Olive oil is a kitchen staple, used for everything from cooking up veggies to delicately dipping pieces of bread. It’s also becoming a more expensive staple due to weather in olive-growing countries Spain, Italy, and Greece. Hot weather, fruit flies, and flooding across those regions mean a much smaller harvest. [More]
Food & Personal Care
McDonald’s Is Beta Testing A Crab Sandwich In Silicon Valley
By 2.9.17
With the exception of a seasonal, limited-time offering of a Lobster Roll sandwich on the East coast, McDonald’s only seafood entree has been the Filet-O-Fish. But it appears the meal is getting some company in the form of a crab sandwich being tested at certain locations in California. [More]
30 Times Pizza News Made Us Really, Really Happy
By 2.9.17
While there is absolutely no reason not to celebrate the cheesy glory and wonder that is pizza any and every day of the year, the Department of Arbitrary Holidays has decreed that today is National Pizza Day. What better occasion to remember all those times pizza made us happy? [More]
Lawsuit: Carl’s Jr. Blocked Managers From Accepting Jobs With Other Franchisees
By 2.9.17 — Updated: 3.22.17
Do Carl’s Jr. restaurants prevent managers from moving between locations owned by different franchisees to keep wages artificially low and to prevent restaurants from competing against each other for the best employees? That’s what one current and one former employee allege in a lawsuit against the fast food chain, calling the policy unfair to those managers. [More]
Here Are Your Discounts, Freebies, And Bagels To Celebrate National Pizza Day
By 2.9.17
What are your plans for National Pizza Day? What, you didn’t know that today was National Pizza Day? We can’t blame you, actually, but the non-event means that restaurants, rest stops, and even Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices have special promotions and deals going on that are meant to move more pizza. [More]
Aldi Spending $1.6B To Upgrade Stores To Be More Whole Foods-Esque
By 2.8.17
Millennials are already apparently flocking to Aldi over Whole Foods’ new, hipper version of its typical stores in favor of lower price points, but now these customers won’t have to forego the more expensive chain’s aesthetic: Aldi plans to spend $1.6 billion to revamp the layout of its stores in order to compete with chains like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Sprouts. [More]
Dressing Marijuana Up As Fruit Is Apparently The New Trend In Illegal Drug Shipping
By 2.8.17
Drug-busting has had a particularly fruity theme in Texas lately, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have recently uncovered large loads of marijuana disguised as innocent produce. [More]
New Lawsuit Claims Trump’s Pro-Deregulation Executive Order Violates Constitution
By 2.8.17
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order intended to spur massive deregulation — or at least curb new regulations — by requiring that for each new rule issued by a federal agency, at least two rules would have to be undone. Now that order is the target of a legal action claiming that it violates the Constitution and will ultimately harm American consumers. [More]
5-Hour Energy Ordered To Pay $4.3 Million For Deceptive Ads
By 2.8.17
Four months after a Washington state court ruled that the maker of the popular 5-Hour Energy drink had misled consumers into believing that its product was superior to caffeine, the judge has ordered the company to pay a total of $4.3 million. [More]
America’s Liquor Cabinets Are Seeing A Lot Of Action
By 2.7.17
If you’ve been heading for your liquor cabinet more often than the beer fridge lately, you’re not alone: For the seventh year in a row, the spirits industry chipped away at beer’s market share. [More]
Gold’n Plump Worker Charged With Feeding Sand & Soil To Chickens
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.9.17
Nearly a year after Minnesota-based Gold’n Plump (GNP) recalled more than 55,000-pounds of chicken when sand and black soil was mysteriously found on the products, a former plant worker faces two felony charges for the incident. [More]
The Dream Is Still Alive For Alaska Pot Shop Smoking Lounge
By 2.7.17
Although an Alaskan retail marijuana shop’s efforts to get permission to open a pot lounge on the premises failed recently, there is still some hope for businesses in the state who are interested in providing on-site consumption. [More]
Hospital Tells Family To Not Worry About $31,000 Medical Bill; Sends Bill Anyway
By 2.7.17
With so many people being slammed with surprise medical bills following a medical emergency, it must be nice when your hospital and insurance company both tell you that your huge bill will be taken care of. Then all that goodwill goes out the window when you still end up with thousands of dollars in medical expenses. [More]
State Lawmakers Push Back Against Philadelphia Soda Tax
By 2.6.17
The beverage industry’s efforts to derail Philadelphia’s new controversial tax on sweetened drinks have thus far been unsuccessful, leading to higher prices and unhappy customers when the tax went into effect on Jan. 1. Now, dozens of state lawmakers are going after the city’s tax, calling it an “impermissible sales tax” that “sets a dangerous precedent.” [More]
Cookie Dough Company Behind Multiple Ice Cream Recalls Shuts Down
By 2.6.17
Where does the cookie dough in your favorite brand of ice cream come from? For numerous brands, the answer is Aspen Hills, a company in Iowa that sells frozen cookie dough for fundraisers and bulk frozen dough to ice cream makers. To be accurate, the answer was Aspen Hills. [More]
Ad Watchdog Weighs In On Jelly Beans “Clinically Proven” To Improve Sports Performance
By 2.6.17 — Updated: 2.14.17
Jelly beans are delicious, but can they help athletes power through endurance events better than any other random piece of candy? Jelly Belly markets a line of “Sport Beans,” claiming that they’re a better source of energy than gels or sports drinks, and that their superiority has been “clinically proven.” Even if that’s true, should candy be advertised that way? [More]
Tyson Foods Under Investigation For Alleged Chicken Price-Fixing
By 2.6.17
Tyson Foods, the nation’s largest poultry processor — and the company behind a dizzying array of packaged foods — revealed this week that federal regulators are investigating allegations of price-fixing. [More]
Krispy Kreme Giving Away Free Doughnuts If You Buy Its Newest Coffee
By 2.6.17
Who wants cream and sugar with their coffee when they could have a free glazed doughnut? You can actually get all three of those elements at Krispy Kreme this month, if you’re willing to try the doughnut shop’s new, revamped coffee line. [More]
