This blog tracks updates to the Blood Sugar 101 Web site.


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

FDA Warns Against Using GenStrips

Page Changed: Diabetes on a Budget

Text Modified: If you use an older One Touch Ultra or an One Touch Mini which allows you to set and change the strip code, there are two brands of generic test strips available now that will work with these meters while costing far less than the brand name strips. Both can be purchased from Amazon.
The first is Genstrips . Unfortunately, the FDA issued a warning in April 2014 stating that these strips were not accurate and that the manufacturer had failed quality inspections. When I used these strips last year, they worked well, but reviewers on Amazon who had the same experience said newer strips gave really bad readings. Even less expensive are the UniStrip Test Strips. I have not tested these, but the research used by the company to secure FDA approval makes them appear to also be as accurate as the branded strips. Let's hope that continues to be the case.

NOTE:  I have received a lot of mail from readers of my blog who received an email from Amazon warning about the FDA warning about Genstrips and I updated the blog post and Blood Sugar 101 web page that described these strips as soon as I received the same letter.  Unfortunately, I forgot to post the update on this blog for those of you who follow changes to the changes to the blog.