Every year, there are three million shipments of cosmetic products that pass through U.S. ports and onto our store shelves. The problem is that there are only six inspectors for all of those shipments, which means that .3% of them are ever inspected. Products like tattoo ink that goes under the skin and lipstick that could be ingested fall under “cosmetics,” and products could be dangerous. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Bill Seeks To Make Marijuana Legal On The Federal Level
By 8.2.17
While there are five states in the U.S. that have legalized recreational marijuana and about 29 others (including D.C.) that allow it for medical purposes, weed is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. One lawmaker is trying to change that with a new bill that would legalize the drug nationwide. [More]
Starbucks Isn’t Bad At Acquiring Businesses: It Just Doesn’t Want Them
By 8.1.17
Starbucks went on something of a buying binge five or six years ago, buying a healthy-lunch chain, an unhealthy-pastries chain, and a loose tea retailer. Since then, the coffee chain has shuttered all of these businesses, which it paid hundreds of millions of dollars for. Is Starbucks just really bad at picking companies to acquire? [More]
Instead Of Busing College Students To Stores, Target Opens New Locations, Tests Pickup Options
By 7.31.17
As back to school season kicks into high gear, retailers across the country are competing to fill students’ backpacks with supplies and adorn their dorm rooms with TV, mini-refrigerators, and other college-esque paraphernalia. Target just happens to be one of those retailers, and the big box store is upping its back to school game by opening smaller format stores, offering new pickup options, and hosting pop-up shops on campuses. [More]
Here Are This Year’s 8 Most Ridiculously Calorie-Filled Chain Restaurant Meals
By 7.31.17
Fast food chains may, deservedly, get flack from public health advocates for their menus filled with salty, breaded, greasy grub, but most fast food meals have nothing on their sit-down restaurant cousins across the parking lot. A bacon cheeseburger may look like a healthy snack compared to the winners of this year’s Xtreme Eating awards. [More]
July 29 Is National Chicken Wing Day: Here Are Some Deals And Stunt Foods
By 7.29.17 — Updated: 7.30.17
There’s only one good thing about nonsense holidays like National Ice Cream Day or National Donut Day: If you like the food being celebrated, restaurants have events where you can get discounts or free items. National Chicken Wing Day, July 29, is no exception. [More]
Please Do Not Buy Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses
By 7.28.17 — Updated: 7.30.17
There’s a total solar eclipse coming across much of the country on Aug. 21, which will be amazing to watch. However, use caution, and make sure not to risk your eyesight to see it. Not only should you wear special eclipse-viewing glasses when you look at the sun, but you should make sure that those glasses aren’t counterfeit. [More]
United Kingdom Discovers 2,529 Products Hit By Grocery Shrink Ray, Calls It ‘Shrinkflation’
By 7.28.17
The grocery shrink ray is a phenomenon that you may have noticed, where companies make their packaged products slightly smaller, charge the same price, and hope that no one notices. It’s not a new phenomenon, but the Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom recently tallied up shrunken products in the last five years. [More]
Your Tank Of Colorful Coral Could Pose A Toxic Danger
By 7.28.17
Installing a massive water-filled tank full of colorful floral and different species of fish might sound like great way to give your home that enormous little touch of pizzazz you always envisioned. Or could prove to be a dangerous addition, as some species of coral can emit deadly chemicals. [More]
FDA Considering Lowering Level Of Nicotine Allowed In Cigarettes To Reduce Addiction
By 7.28.17
Could your future cigarette purchase come with a little less nicotine? It’s possible, as the FDA revealed today a new multi-year roadmap intended to protect kids and reduce tobacco-related disease and death. [More]
Starbucks Closing All Teavana Stores
By 7.28.17
It was almost five years ago that Starbucks paid $620 million to acquire mall tea chain Teavana, politely declining the $800 million tea tin upsell. While Teavana products are now for sale in every Starbucks cafe, including fruit-infused iced teas, the company announced this week that it will be closing the remaining Teavana retail stores over the coming year. [More]
Blowing Out Birthday Candles Means Blasting Cakes With Spit
By 7.27.17
When celebrating birthdays, blowing out a cake full of candles and singing a public domain song is a time-honored tradition. Yet has it ever occurred to you that this ritual means that the birthday celebrant is just blasting spit over the candles and the top layer of the cake? Well, now it has. [More]
Period Underwear Company Thinx Has A New CEO Months After Sexual Harassment Claims
By 7.27.17
Period underwear company Thinx has a new “She-EO,” a title the company’s former leader bestowed upon herself: The startup named a new CEO today, months after the previous leader and co-founder left amid reports of sexual harassment and employee dissatisfaction. [More]
Coke Zero Gets New Recipe, Changes Name To ‘Coke Zero Sugar’
By 7.26.17
Coca-Cola Zero — the drink of choice for people who want the low-calories of Diet Coke and something that tastes vaguely like Coke, but not quite — is getting an overhaul, with Coca-Cola announcing that the diet soda is being reformulated and re-introduced with the new branding of Coke Zero Sugar. [More]
Investigation Shows Chipotle Norovirus Outbreak Probably Caused By Sick Employee
By 7.26.17 — Updated: 7.30.17
After its food safety crisis in 2015 and 2016, Chipotle implemented new procedures, including everything from blanching produce to shutting down and sanitizing a restaurant if anyone, employee or customer, vomits inside. The problem, it turns out, is that it doesn’t matter how good your protocols are if stores don’t actually follow them. [More]
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Papaya Lovers, Beware: There’s A Salmonella Outbreak Going Around
By 7.26.17
If you’ve bought some nice juicy papayas and are preparing to cut them up for your next snack, you’ll want to pay attention to this: There’s a salmonella outbreak linked to a certain brand of papayas — but the company that sells them isn’t sharing that information with customers. [More]
Is Your Steak Really Done When Your Hand Says It Is?
By 7.26.17 — Updated: 7.27.17
When it comes to detecting when your steak is done, there are those among us who eschew meat thermometers in favor of using what’s known as the touch-test method. But does this form of culinary palm reading actually work? [More]
Nestle Building A Special Factory To Keep Japan Supplied With Wacky Kit Kat Flavors
By 7.26.17
While here in the United States we have stunt Oreos, in Japan the oddly flavored treat of choice are Kit Kats. The candies are so popular there that Nestle is building a new factory there that will do nothing but crank out Kit Kats. [More]
