You might have seen the “suspended coffee” meme going around on Facebook or other social media recently, The idea goes as follows: when you order your morning caffeine jolt or pastry, you order additional items, but ask for them to be “suspended.” When a person who can’t afford their own beverage comes in, they can ask for a “suspended” coffee or food, and receive one for free. This makes you feel all warm and cuddly when you hit the “share” button, but in practice is more of a pain in the butt. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Publix Recalls Fruit And Grain Salad Because Listeria Is Neither Fruit Nor Grain
By 3.29.13
The folks at Publix Super Markets have recalled their ‘Publix Deli Tri Fruit and Grain Salad’ out of concern that it may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, which is not something you want to be eating. [More]
Why Should Starbucks Give You A Loyalty Discount? You’re Already Addicted
By 3.26.13
Six million people have rewards accounts at Starbucks, but it might not be accurate to call them loyalty cards. Yes, Starbucks uses cards and apps to store gift card balances and keep track of what customers buy, but don’t look for them to start handing out more discounts as they collect more data on you. If someone is already coming in five days a week, the goal isn’t to charge them less: it’s to make sure they don’t stop coming. [More]
Snack Food World Collapses In Upon Itself As Doritos Announces Doritos Locos Tacos Doritos
By 3.26.13
It was an inevitability we all secretly knew but refused to openly admit for fear of having to face the inherent existential dilemma it presents, but the fearless folks at Pepsico have decided to mess with the snack-time continuum, announcing the impending release of Doritos Locos Tacos flavored Doritos. [More]
Starbucks CEO: Don’t Like The Company’s Support Of Marriage Equality? Sell Your Shares
By 3.22.13
When Starbucks announced last year that the company supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in its mother state of Washington, opponents of the measure were less than pleased. The National Organization for Marriage launched a boycott of Starbucks, pledging to hit the company where it hurt — in its pocket. But CEO Howard Schultz says he didn’t give a toot about sales when it comes down to it. [More]
Two Men Stole $1,000 Worth Of Mucinex From A CVS
March 20, 2013
Watch out for shady black-market over-the-counter drug dealers. Police outside of Pennsylvania’s capital are looking for two men who stole $1,000 worth of Mucinex from a CVS store, and who may or may not have one heck of a cough. If that sounds like a lot, it’s not: it’s less than twenty 100-packs. [WHTM] [More]
CVS Employees Must Provide Personal Medical Info Or Pay Higher Insurance Premiums
By 3.20.13
CVS is launching a “voluntary” new program for employees that allows them to avoid paying more for health insurance, if they just share personal medical information — weight, body fat, glucose levels, etc. — with the company. [More]
State’s Residents Unsurprised That Wisconsin Cheesemaker Wins Best U.S. Cheese Honors
By 3.15.13
Of all the things Wisconsinites are proud to claim as their own (the Green Bay Packers, Harley-Davidson, Laverne & Shirley, Mark Ruffalo) perhaps the one nearest and dearest to our hearts is our intense love of cheese. So of course, it’s only fitting that a Wisconsin cheesemaker’s aged gouda just took the top prize at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, held in in Green Bay, natch. [Green Bay Press Gazette] [More]
The Secret To Delicious No-Sugar-Added Baking: Tasty, Tasty Sugar
By 3.15.13
What’s the secret to totally delicious healthy, no-sugar-added baking? Fat and sugar, of course! This re-enactment of a classic “Seinfeld” episode is brought to you by Butterfly Bakery of New Jersey, where three out of the company’s 45 varieties of baked goods were shown to contain a lot more saturated fat and sugar than the label stated. By “a lot,” we mean twice the saturated fat listed on the label, and three times the sugar. [More]
Customer Claims To Have Discovered This… Thing… Inside Minute Maid Juice Container
By 3.14.13
We know that compromised juice containers can turn a pleasant beverage into a mold-apalooza, but we’ve never seen anything like this before. [More]
Bill Seeks To Phase Out Over-Use Of Antibiotics In Farm Animals
By 3.14.13
It’s been almost two years since the FDA asked the farmers of America to pretty please stop pumping up their livestock with antibiotics they don’t need, and yet that amazingly seems to have had no effect. And so today, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter of New York has introduced legislation that would curb the controversial practice. [More]
Don’t Worry, The Caterpillar You Found In Your Dinner Is Totally Safe To Eat
By 3.13.13
Unless that’s what they set out to eat in the first place, people aren’t thrilled to find insects in their food. Reader V. and his family are vegetarians, and were even less thrilled than most people to find a worm in their package of frozen edamame from Trader Joe’s. When he wrote to complain, the company was pretty transparent about what the critter was and how it ended up in their dinner. The company gave a refund. But V. found the company’s assurance that the critter was safe to eat insensitive. [More]
Which Fast Food Prices Have Increased The Most Over The Last Decade?
March 12, 2013
Wondering if your Whopper dollar is going as far as it did in 2002? Or maybe you want to know how Wendy’s new focus on higher quality ingredients has impacted your wallet? And why hasn’t the price of a Frosty gone up in 11 years? Cockeyed.com has some side-by-side pricing comparisons of fast food drive-thru menus from 2002 and the present day. [Cockeyed] [More]
FDA Says Writing Menu Labeling Regulations That Please Everyone Is A Tough Task
By 3.12.13
If you’re hankering for a calorie count on your local restaurant chain’s menus, it’s going to be awhile: the Food and Drug Administration says it’s finding the task of writing up menu labeling regulations a very tricky one. The requirement to include calorie counts on menus and in vending machines is part of the 2010 health care law, but the rules on which businesses must comply have yet to be written. [More]
Starbucks’ Decision Not To Change Menu Flies In The Face Of Bloomberg’s Sugary Drinks Ban
By 3.11.13
UPDATE: Looks like Starbucks knew what it was doing — since we published this story earlier today, a New york judge has ruled that Mayor Bloomberg’s ban on large sugary drinks is invalid. [More]
Additional Lots Of Bumble Bee & Chicken Of The Sea Tuna Recalled
By 3.8.13
The tuna recall train keeps rolling on, with Bumble Bee expanding its earlier recall of some Chunk White Albacore and Chunk Light Tuna products over concerns about improperly sealed cans. The entire list of recalled Bumble Bee products is available at FDA.gov. Details on an expanded similar Chicken of the Sea recall can be found here. [More]
Domino’s Japan: Have A Synthetic Pop Star With Your Chain Pizza
By 3.7.13 — Updated: 9.8.16
Here at Consumerist, we’re fond of cross-cultural exchanges that involve fast food. Okay, we just like anything that involves fast food. We particularly relish news of menu items and promotions that American fast-food joints don’t offer in their home country, like the seven-patty Whopper. Domino’s Japan has taken a great step forward by combining a famous artificial pop star, an iPhone app, an incredibly awkward YouTube video, and what we can only guess are songs about pizza. [More]
Chicken Of The Sea Tuna Also Recalled For Possibly Faulty Can Seals
March 7, 2013
One day after Bumble Bee announced a recall on some of its canned tuna products because the cans’ seals might not be up to snuff, the makers of Chicken of the Sea tuna have issued a similar recall. See all the recall details at FDA.gov. [More]
