting checks at retail stores, wholesalers and distributors to make sure they have received notification about the Jensen Farms' whole cantaloupe recall and that they have taken appropriate action to notify their customers and remove the recalled whole cantaloupes from the shelves," the agency said in a statement Wednesday.

Thirteen people have died in what has become the deadliest U.S. outbreak of a food-borne illness since 1998, according to records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak -- blamed on the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes -- was first reported September 12. It was traced to consumption of Rocky Ford cantaloupes grown at Jensen Farms' fields in Granada, Colorado.

What you need to know about Listeria

As of Monday, it had grown to 18 states, 72 illnesses and 13 deaths, according to the CDC's latest statistics.

"Because some of the wholesalers and distributors may have further distributed the recalled cantaloupes to food processors, it is possible that additional products that contain cantaloupe from Jensen Farms could be recalled," the FDA said. "There is no indication of foreign distribution at this time."

In 1998, 21 people died from consuming tainted hot dogs, according to a CDC database.

Food poisoning 101

In the current outbreak, four people who ate contaminated cantaloupes died in New Mexico, two each in Colorado and Texas, and one each in Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Public health officials also have reported illnesses in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Listeria can grow even at low temperatures and can also can take three weeks or longer to make a person sick, so more cases may emerge in the coming weeks, officials said.

Listeriosis causes fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. It is rarely a serious concern for healthy children and adults, according to the CDC, but it is particularly dangerous for older adults, people with weakened immune systems. In pregnant women, it can cause miscarriages, stillbirth and premature delivery.

Pregnant women may experience only mild flu-like symptoms, said Dr. David Acheson, a former chief medical officer for the FDA who is now the managing director for food and import safety practice at Leavitt Partners, a firm which advises clients on health care and food safety. Listeria can be devastating to a fetus, he said, particularly in the second or third trimesters, so pregnant women who may have been exposed and have any flu-like symptoms should see a doctor. Symptoms can be more pronounced in the elderly or those with compromised immune systems, he said.

About 1,600 people become seriously ill because of the bacteria each year, the CDC reports, and about 260 die.

How to keep your food safe

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