Mike is pretty laid-back about the curious substance that he found inside a bag of Pop Secret popcorn. “Things happen. When one makes millions of something, there will be issues with a few,” he observes. That’s true. He’s disappointed, though, because Pop Secret hasn’t kept him updated him on what the heck it was. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Taco Bell Customers Find $3,600 In Drive-Thru Order, Choose To Not Blow Cash On 3,000 Tacos
By 7.1.13
You may be familiar with the joy of getting home and finding an extra order of french fries in your fast food bag, so imagine how rad it would be to find $3,600 cash stashed in your to-go bag. [More]
Embezzling $500K From New Job To Pay For Embezzling From Another Won’t End Well
By 6.28.13
What’s an employee to do after being sued by a former employer for embezzlement? Apparently the answer for one California woman was to simply get another job, this time at a pizza chain, and steal $545,000 from that employer to pay off what she owed. It’s a vicious cycle, people. [More]
Court: Starbucks Baristas Only Have To Share Tips With Shift Supervisors, Not Asst. Managers
By 6.27.13
In the fight over who gets to dig their hands into the Starbucks tip jar at the end of the day, everyone is coming out kind of a winner. Well, except for assistant managers, but they already earn salaries and have benefits, so that’s pretty winner-y. A court says baristas must share their tips, but only with shift supervisors. [More]
Cocktail Pairings At Tokyo Burger Kings Prove Yet Again That Other Countries Have More Fun
By 6.27.13
Sometimes it’s like, ugh, so what if we have tacos in Doritos shells? Who even cares that the McRib only shows up once a year (that is rhetorical, please refrain from McRib-related hate mail)? Other countries get to have all the fun. Like a 2-ring circus pizza with a cherry on top in Singapore or the Nacho Whopper of the Netherlands, cocktail pairings with your Burger King will only be happening across the sea, this time in Tokyo. [More]
Study: Want That Cheese To Taste Saltier? Eat It Off A Knife
By 6.26.13
Oh, science! You know me so well. Talk about cheese and kerspring! You’ve got my complete and undivided attention. A new study says we eat with our brains first, and as such, the way foods taste could depend on the cutlery we use to eat them. For example: Cheese tasted saltier to participants when nibbled off a knife instead of a fork, spoon or toothpick. Who uses spoons for cheese, anyway?* [More]
Taco Bell Worker Accused Of Groping Drive-Thru Customers’ Breasts
By 6.26.13
Two Taco Bell customers have accused an employee of the fast food chain of getting way too hands-on while handing out food at the drive-thru, alleging that the 20-year-old male groped their breasts in two separate incidents. [More]
FDA Okays Two New Cigarettes Because They Are Just As Harmful As What’s Already Available
By 6.25.13
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products. Since then, no new tobacco products have been released on the U.S. market, but that’s about to change with the FDA giving the green light to a pair of new cigarette offerings that the agency says are no better or worse for you than what’s already legally available. [More]
Please, Domino’s, We Need To Know: What Constitutes “Misuse Of The Pizza”?
By 6.25.13
One of the main reasons we here at Consumerist HQ love our readers so much? You’re all very good at reading the fine print. And sometimes, as a result, we get to consider what’s going on in the brains of companies’ legal departments. For example, the terms of Domino’s pizza giveaway going on right now includes a clause regarding “misuse of the pizza.” Oh, please, Domino’s, do tell. [More]
The Meat Is On: Taco Bell To Start Testing New “Protein Power” Menu In Ohio
By 6.25.13
Where’s the beef? We can never keep tabs on all the beef that’s being sought but if it’s in an Ohio Taco Bell starting July 25, it could be double. Double beef, double chicken — twice the meat is the driving force behind Taco Bell’s new “Power Protein” menu that’ll be tested in Ohio this summer. [More]
If An NYC Restaurant Isn’t Showing Its Health Inspection Grade, It Probably Failed
By 6.24.13
Three years ago, New York City began requiring that all of its 24,000+ restaurants post huge letter grades representing their most recent health inspection results, but more than 1,000 eateries that didn’t make the desired A grade are balking at going public with their report card. [More]
Everyone Get Ready To Freak Out: Starbucks Hiking Prices 1% Nationwide Next Week
By 6.21.13
Hey everyone, the price of coffee beans is going down! That’s great news — for Starbucks, but not necessarily for its customers. In fact I would be remiss in not mentioning the news that prices are actually going to go up pretty much everywhere across the country at Starbucks next week, by about 1%. [More]
USDA Approves Label That Will Identify Products From Animals Fed A Non-GMO Diet
By 6.21.13
There will be a bit more transparency in the grocery aisle soon, at least for some products. The United State’s Agriculture Department has given the go-ahead to a label that will tout meat and liquid egg products as being free of genetically modified ingredients. This doesn’t mean, however, that the USDA is requiring all meat and poultry processors to do so, but it’s the first time the department has approved a non-GMO label. [More]
If A Cop Stops You For DUI At The Burger King Drive-Thru, Don’t Try To Drive Through Him
By 6.20.13
A Michigan man has been sentenced to 2-5 years in prison for an incident at a Burger King drive-thru, during which the man attempted to drive his car through the police officer that was checking him out for a suspected DUI. [More]
Starbucks Opens At Disney World, Everyone Freaks Out For Some Reason
By 6.20.13 — Updated: 6.21.13
Main Street, U.S.A. serves as the entrance to Disney’s theme parks worldwide. It’s like a quaint American small town from a century ago, where everyone carries smartphones in their fanny packs. Change has come to Main Street, and some Disney fans are more than a little upset that the Main Street Bakery will now serve a full menu of authentic, turn-of-the-century Starbucks beverages. [More]
Chipotle Is The First U.S. Fast Food Chain To Identify Products With GMO Ingredients
By 6.19.13
Sure, you probably know the basic ingredients in your fast food lunch — chicken or beef, lettuce and tomato, whathaveyou — after all, you’re the one who ordered it. But if you, like many consumers, care whether or not those ingredients include genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the ingredient list usually is no help. Chipotle announced that it will now mark those ingredients on its website for discerning consumers. [More]
Only In The United States Of America Is It Necessary To Legally Define A Hot Dog
By 6.18.13
While there are some cities whose denizens will shoot you quite the stinkeye for misidentifying their tubed meats — a Polish sausage is not the same as bratwurst, people — most of us probably know our hot dogs. But despite Americans’ collective familiarity with the city street corner staples, California is taking things a step further with legislation that seeks to come up with a legal definition for “hot dog.” [More]
June Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Sulfites, Plastic Fragments, And Salmonella
By 6.18.13
Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables. In this edition of the Food and Drug roundup, dangers lurk everywhere, from coconut candy bars to sugary cereals. [More]
