What did you accomplish this weekend? Maybe you opened your pool, planted a garden, or took care of some pesky errands. Not Andrew. Andrew set what is, as far as we can determine, a world record for the most expensive drink possible at Starbucks. Tamping down the previous known record at $47.30 is the Sexagintuple Vanilla Bean Mocha Frappuccino at $54.75. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Adding Decimal Places Does Not Mean These Tastykakes Are On Sale
By 5.27.14
When you add decimal points to a price, does that make it a different number? That is to say, is $1 different than $1.00? It’s more accurate, sure, but it’s not a discount. Unless you’re shopping at Dollar General with reader John. [More]
Diet Sodas Better For Weight Loss Than Water, Concludes Study Paid For By Soda Industry
By 5.27.14
There’s a widely held belief among fitness and health experts that people who truly want to lose weight and keep it off should replace diet sodas and other artificially sweetened beverages with nature’s no-calorie drink: water. You know who stands to lose a lot of money from people believing that? The same industry that funded a new study that concluded that diet drinks are better for weight loss than water. [More]
FDA Doesn’t Seem To Care That Novartis Still Sells Antibiotic As Pig-Fattener
By 5.23.14
Last week, we told you how pharma biggie Novartis was still openly marketing at least one of its antibiotics as a growth-promoter for livestock, even though the FDA had politely asked drug companies to pretty please stop selling antibiotics for non-medical uses. Given the voluntary nature of this guidance, not to mention its numerous loopholes, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that both the FDA and Novartis shrugged off critics’ concerns. [More]
Hummus Sold At Target, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle Recalled For Potential Listeria Contamination
By 5.23.14
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can have unpleasant consequences for most people, and serious, life-threatening consequences for people who are very old, very young, already ill, or who are pregnant. A company called Lansal, Inc. that manufactures hummus for Tryst Gourmet and the private-label brands of retailers Target, Trader Joe’s, and Giant Eagle, reports that the pathogen may be in their hummus and related products. [More]
Sure, A Terrorist Attack Map Cheese Plate Sounds Like A Fine Idea
By 5.22.14
The new 9/11 Museum at the former site of the World Trade Center might be New York City’s hottest tourist attraction right now, and both the museum and its gift shop of items in questionable taste have been in the news lately. Here’s the latest head-scratcher featured online: a map-shaped cheese plate marked with terrorist attack sites. [More]
Most Doctors Still Prescribing Antibiotics When They’re Not Supposed To
By 5.21.14
Acute bronchitis is generally a result of any number of viruses, meaning that antibiotics won’t work. This is not news to the medical or scientific community, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been trying for 15 years to get doctors to stop the knee-jerk practice of prescribing antibiotics for the disease. And yet, a new study finds that some 70% of physicians are still telling patients to take drugs that don’t work. [More]
Minnesota Bans Widely Used (But Pretty Much Useless) Antibacterial Soap Ingredient
By 5.20.14
In spite of the fact that the FDA has said that soap containing the antibacterial chemical triclosan is really no better at preventing the spread of germs than simply washing your hands with regular hot soap and water, it’s still widely used in soaps, cosmetics, deodorants and some toothpastes. And so the Minnesota state legislature recently voted to ban the use of triclosan. [More]
Poll: Is McDonald’s New Happy Meal Mascot The Creepiest Fast Food Shill Yet?
By 5.20.14
Here’s a little secret about me. I hate mascots. Seeing grown adults running around in gigantic animal-like costumes makes my skin crawl. The sense of dread that washes over me when I see them also translates to their cartoonish counterparts hawking hamburgers, ice cream and other fast food fare on television. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of creeptastic mascots out there seeking to give us nightmares. [More]
Taco Bell Goes Smaller For A Change, Testing Crunchwrap Sliders
By 5.20.14
In recent years, Taco Bell has had a tendency to go large with many of its menu items, slapping XXL on its burritos and nachos, and selling “Big Box” combo meals along with 12 packs of tacos. But it looks like the fast food chain is now testing Shrink-Rayed “slider” versions of its Crunchwrap thing. [More]
Response To Chipotle’s “Please Don’t Bring Guns” Statement Is Predictably Divided
By 5.20.14
Another chain eatery has put itself in the middle of the debate over gun rights after Chipotle announced yesterday that it would rather its customers didn’t bring firearms into their stores. Not surprisingly, the response to this decision has resulted in praise and condemnation, with little in between. [More]
Customers Can No Longer “Have It Your Way” At Burger King; Company Ditches Longtime Slogan
By 5.19.14
After 40 years, consumers will no longer “Have It Your Way” at their local Burger King. Instead, the company is rolling out a new, more philosophical slogan – “Be Your Way” – meant to highlight each individual customer. Whatever that means. [More]
Rep. Slaughter Asks McDonald’s To Switch To Antibiotic-Free Beef
By 5.19.14
Some 80% of antibiotics sold in this country go to farmers to put in animal feed, and while the livestock and pharmaceutical industries now like to pretend it’s for disease prevention, the primary motive for shoving drugs down animals’ throats is because antibiotics have the happy side effect of encouraging growth. The practice is so widespread that it would take one of the country’s largest beef-buyers to result in any effective change, which is why New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has called on McDonald’s to ditch drugged-up meat for good. [More]
Fight Over Freshness Of Cinnamon Roll Leads To Gun Threat At Burger King
By 5.16.14
There’s nothing like a warm, fragrant cinnamon roll, fresh and hot out of the kitchen. But police say for one Burger King customer in South Carolina, receiving a lackluster Cinnabon was so disappointing, she threatened to shoot everyone in the restaurant over it. [More]
Novartis Continues To Market Antibiotic As A Way To Fatten Up Pigs
By 5.16.14
Last December, after decades of ignoring the issue of the non-medical use antibiotics in farm animals, the FDA finally released industry-friendly guidance on the topic, politely asking drug companies to stop selling their antibiotics to farmers for anything other than disease treatment and prevention. And yet the folks at Swiss drug giant Novartis continue to push one of their antibiotics as a way for pig farmers to make bigger pigs. [More]
Researchers Say “Best Before” Dates Result In Massive Amounts Of Wasted Food
By 5.16.14
If you’re a regular reader of Consumerist, you’re likely aware that there’s a big difference between a “use by” and a “best before” date; the former is a sign that the food may be unsafe to eat after a certain date (though even that’s not always true) while the latter is an indicator that the item might not taste its best after that date, but is still safe to eat. However, many people don’t understand this distinction — and tons of food is wasted every year as a result. [More]
Would You Like Guacamole With Your McDonald’s Meal?
By 5.15.14
You might react to this concept with either horror or curiosity: McDonald’s is testing guacamole as a condiment and dipping sauce at its restaurants in southern California, and they’re testing a fancy new Guacamole Burger in Denver. For 89 cents, they’ll put guacamole on anything. Anything? [More]
Chipotle Bags, Cups Now Come With Original Musings By Literary Minds Printed On Them
By 5.15.14
You know who gets lonely dining solo at Chipotle? Author Jonathan Safran Foer. And maybe you, or you, too. Heck, anyone can get bored and lonesome if they forget to bring something to occupy the mind while eating out. For those times, Foer led the charge to get original writing from his fellow literary minds printed up on Chipotle cups. [More]
