More than 12,000 pounds of bacon recalled after USDA issues highest-risk alert

More than 12,000 pounds of imported smoked bacon have been recalled, according to an alert from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The not-ready-to-eat bacon, which is sold in three states, is produced by Maple Leaf Foods, Inc., located in Lisle, Illinois. It was distributed to grocery distributors and retailers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Fox News Digital reached out to Maple Leaf Foods requesting comment.

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The bacon was recalled because it was imported from Canada without undergoing a required U.S. import inspection, the USDA stated in its July 24 alert. 

The issue was discovered during routine inspection activities.

The USDA classified this as a Class I recall, its most serious category of recalls. 

The FSIS defines a Class I recall as a "health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."

The Class I designation reflects the potential risk posed by the inspection failure, but does not indicate any confirmed illnesses linked to consumption of the bacon.

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The recalled products — produced on June 9, June 10, June 12, June 13 and June 15, 2026 — include the following, per the USDA alert. 

The recalled product has the Canadian establishment number "EST. 1" printed on the side of the package, and the health certificate "2026-S732971612" on the master case boxes, the USDA's alert states. 

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Anyone who has any of these products in their fridge or freezer should throw them away or return them to the place where they were purchased, health officials advised.

Consumers with food safety questions can send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov.

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Millions could gain easier access to popular peptides after FDA panel vote

An FDA advisory committee has voted by a majority to recommend broader access to certain peptides.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that help regulate functions such as metabolism, growth and tissue repair, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Some peptides are used in FDA-approved medications, including insulin and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, while others are experimental compounds marketed for wellness or performance that remain under federal review.

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Seven peptides were reviewed during a two-day hearing held by the FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee in Maryland last week. The panel considered whether each peptide should be added to the Section 503A Bulks List.

If ultimately approved by the FDA, licensed compounding pharmacies could prepare them for valid prescriptions instead of leaving patients to rely on unregulated online vendors.

The committee voted in favor of loosening restrictions on the following six peptides, according to Reuters.

While some peptide experts celebrate this as one step closer to access to life-improving drugs, others claim there isn’t enough data on safety and efficacy. The FDA will now consider the committee's recommendation before making a final decision.

Jim LaValle, a Texas-based clinical pharmacist and chair of the International Peptide Society, who testified at the hearings, noted that restrictions still exist.

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"This was not FDA approval, nor was it a blanket endorsement of every peptide, every use or unrestricted access," LaValle, who is also a board-certified nutritionist, told Fox News Digital. "I have said throughout this process that you do not solve a quality problem by forcing the market underground."

"I was encouraged by the committee’s recommendation because it creates an opportunity to move patients away from unverified research use only (RUO), otherwise known as grey market products, and toward a more accountable medical pathway."

LaValle said his work with the International Peptide Society focuses on training clinicians about the potential benefits and risks of peptide therapies as interest in the compounds grows.

The "right model" is access with guardrails, qualified clinicians, licensed pharmacies, validated quality testing and "meaningful" patient follow-up, according to the expert.

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"My hope is that the FDA follows the recommendation with a transparent, science-driven process; establishes clear, peptide-specific standards; and follows the guidance for approving a substance that meets the FDA’s current regulations," LaValle said.

This process includes checking that both the active ingredient and the final product meet quality standards, and setting up a system for tracking and reporting any side effects.

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"The peptide revolution is here," LaValle said. "However, don’t expect miracles. Better choices related to diet, exercise, gut health, sleep, stress and managing metabolic health, guided by regular lab assessments, should be the goal."

"In some cases, peptides can play an important part on the journey of performance aging and repair," he went on. "The American public should understand that nothing changed overnight."

LaValle emphasized that the advisory committee's vote was only a recommendation, not a final FDA decision, and noted that compounded medications are regulated differently than FDA-approved drugs.

"The evidence is also not equally mature across all peptides that are approved by the FDA," he noted. "People should avoid products sold online as ‘research use only’ and should not self-experiment."

"Any consideration of peptide therapy should involve a qualified licensed clinician and a legitimate licensed pharmacy."

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Is drinking every day alcoholism? Experts explain where culture and addiction collide

A clip from Ed Sheeran's appearance on "The Louis Theroux Podcast" has recently resurfaced on social media, sparking renewed debate over differences between British and American attitudes toward alcohol.

"Americans call something ‘alcoholism’ that Brits simply call ‘culture.’ Maybe one or two pints at the end of a workday," the singer said during the 2025 podcast.

"On a Friday you’ll have 6 pints and a bottle of wine. It’s not alcoholism to drink every day here … It’s just the culture."

NIGHTLY GLASS OF WINE MAY NOT BE AS HARMLESS AS MANY PEOPLE THINK, STUDY SUGGESTS

Americans and Britons consume similar amounts of alcohol overall, with the average adult drinking about 9.7 liters of pure alcohol per year, according to the World Health Organization.

Drinking patterns — such as how often people drink, how much they consume in a single sitting and social attitudes toward alcohol — can differ even when overall consumption is similar, according to public health experts.

In the U.K., pubs are commonly regarded as community gathering places, with alcohol representing a routine part of social life for many people. In the U.S., attitudes toward drinking tend to vary more widely by region, religion and social norms, experts say.

Jessica Steinman, chief clinical officer at No Matter What Recovery in Los Angeles, noted that British and American cultures have always been very different, and that includes alcohol consumption.

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"Americans can’t legally drink until 21, and it is frowned upon to do so before that age," she told Fox News Digital. "In England, there is less stigma and restrictions around alcohol, which changes how people view it and drink it."

"Regardless of where anyone lives and regardless of their culture, when alcohol or substances start negatively affecting someone’s life or when someone cannot control the levels of alcohol they drink, then it is a problem," Steinman said.

"When drinking gets in the way of a job, school or relationships — or when people start numbing out from difficult feelings or escaping their problems through alcohol — it isn’t just cultural drinking, it’s an addiction."

Steinman said she's concerned that people with alcohol use disorder may dismiss or justify their drinking as a normal part of their local culture, making them less likely to recognize it as a problem and seek help.

Chris Tuell, Ed.D., clinical director of addiction services at Lindner Center of HOPE and associate professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, reiterated that Sheeran’s comments highlight how culture influences people’s perceptions of alcohol.

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"What is considered ‘normal’ in one country may seem excessive in another," he told Fox News Digital. "In parts of the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Australia or even parts of the U.S., drinking is woven into sporting events, celebrations, work gatherings and family traditions."

Tuell noted, however, that culture does not determine whether someone has alcohol use disorder (AUD).

"The fact that something is common does not automatically make it healthy — the same principle applies to alcohol," he told Fox News Digital. "A person may live in a culture where drinking every evening is expected. Another person may rarely drink because their culture discourages alcohol altogether. Neither person's cultural background alone tells us whether alcohol is helping or hurting them."

Two people can drink exactly the same amount each week while having completely different outcomes, according to Tuell.

"One person may drink socially, maintain healthy relationships, perform well at work and easily choose not to drink when needed," he said. "Another person drinking the exact same amount may experience worsening anxiety, strained relationships, poor sleep, financial problems, declining health and an inability to stop."

Whether someone drinks every day, only on weekends or only at celebrations is only part of the picture, the expert noted.

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Tuell recommends paying close attention to the following important patterns that can potentially indicate alcohol use disorder.

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"Ultimately, AUD is measured less by how much a person drinks and more by how much alcohol has begun to take from their life," Tuell said.

"That perspective moves us beyond stereotypes and cultural expectations. It replaces judgment with curiosity, stigma with understanding, and shame with the opportunity for honest self-reflection and meaningful change."

One of the greatest barriers to recognizing a drinking problem is comparison, according to the expert — as people might say things like "everyone I know drinks this much" or "my family drinks every day."

"Those comparisons can be misleading," Tuell said. "Imagine someone saying, ‘everyone in my family has high blood pressure.’ That doesn't make untreated hypertension healthy. Likewise, widespread drinking doesn't eliminate the possibility that alcohol is causing harm."

Anyone experiencing symptoms of alcohol use disorder should consult a healthcare provider for evaluation and guidance.

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Financial hardship may age the brain faster, researchers say in new study

Adults who faced persistent financial hardship showed poorer cognitive performance and signs of accelerated brain aging later in life, according to a new study.

Researchers at University College London looked at 2,759 U.K. participants from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development born in 1946, as stated in a press release.

Adults who reported experiencing persistent financial hardship or low income performed worse on cognitive tests that assessed verbal memory and processing speed.

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Those who had persistent low income also showed poorer brain health based on MRI scans, which measured markers of aging like brain shrinkage and enlarged ventricles.

"[While] we know well that cognitive decline is associated with both genetic risks and adverse childhood experience, we knew very little about what happens during the life course … particularly, the experience of persistent financial stress over the lifetime," study author Dr Jacques Wels from the Unit for Lifelong Health & Ageing at UCL told Fox News Digital.

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"The study clearly demonstrates … that the accumulation of poverty is linked to cognitive decline. We used different measures of lifecourse financial adversity and different measures of cognitive decline and they all show the same results, which makes the results solid."

The associations were strongest among men, people who had disadvantaged childhoods and carriers of the APOE-ε4 genetic variant that is linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease.

"The study shows that [while] cognitive decline is both a matter of genetic risks and individual behaviors, it is also affected by the experiences we live over our lives that we don’t always have control on," Wels added.

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Based on the findings, the researchers suggested that chronic financial adversity over decades, rather than short-term periods of hardship, is linked to faster cognitive aging.

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This could be the result of chronic stress leading to inflammation or increased cognitive load from persistent financial worry, the authors proposed.

There were some limitations of the study, including that its observational design could not prove that the financial stress caused the cognitive effects.

"We are looking at a cohort of people born in 1946 – so their life course experience is really dependent on the context they lived in," Wels noted. "For instance, we found stronger effects among males, which reflects the ‘breadwinner’ role of men in older cohorts, something we might not observe in more recent generations."

Even after accounting for many other factors that could influence brain health, it's still possible that unmeasured variables may have affected the results, the study authors acknowledged.

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While reducing long-term poverty could help protect brain health, the UCL team said further studies are needed to determine whether improving financial circumstances directly reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

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Dad suffers heart attack days before daughter's wedding — then doctors make sure he walks her down the aisle

A father who suffered a heart attack just days before his daughter's wedding refused to let open-heart surgery keep him from walking her down the aisle.

Days before the planned ceremony, Rick Nelson began having chest pains while at a friend’s home. His wife, Gail, rushed him to Cleveland Clinic’s Marymount Emergency Department, according to a hospital statement sent to Fox News Digital.

When it was confirmed that Nelson was having a heart attack, he was brought by helicopter to Cleveland Clinic's main campus. Doctors found multiple severe coronary blockages that would require open-heart surgery.

BRIDE IS WALKED DOWN WEDDING AISLE BY MAN WHO RECEIVED HER LATE FATHER'S HEART

As Nelson was prepped for surgery, he told his doctors, "My daughter, Rachel, is getting married Saturday. I have to be there."

Following a successful quadruple bypass performed by cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Faisal Bakaeen, Nelson began recovering in the ICU.

The initial plan was for his daughter to come visit him the hospital so he could have a first look at her in her wedding dress — but that evolved into something much bigger.

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Care teams from across the hospital worked together to make sure Nelson could take part in the June 6 wedding, coordinating every detail to safely move the ceremony to the hospital's rooftop.

Just days after undergoing life-saving heart surgery, Nelson traded his hospital bed for a front-row seat at his daughter's wedding. His care team prepared the venue, helped Nelson get dressed for the occasion and made sure he was able to walk his daughter down the aisle.

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Nearly 80 family members and friends gathered on the hospital rooftop, where caregivers lined the aisle as Nelson — still recovering from the surgery he’d undergone just days earlier — accompanied his daughter to meet her groom, Dana Schultz.

"Moments like these remind us the work we do is about more than medicine. It’s about people, families and milestones that can’t be repeated — and the shared commitment of a team to make something so meaningful possible," said Dr. Bakaeen, according to Cleveland Clinic’s statement.

"It’s hard to put into words what this meant to us," Nelson’s wife said. "Everyone went above and beyond."

The celebration continued later that day at the couple’s reception, where the bride’s mother started her toast with a lighthearted quip: "He didn’t have to make this dramatic of a move to get out of giving a speech."

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Nelson has since been discharged and is recovering at home with his family while beginning cardiac rehabilitation — grateful he was able to keep the promise he made to his daughter.

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Skipping sleep may pack on pounds faster than you think, new study finds

Regularly cutting back on sleep could cause the number on the scale to creep up, according to new research.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that adults who got about 90 minutes less sleep each night for six weeks gained roughly one pound on average compared with periods when they got enough rest.

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center studied 95 adults who were already at risk for heart or metabolic disease, comparing six weeks of adequate sleep with six weeks of cutting about 90 minutes of sleep each night.

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By the end of the sleep-restricted phase, participants weighed about one pound more on average and had slightly larger waistlines. They also spent more time sitting, although their levels of moderate and vigorous exercise remained about the same.

While participants gained weight, researchers did not detect significant changes in body fat or muscle mass. They also did not track how much participants ate, so it's unclear what drove the increase.

Dr. Somi Javaid, an Ohio-based OB-GYN and founder of HerMD who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital that sleep plays an important role in regulating the body's metabolism.

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Javaid said chronic sleep deprivation can make it harder for the body to regulate weight, but noted that women going through menopause may be especially vulnerable because sleep problems become more common during that stage of life.

"We are destroying women's sleep at the exact life stage when their metabolism is [the] least able to absorb the hit, then telling them to eat less and exercise more," Javaid said.

She added that the American Heart Association now recognizes sleep as one of its "Life's Essential 8" for heart health and recommends adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

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"Chronic short sleep is not a lifestyle quirk," Javaid said. "We need to treat sleep as a vital sign of health."

While the findings suggest regularly getting less sleep may contribute to weight gain, the researchers noted several limitations of the study.

They said the six-week study may not have been long enough to detect meaningful changes in body fat, which can take longer to develop than changes in body weight.

The researchers also noted that the study's relatively small sample size limited their ability to compare results among different groups of participants. In addition, some hormone measurements were collected only in the morning and may not have reflected fluctuations that occur throughout the day.

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Popular pastime sending more Americans to ER with devastating injuries

The Detroit, Michigan, metro area is reporting an uptick in serious incidents related to electric bikes (e-bikes).

Fox 2 Detroit reported that police are seeing a rise in e-bike crashes, while doctors say they're treating a growing number of related injuries.

These incidents have reportedly led some communities to seek restrictions on e-bikes or to ban them altogether.

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Some e-bikes can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour, increasing the potential severity of crashes on sidewalks and streets.

Fox 2 Detroit spoke with emergency room doctor Robert Sherwin of the Detroit Medical Center, who reported seeing everything from minor injuries to major trauma related to e-bike incidents.

"These Class 3 bikes are probably more like motor vehicles," he said. "They travel up to 28 miles an hour, and a lot of riders aren't expecting that, might not be experienced in that."

"These e-bikes are heavier than regular bikes, and they travel much faster, but the human body doesn't change just because a bike has a motor."

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Fox 2 Detroit also spoke with local bike shop owner John Hughes, who suggested the "real issue" has always been sharing the road with cars.

"Cars aren't looking out for bikes... people don't respect bikes as a form of transportation, and that's where it gets dangerous."

Hughes continued, "There's a ton of traffic out there. Everyone is on their cellphones. They're texting and driving constantly."

E-bike rider Cam Cason told Fox 2 Detroit that he takes his e-bike to work and school, crediting it as a "very efficient way" to get around.

"Way better than a car, in my opinion," he said. "When you don't have to spend $30 or $40 just to get some gas, use the electric bike to get where you need to go."

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As concerns over e-bike safety grow nationwide, states are beginning to tighten regulations. In New Jersey, a new law enacted this year requires e-bikes to be registered, and riders must be at least 15 years old and possess either a valid driver's license or an e-bike license to operate one.

The law was enacted amid growing concerns about e-bike crashes, including the death of a New Jersey teenager. Supporters argued that licensing, helmet and registration requirements would promote responsible riding and reduce bodily harm.

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NYU Langone Health released an advisory in April on the surge in brain and spine injuries related to e-bikes and scooters among riders and pedestrians in New York City.

According to a study published in the journal Neurosurgery, medical emergencies involving pedal-powered and electric bikes and scooters accounted for nearly 7% of trauma patients admitted to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.

One-third of the 914 patients treated for injuries involving pedal-powered and electric bikes and scooters suffered a traumatic brain injury. More than two-thirds required hospital admission and about 30% needed intensive care.

Physical harm linked to electric bikes and scooters increased from less than 10% of cases in 2018 to more than half by 2023, according to the study. The most common cause of injury, accounting for about half of all cases, was a collision with a car or truck.

Fewer than one-third of riders wore helmets, which was linked to a "significantly higher rate" of brain and facial injuries. The study found that 20% of patients tested positive for alcohol, which was associated with more severe head trauma and lower rates of helmet use.

Pedestrians struck by electric vehicles suffered brain injuries at nearly twice the rate of riders, according to an analysis of 69 pedestrian cases.

Corresponding author Hannah Weiss, MD, a resident in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, commented in a statement that these findings suggest "micromobility injuries are producing serious brain and spinal trauma that demands neurosurgical care at a scale we haven’t seen before."

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"In a busy urban setting, we are seeing more and more of these injuries firsthand," she went on. "The data point to actionable solutions – helmet use, safer bike lane design and enforcement – that could prevent many of these injuries and better protect both riders and pedestrians."

Paul P. Huang, MD, associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and chief of neurosurgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, added that the study highlights that "urban infrastructure must continue to improve to keep pace with the rapid rise of electric bikes and scooters."

"Future studies should track these injuries across multiple cities and measure whether protected bike lanes, helmet programs and speed enforcement actually reduce the number of brain and spine surgeries we perform," Huang said.

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