Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
FDA: Don't Use Pregnancy Tests Made by Failed Fresno Lab
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 2 years ago on
August 14, 2023

Share

The company linked to an illegal Reedley bio lab received a second recall for one of its products — this time for its lines of test strips.

On Friday, the Food & Drug Administration issued a recall on the following tests produced by Fresno-based Universal Meditech Inc.:

  • One Step Pregnancy Test
  • DiagnosUS One Step Ovulation Test
  • HealthyWiser UriTest 10 Parameter Reagent Test Strips for Urinalysis
  • HealthyWiser UriTest UTI Test Strips
  • HealthyWiser KetoFast Ketone Test Strips
  • HealthyWiser pH-Aware pH Test Strips
  • To Life hCG Pregnancy Urine Test
  • Am I Pregnant Pregnancy Midstream Test
  • DeTec hCG Pregnancy Urine Test
  • PrestiBio Pregnancy Strips
  • PrestiBio Rapid Detection Pregnancy Test Midstream
  • PrestiBio Ovulation Strips
  • PrestiBio Urinalysis Test Strip 10 Parameters
  • PrestiBio Ketone Test Strips
  • PrestiBio Breast Milk Alcohol Test Strips

Distributors of the tests include AC&C Distribution, LLC, HealthyWiser, Home Health US Inc., and Prestige Biotech Inc. Prestige Biotech would ultimately claim UMI’s assets after the company left their south-central Fresno manufacturing facility in December 2022.

UMI is no longer providing support for the following tests, according to the news release from the FDA. The city of Fresno denied the company’s application to reopen near the Fresno Yosemite International Airport earlier in August.

The FDA also questions the safety of the tests as they can’t confirm how well the products work.

UMI recalled their own products from distributors but did not recall tests already sent out to consumers, the release stated. Recalled tests may not identify UMI as the manufacturer.

The FDA also issued a recall for UMI’s COVID tests in February, saying the tests were not verified by the agency.

Disposable plastic cups cap off an unknown liquid stored at Universal Meditech Inc. in south central Fresno. (©Nicholas Crawford, Crawford Architecture & Planning)

UMI’s Downfall

Disputes between the landlord and UMI about changes made to the building pushed the medical manufacturer out of its south-central Fresno building in December 2022.

Further financial difficulties, including a multi-million legal settlement, sent creditors after UMI. One of those creditors, Prestige Biotech Inc., named on the recall as a distributor of UMI’s tests, came into possession of the company’s assets.

Biological materials, 1,000 lab mice, and at least 20 diseases from UMI were found illegally stored at a bio lab operated by Prestige Biotech in Reedley.

City of Fresno officials denied an application from UMI to reopen earlier this month.

Health officials finished destroying biological materials from the Reedley lab on Aug. 9, according to Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

1 hour ago

Fresno County Ruth Fire Burns 10 Acres Near Dunlap, Cause Under Investigation

2 hours ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in sugges...

40 minutes ago

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard departs after a closed door meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines, June 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
40 minutes ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Julian Garcia, 27, was fatally shot early Friday, June 20, 2025, during an altercation in a southwest Fresno parking lot, police said. (Fresno PD)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

Sevastion Prado, 43, was fatally shot in southeast Fresno Thursday night, and police arrested the suspected gunman, Michael Anthony Jacintho (pictured), 46, during a traffic stop shortly after the incident. (Fresno PD)
1 hour ago

Man Fatally Shot in Southeast Fresno, Suspect Arrested After Traffic Stop

1 hour ago

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

CalFire is reporting a new fire, the Ruth Fire, that has grown to 10 acres as of Friday, June 20, 2025, morning. (CalFire)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Ruth Fire Burns 10 Acres Near Dunlap, Cause Under Investigation

2 hours ago

Fresno Council Waters Down Infill Housing Tool. Perea Says Compromise Could Be Worse

A display in honor of Mahmoud Khalil sits on stage at the People's Graduation, hosted for Khalil and other students unable to participate in Columbia and New York University's commencement ceremony, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

US Judge Orders Release of Pro-Palestinian Activist Khalil

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) speaks via video during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, about the conflict between Israel and Iran, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
3 hours ago

Israel Tells UN Security Council “We Will Not Stop” Iran Attacks

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend