While livestock farmers around the country continue to feed medically unnecessary antibiotics to their animals for the sole purpose of encouraging growth, millions of Americans are falling ill — and thousands dying — every year from bacterial and fungal infections that are resistant to current medication, claims a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. [More]
Food & Personal Care
KFC Puts Shredded Cheese On Donut, Creates Breakfast Magic
By 9.16.13
You know, maybe KFC in Asia just got a huge shipment of cheese. Last week, we shared that KFC in the Philippines is having a “cheezy bacon fest” that consists of slathering cheese and bacon on their major menu items. Over in Indonesia, they’ve put a mix of swiss and cheddar cheese on top of a donut and called it “delicious.” [More]
Welcome To Wisconsin: Where The Streets Are Literally Flowing With Cheese
By 9.13.13
As if you needed any more reason to visit Wisconsin (Home of Harley Davidson! Beer! Free snow every winter! People say “please” and “thank you”!), Milwaukee’ Department of Public Works is embarking on a pilot program this winter to figure out if cheese brine can be added to rock salt and applied to the streets. The one problem with this plan? The brine apparently has a distinctive odor. My guess is limburger. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] [More]
Was Detroit’s Singing Hot Dog Guy Fired Because He Hates Ketchup, Or For Just Being Annoying?
By 9.13.13
For more than a decade, he’s scaled the steps of Comerica Park in Detroit, selling hot dogs to Tigers fans and occasionally busting out in song to hawk his wares. Then last week, he was given the boot by the stadium’s foodservice contractor. Some say it was because of his too-harsh stance against ketchup on hot dogs. Others say it was just because fans finally got sick of his singing. [More]
Redundant Currency Symbol Menace Spreads To Canada
By 9.12.13
We’re sorry, Canada. We share a dominant language and many aspects of our culture, but we didn’t mean to export the horror of redundant currency symbols. That’s the grammar abomination where someone uses both the symbol and word for a currency in the same sentence: for example, “$15 dollars.” After our rant on the subject earlier this week, reader Daniel pointed out its appearance in a current Pizza Hut promo in Canada. [More]
Is Climate Change Making Oyster-Eaters Sick?
By 9.11.13
Climate change and global warming have been blamed for a lot of things, but one possible link between warming sea water and food-borne illnesses could be awfully depressing to folks who enjoy chowing down on raw oysters. [More]
Attention, Vegans: Yes, The Pumpkin Spice Latte Contains Dairy, Even When It’s Made With Soy
By 9.11.13
Now that Starbucks has stopped using ground-up bugs (cochineal extract, mmm) in its products, there’s a new, dairy-free battle vegans are fighting against the popular coffee chain, and it involves the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. [More]
Test Your Internet Knowledge With Consumerist’s History Of E-Commerce Quiz
By 9.10.13
We’ve mentioned it before and now Pizza Hut is proudly crowing over it again: The chain is laying claim to the honor of the first purchase ever made on the World Wide Web — a mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese pizza back in 1994 — which brings up a good point: How much do any of us really know about the history of e-commerce? Take Consumerist’s quiz to find out. [More]
Burger King Asst. Manager Takes Home Bag O’ Cash To “Teach Co-Worker A Lesson”
By 9.10.13
In Volusia County, Florida, one man’s alleged attempt at teaching a co-worker a valuable life lesson is another man’s alleged act of grand theft. [More]
McDonald’s Testing Giant Family-Size Happy Meal In Kansas City
By 9.9.13 — Updated: 9.8.16
Boxes of meat and sides designed for a whole family to eat have been a staple in fast-food chicken, but why can’t you buy a giant box o’burgers? Good question. McDonald’s is testing a great big family-size dinner box as part of a promotion with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. [More]
FDA Tests Confirm Presence Of Arsenic In Rice Products
By 9.6.13 — Updated: 4.1.16
Almost exactly one year after our cohorts at Consumer Reports found arsenic in a wide range of rice products — from instant rice to baby food to rice milk to cereal — the Food and Drug Administration has released the results of its own research on the topic, effectively confirming CR’s findings and suggestion that consumers vary the types of grains they eat. [More]
Case Of Bud Light Comes With Free Dead Snake
By 9.6.13
Getting something extra in your case of beer sounds pretty appealing…but maybe not when that extra something is a dead snake. It’s not clear how a small snake ended up inside an 18-pack of Bud Light, but the customer who bought it decided not to take any chances. He won’t drink it, mostly because of the dead-snake stench. [More]
After 14 Years, Taco Bell Stops Giving Free Chalupas To Portland Trail Blazers Fans
By 9.6.13
For more than a decade, whenever the Portland Trail Blazers scored at least 100 points during a home game, every person at the game got a coupon for a free Taco Bell Chalupa. But when the new season starts, the Blazers will have less of an incentive to put up triple-digit numbers, as Taco Bell has apparently pulled the plug on the longtime promotion. [More]
Starbucks Celebrates 10th Anniversary Of Pumpkin Spice Latte With $150 Sparkly Tumbler
By 8.29.13
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, a beverage with an entirely justified fanatical fan base. The company is celebrating that anniversary with a limited-edition ceramic tumbler that features caramel-colored Swarovski crystals, orange and brown glaze, and an abstract version of the company logo in green crystals. It costs $150. [More]
McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s Employees In 50 Cities Planning To Walk Off Job Today
By 8.29.13
If you’re in the mood for a Whopper, Baconator, or Big Mac today, you might be in for a wait, as some employees at two of the nation’s largest fast food chains have pledged to stage a walk-out today in protest against the low wages paid to workers in the fast food industry. [More]
Should Eating Food Out Of The Trash At Work Be Grounds For Termination?
By 8.28.13
A 21-year-old barista who worked at a downtown Seattle Starbucks claims he was fired for taking a sandwich out of the trash and eating it. He argues that since his employers were going to toss it anyway, why should he be punished for pulling it out of the garbage, especially when he hasn’t been working enough hours to pay his bills? [More]
Taco Bell Makes Whiny Canadian Customers Eat Their Words Upon Arrival Of Doritos Locos Tacos
By 8.28.13
Any time I’ve been forced to eat my words it’s been a pride-swallowing experience, to be sure, but without anything actually delicious or food-like to ingest. Maybe that’s what makes this Taco Bell campaign in Canada so interesting — turning the tables on whiney customers who bemoaned the lack of Doritos Locos Tacos Up North by having them actually eat their own tweeted, cranky words, emblazoned on said tacos. [More]
Missouri AG’s Lawsuit Accuses Walgreens Of Overcharging Customers
By 8.27.13
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is taking on Walgreen Co., accusing the pharmacy chain of overcharging customers. He filed a lawsuit yesterday, claiming the company is yanking customers’ chains by posting misleading or deceptive price tags on various items, after undercover investigators checked out consumer complaints at area stores. [More]
