Remember a few years ago when Girl Scouts in San Francisco made headlines for the obviously brilliant move of selling cookies in front of a marijuana dispensary? They’re still allies, and this year, the girls threw down the gauntlet in a charity duel. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Chipotle Closing All 15 ShopHouse Asian Kitchen Locations
By 3.9.17
Five months after Chipotle said it would stop investing in the growth and development of its Asian-inspired ShopHouse Kitchen chain, the company announced plans to close all 15 locations, essentially abandoning the brand. [More]
Americans Pass Important Sugary Milestone: We Now Buy More Bottled Water Than Soda
By 3.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Late last summer, experts predicted that Americans would soon reach an important beverage milestone. We were close to the point where we would be purchasing more bottled water than sweetened soft drinks. According to a new report, we’ve finally passed that point, gulping 12.8 billion gallons from bottles in 2016, an increase of 9% from 2015. [More]
Honey Nut Cheerios Bee Goes Missing To Highlight Vanishing Bee Colonies
By 3.9.17
If you were to go down your cereal aisle and see all the cartoon bees on the boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios replaced with white voids in an effort to highlight the problem with the decreasing bee population, you might think it was some sort of protest art project instead of a campaign being run by one of the world’s largest packaged food companies.
[More]
D.C. Restaurant Sues New Trump Hotel, Alleging Unfair Competition
By 3.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C.’s historic Old Post Office opened last fall, only weeks before its namesake was elected President. With the White House and its primary occupant only a few blocks away, one D.C. restaurant claims the new hotel has an unfair advantage. [More]
Restaurants Adding Surcharge To Customers’ Bills Amid Rising Labor Costs
By 3.9.17
Restaurants are taking a cue from the cable industry: Rather than raise menu prices to cover the higher cost of paying wages, some eateries are tacking on “labor surcharges.” [More]
Whole Foods Adding Do-It-Yourself Juice Bars To Some California Stores
By 3.8.17
Shoppers can already purchase a variety of juices from Whole Foods, but soon some customers in Southern California will be able to make — and then buy — their own juice at stores. [More]
Soynut Butter Co. Expands Recall To All Products, Including Granola
By 3.8.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Earlier this week, we shared the news that I.M. Healthy soy butter, a product that’s handy for making PBJs for kids who attend peanut-free schools and daycares, has been linked to E. coli infections, mostly in children. Now the company has recalled all of its products, not just certain batches, and now including its granola as well. [More]
Report: Starbucks Pushing Each U.S. Store To Serve 20 More People Daily
By 3.7.17
Can customers appear out of thin air? That’s what some Starbucks workers are wondering as their corporate overlords have reportedly asked them to serve an additional 20 customers every day, at every store in the United States. How do they find these customers? [More]
McDonald’s Is Once Again Testing Chicken Tenders
By 3.7.17
If you’ve had a chicken finger-shaped hole in your heart ever since McDonald’s yanked its Chicken Selects tenders from menus nationwide, healing may be in sight: The chain says it’s once again trying its hand at chicken tenders. [More]
Subway Fires Back At “50% Chicken” Claim
By 3.7.17
A recent report out of Canada claimed that testing of Subway’s chicken revealed that the meat was only 50% chicken with the rest made from soy. Now the sandwich chain is countering that report with science of its own, saying that two independent tests confirm that Subway’s chicken is… well, chicken. [More]
It’s National Pancake Day, Which Means Free Pancakes From IHOP
By 3.7.17
If you love pancakes, you’ve probably had today marked on your calendar for some time: It’s National Pancake Day, which can mean only one thing: IHOP is giving away free flapjacks. [More]
Health Officials Investigating After Restaurant’s Apple Juice Burns Kids
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
We’ve heard of kids accidentally being served alcohol at restaurants before, but according to police in Pennsylvania, three kids complained that their throats and mouths were burning after drinking what was supposed to be apple juice at a Chinese buffet restaurant. [More]
Peeps Oreos & 7 Other Things That Turn Your Poop Strange Colors
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The pink dye in the new Peeps-flavored Oreos has some cookie and marshmallow fans experiencing strange side effects, including pink tongue, saliva, and most notoriously, magenta-hued poop. Don’t fret, Peeps-eaters! This is just the latest in a long line of products that can color your number-twos. [More]
Watch Out: That “Free” Trial Of Wrinkle Cream Could Cost You Big Bucks
By 3.6.17
It’s always good to keep in mind that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Like an empty subway car on a hot summer day, or the email telling you you’ve just inherited millions from a dead Nigerian king. Or an offer for a “free” trial of beauty cream that ends up actually costing you hundreds of dollars. [More]
Soy Nut Butter Recalled For Possible E. Coli Contamination
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Soy nut butter is an alternative to peanut butter for people who have allergies, or for schools and child care facilities that have been declared peanut-free zones due to students’ allergies. However, a product meant to keep people safe is endangering their lives in a different way, after 12 people, mostly children, became infected with E. coli from the nut butter. [More]
McDonald’s To Replace Ice Cream Machines After Years Of Complaints About Lack Of McFlurry
By 3.6.17
For years, consumers have expressed frustration about being unable to get ice cream — particularly a McFlurry — from McDonald’s because of broken or otherwise incapacitated machines. Now, the Golden Arches is working to address the issue by providing restaurants with a new type of ice cream machine. [More]
Extremely Contagious Bird Flu Found On Tennessee Chicken Farm
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
It’s been a few years since a widespread avian flu outbreak hit U.S. poultry farmers hard, prompting national egg shortages and higher prices for products. Farmers are starting to get worried again, after a highly contagious strain of the flu has been found in a commercial chicken flock in Tennessee. [More]
