People all over the world were horrified but also intrigued to learn that in New Zealand, Pizza Hut offers a crust stuffed with cheese (good) and Marmite, a yeast-based paste (ew). Fortunately, the chain’s Kiwi outposts have redeemed themselves with a new offering: the Chilli Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza. Better yet: those hot dogs are actually cheese dogs. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Burger King China’s PooPoo Smoothie Is Apparently Better Than Its Name Would Imply
By 4.14.14
Here’s another to add to the list of product names that don’t travel well: Burger King China’s PooPoo Smoothie, which may conjure up images of… well, I’d rather not say, but your inner grossed-out 8-year-old knows what I mean, but which has nothing to do with excrement and is apparently not awful. [More]
Domino’s Introduces Pizza Appetizers With Chicken For Crust
By 4.14.14
Do you know what most people really love? Meat. Add meat to a restaurant or fast food dish, especially if it replaces bread, and you’ll capture the public’s imagination and appetite. Look at the world’s (and this site’s) obsession with KFC’s Double Down sandwich, for example. Domino’s wants to capture some of that meat magic by slathering pizza toppings on chicken and declaring it an appetizer. [More]
Woman Suing Subway Because It’s Rude To Write “Big Mama” On Her Flatizza Box
By 4.14.14
A woman in California says she’s planning legal action against the Subway chain of sandwich shops because a Subway worker wrote the words “Big Mama” on her order and because was less-than-thrilled by the company’s response. [More]
Keep Your Herbs Moist, Your Spices Away From The Stove, And Other Food Storage Tips
By 4.12.14
You may not use things like cumin, honey, or sage in every meal, but these are the kinds of ingredients that many home cooks keep on hand so they can use them whenever they’re called for. But how do you keep that paprika from turning into colorful sawdust? And what’s the best way to store that fresh parsley so it won’t be dried up and useless a few days after you buy it? [More]
Taco Bell Employee Guilty Of Threatening Co-Worker With Knife In Front Of Customers
By 4.11.14
Dear Taco Bell employees: If you’re going to threaten one another with knives (which, for the record, we do not recommend), kindly do so out of the view of customers; and certainly don’t threaten your fellow employee while he or she is in the middle of taking an order from a customer. [More]
Detroit Police Bust Shoplifting Ring Accused Of Stealing $15K Of Stuff Per Day
By 4.11.14
While you might think you know about shoplifting based on that ill-advised stint in middle school when everyone was doing it, cops in Detroit have fried a much bigger fish than your normal grab-and-go thieves: Investigators say they’ve just busted a shoplifting ring responsible for stealing as much as $15,000 worth of merchandise a day and reselling it on the Internet. [More]
Subway: No More “Yoga Mat” Chemicals In Our Bread By Next Week
By 4.11.14
Back in February, Subway pledged to stop using Azodicarbonamide, a controversial chemical that it uses to improve elasticity in its bread but that also shows up in things like yoga mats. You won’t be doing any downward dogging (that’s how yoga people talk, right?) on Subway’s bread soon, as the company says it’s almost done phasing out the chemical. [More]
FDA’s New Rules: Honey With Added Sweeteners Might Be Sweet, But It Ain’t Honey
By 4.8.14
Just because something looks like honey, is sticky like honey and is sweet like honey, doesn’t mean it’s the real thing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today in new draft guidelines. That means food companies that add sweeteners to pure honey will have to tell consumers it’s not the totally real deal and label the products as a “blend.” [More]
Potentially Harmful Chemicals Find Their Way Into Our Food Thanks To 56-Year-Old FDA Rule
By 4.7.14
There are a number of federal protections to keep unsafe chemicals out of our favorite foods. But more often than not, those protections fail consumers. A new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council explores one of those failures: Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) designation. [More]
Keep Your Onions & Potatoes Separated And Other Tips For Storing Fruits & Vegetables
By 4.5.14 — Updated: 1.20.17
We’ve all got kitchens and we all eat food, but not everyone can agree on where and how to store that food so it doesn’t immediately turn into a moldy mess or dry out into a worthless husk. We’ve already looked at the the best places and methods for keeping your bread, dairy and eggs fresh, and in this second Spoilage Wars installment, we’ll deal with the fruits and vegetables you endeavor to keep from rotting away. [More]
Proposal To Regulate E-Cigarettes Expected Soon, FDA Says
By 4.3.14
While critics of e-cigarettes raise concerns about everything from exploding devices to poisoning risks to marketing and advertising to minors, there are currently no specific federal regulations on these products. That is likely to change soon, says the head of the FDA. [More]
Fruit Punch Oreos Exist, Are Available At Walmart
By 4.3.14
Here at Consumerist, we try to stay at the forefront of advances in cookie technology. Earlier this week, we learned that fruit punch-flavored Oreos exist. This is only the latest in a string of intriguing and/or horrifying Oreo varieties that have hit shelves in recent years. We had to know more. [More]
This Is What It Looks Like When A Car Drives Through The Door Of A CVS
By 4.3.14
Turns out those automatic doors stores have can be counted on to let anyone in — even if it’s a car driving up to the store instead of person. Shoppers at a CVS in Tampa had a close call with a wayward vehicle after the driver lost control and crashed through the front doors and into the store. [More]
Pizza Hut Stuffs Crusts With Fish Eggs
By 4.3.14
Pizza Hut is a global menace. They simply won’t stop stuffing terrifying and unusual things in their pizza crusts. While nothing will ever top the horror of the Marmite-stuffed crust, the new Flying Fish Roe Salmon Cream Cheese Pizza is even stranger to Americans: its crust is stuffed with salmon-flavored cream cheese dotted with flying fish roe. Yep, fish eggs. [More]
This $20 Glass Creates A Magical Sensorial Coca-Cola Drinking Experience
By 4.2.14
When you think of beverages with a complex bouquet of flavors, what comes to mind? Wine, maybe? Fancy coffee and tea? Craft beers? What about Coca-Cola? Yes, there are people who appreciate the complexity of Coca-Cola. They now have a special glass from which to drink their high-fructose corn ambrosia. [More]
Avon To Phase Out Triclosan From Products
By 4.1.14
Four years ago, the FDA admitted that triclosan — an antibacterial and antifungal chemical used in numerous soaps, cosmetics and other products — doesn’t provide any additional benefit to simple soap-and-hot-water hand-washing. And while the agency mulls over proposed rules that would require companies that use triclosan in soap to prove their products are safe and more effective, some companies are responding to customer demand and phasing out the use of the chemical on their own. [More]
Walgreens Customer Mistaken For Homeless Person, Kicked Out Of Store
By 4.1.14
An overzealous Walgreens security guard and a case of mistaken identity led to what the drugstore chain is calling “an unfortunate situation” in Chicago. A 62-year-old man, a Vietnam War veteran, claims that he entered the store and a security guard asked him to leave or face arrest. The guard had mistaken him for a homeless man who had caused problems at the same store. [More]
