If you’ve ever looked at a plate of glowing, orange-ish mac and cheese and thought, “Hey, this looks a bit like a Cheeto… they should put mac and cheese inside of huge Cheetos… where’s my shoe?” then Burger King has apparently been reading your mind, announcing the test of, what else, “Mac n’ Cheetos.”
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Food & Personal Care
Burger King Unleashes “Mac n’ Cheetos,” Which Is Exactly What It Sounds Like
By 6.22.16
Academic Researchers Trying To Figure Out Especially Sneaky Strains Of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
By 6.22.16
Lab tests are supposed to tell doctors and researchers which antibiotics will work against a given infection, but some bacteria are able to sneak around these tests. The bacteria appear to be susceptible to the last-line antibiotics that health care providers use against resistant superbugs, but a remnant survives and re-colonizes the patient once the antibiotic treatment is over. [More]
New Massive Frozen Food Recall Includes Walmart, Target Store Brands
By 6.21.16
Nearly two months after CRF Frozen Foods set off a massive recall of vegetables thought to be contaminated with listeria and linked to at least two deaths and eight illnesses, a second frozen vegetable supplier — National Frozen Food Corp. — has initiated a separate recall over listeria concerns, and many of the recalled products are from the nation’s largest retailers. [More]
Everyone Still Loves Chick-Fil-A; Chipotle, Not So Much
By 6.21.16
There’s good news out there for most of the big restaurant and fast-food chains: customers who like them, continue to like them, and overall find everything about their experiences to be entirely satisfactory. [More]
Starbucks Will Have To Face Lawsuit Over Underfilled Lattes
By 6.20.16
A judge has rejected Starbucks’ efforts to put the kibosh on a lawsuit filed by two customers who claim that the coffee chain routinely underfills lattes. [More]
Chipotle Shareholders Sue Company, Allege Recklessness And Insider Trading
By 6.20.16
Did the executives and the board of fast-casual Mexican chain Chipotle enrich themselves by inflating the company’s stock price, overpay themselves with shares of that over-valued stock, and let the chain’s potential food-safety problems slide? That’s what some shareholders claim in a lawsuit, saying that the company also misled its investors about food-safety practices that would eventually contribute to multiple outbreaks. [More]
T-Mobile Will Give Away Free Lyft Rides Instead Of Pizza After Domino’s Struggles To Keep Up With Promo
By 6.16.16
It sounded like a great idea — free Domino’s pizza for T-Mobile customers every Tuesday. But just two weeks into T-Mobile Tuesdays, the company says Domino’s was overwhelmed by the demand, so it’s nixing pizza in favor of free Lyft rides for next week’s giveaway. [More]
Whole Foods Has 15 Days To Address Food Safety Violations At Plant
By 6.14.16
Listeria and other unsanitary conditions were found at a Whole Foods plant in Massachusetts earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration revealed in a warning letter telling the grocery store chain to take immediate action to fix the issues. [More]
Walmart Customers Vote To Bring Back Oreo-Flavored Oreos For The 4th Time
By 6.13.16
Walmart decided to democratize their latest act of stunt food, and they left the choice of which novelty Oreo flavor to sell in 2017 up to a customer vote. Given the choice of caramel apple, jelly donut, and cookies and creme flavors, the online vote went to cookies and creme. Yes, people actually chose Oreo-flavored Oreos. [More]
Teva Pharmaceuticals Pulling Zecuity Migraine Patch After Users Reported Burns, Scars
By 6.13.16
Having a migraine can bad enough, but getting literally burned by a product that’s supposed to help alleviate that pain makes it an even more painful experience. That’s why the makers of a patch called Zecuity, which is marketed for migraine relief, are yanking it from shelves, after users reported burns and scarring. [More]
Walgreens Closes Theranos Testing Centers In Arizona, Won’t Take Them Nationwide
By 6.13.16
When Walgreens and blood-testing startup Theranos partnered up in 2013, it seemed like a great idea for both companies and for patients. Inexpensive lab tests could be available right in neighborhood drugstores. Only the problem was that Theranos insisted on secrecy because of its new technology, and Walgreens wasn’t able to seriously investigate the tests or equipment. Now Walgreens has ended its partnership with Theranos. [More]
You Probably Just Shouldn’t Eat Anything With Sunflower Seeds In It For A While
By 6.10.16
Sunflower seeds are a satisfying snack, and especially good to eat during a long drive. They’re also a common ingredient in cereals, granola, granola bars, protein bars, cookies, and you can even buy sunflower seed butter. We didn’t realize quite how popular they are until a company called SunOpta found Listeria monocytogenes contamination after routine testing of their bulk sunflower seeds. Since then, companies from supermarkets to sporting goods stores have been recalling their products that contain sunflower seeds, and those little seeds are everywhere. [More]
Report: The FTC Is Probably Cool With The Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger
By 6.10.16
A few months ago, the shareholders of #3 U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid approved the company’s proposed acquisition by the parent company of the #1 chain, Walgreens Boots Alliance. Now reports indicate that the Federal Trade Commission may give the merger its blessing, as long as certain conditions are met. [More]
FDA And International Enforcement Superfriends Take Down Online Peddlers Of Unapproved Drugs
By 6.10.16
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the seven continents that we know today were one big land glob called Pangaea. When choosing a name for an international operation to nab sellers of unapproved drugs, regulators and law enforcement agencies took this idea of one united world and called their project “Pangea,” or the International Internet Week of Action. Led by Interpol, agencies took action to look for unapproved drugs passing in the mail. [More]
Pepsi Cancels Its Meeting With Bottlers To Discuss Diet Pepsi Plans
By 6.10.16
In recent years, customers told Pepsi that they weren’t interested in drinking diet colas because of their concerns about the sweetener aspartame. Pepsi took the logical next step and changed out the sweetener in Diet Pepsi to a blend of sucralose and acesulfame potassium to prop up diet cola sales, and in response to the change, sales…. fell even faster. Now Pepsi has canceled a planned meeting with bottlers to discuss solutions to the crisis. [More]
Inspector General: FDA Still Takes Too Long To Recall Tainted Food Products
By 6.9.16
Five years ago, the Food Safety Modernization Act granted the Food and Drug Administration the statutory authority to compel food producers to recall tainted products. However, a new report from a federal investigator shows that people are falling ill while the FDA sometimes takes months to issue recalls, even after it has evidence of contamination. [More]
There’s More Money Loaded On Starbucks Cards Than Customer Deposits At Several Banks
By 6.9.16
While we’re used to the idea of people keeping money in places other than bank accounts — preloaded debit cards, sock drawers, comic book collections — there’s one way consumers are storing their cash that’s more popular than several financial institutions: Starbucks cards. [More]
Nature Made Vitamins Recalled Over Salmonella, Staph Contamination Concerns
By 6.8.16
Some people believe that taking a daily vitamin can improve their health and boost their immune systems. What they probably don’t envision when popping one of those pills or gummies is becoming ill. For that reason, Pharmavite is recalling several varieties of its popular Nature Made vitamins that may be contaminated with salmonella or staph. [More]
