Following reports that some opioid addicts are taking potentially lethal doses of over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medication, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the dangers of abuse and misuse of these seemingly innocuous products. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Jack In The Box Wants To Make ‘Brunchfast’ Happen
By 6.7.16
What is “brunchfast”? The marketers over at Jack in the Box, the company that recently trademarked the term, could probably tell us, but they aren’t talking. Is it serving typical brunch foods incredibly early in the day? Is it a second breakfast eaten later in the day, but not on the weekend so it would be weird to call it brunch? A fast-food company is trying to invent a new meal, but won’t explain what it is until its marketing campaign launches. [More]
The End Is Nigh: Burger King Is Testing Something Called The Whopperito
By 6.6.16
Following the introduction of the Whopper Dog, which took all the fixings of Burger King’s iconic Whopper and put them on a hot dog, the fast food company is doing the same with a tortilla, creating the Whopperito. You know, for when the calories in a bun are just too much. [More]
In Wake Of Superbug Scare, Lawmakers Renew Push For New Antibiotics
By 6.2.16
Last week, military scientists confirmed the discovery of a patient in Pennsylvania infected with a bacteria that was not only resistant to many traditional antibiotics, but also contained a gene (MCR-1) making it resistant to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used when all others are ineffective. In response, Senators are making a renewed push on bipartisan legislation intended to speed up the approval of new antibiotics. [More]
The FDA Wants You To Eat Less Salt, Hopes The Food Industry Will Help With That
By 6.1.16
When it comes to salt, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agrees with the Centers for Disease Control: we’re all consuming too much sodium, and the food industry should be helping us cut back by cutting it from their products. [More]
Burger King Has A New “2 For $10” Meal Deal, But Who’s It Actually For?
By 5.31.16
Burger King already has one entry in the ongoing fast food meal-deal war that focuses on one person — a 5 for $4 menu that includes a bacon cheeseburger, small fries, chicken nuggets, beverage, and a chocolate chip cookie — but that apparently isn’t enough to keep up with the competition. And so, the company has launched a 2 for $10 deal. But with two entire meals included in this bundle, who exactly is the company courting? [More]
Starbucks Adding Nitro Cold Brew To The Menu At 500 Locations This Summer
By 5.31.16
Because there’s always time for a new trendy thing in coffee to catch on across the nation, Starbucks will have a new option on tap for customers at around 500 locations this summer: Nitro Cold Brew. [More]
Pizza Hut To Cut Back On Preservatives, Antibiotics, Additives
By 5.31.16
Pizza may not have a reputation as a health food, but that’s no reason to use ingredients that may make the pizza even less good for you. In an effort to reach consumers clamoring for less-questionable fast food, Pizza Hut has announced some upcoming upgrades to its ingredients. [More]
Ticks Are Your Enemies. Here Is How To Destroy Them With Your Dryer
By 5.27.16
If you’re going for a hike this holiday weekend to enjoy the beauty only nature can provide, there is one thing you should know: ticks are your enemies, they’re out for your blood, and it’s up to you to destroy them. [More]
Yep, Blueberry Pie And Non-Branded Fruity Pebble Oreos Are Real Things
By 5.27.16
Just about any dessert-themed flavor is now plausible when it comes to novelty Oreo flavors and other stunt food, and it’s difficult to surprise us. Yet we were sort of surprised at one of the new flavors that Nabisco plans to release in June, since it’s sort of a type of cereal, and sort of not. [More]
CDC Director: Drug-Resistant Superbug Means “Medicine Cabinet Is Empty”
By 5.27.16
You know that scene in action movies where the hero has fired every bullet, thrown every piece of throwable furniture, set off every explosive, but still the bad guy lurches forward? At that point, there’s nothing left for the hero to do but run and pray. After the recent discovery in the U.S. of a bacteria that is resistant to a vital last-resort antibiotic, some scientists believe we’re inching dangerously close to that run-and-pray moment in the world of medicine. [More]
Altria Sues FDA To Keep “Black & Mild” Name
By 5.26.16
Earlier this month, the Food & Drug Administration expanded its oversight of tobacco products, effectively banning the use of “mild” to describe cigars. That’s a problem for Altria Group, which makes the Black & Mild brand, and so the tobacco behemoth has sued the federal government to keep using the name. [More]
Doctors Find Superbug Resistant To Last-Resort Antibiotic In Pennsylvania Woman
By 5.26.16
Welcome to the post-antibiotic world. Doctors say that a 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was infected with a “truly pan-drug resistant bacteria,” in other words, a bacteria that will not respond to many known antibiotics. [More]
Taco Bell Will Give Away Free Tacos If Away Team Wins During NBA Finals
By 5.26.16
If your team loses during the upcoming NBA championship finals it’s going to be painful, but if they lose to the visiting team, it might hurt less if you’re also a fan of free food: Taco Bell will be giving away Doritos Locos Tacos for its “Steal a Game, Steal a Taco” promotion — but only if the away team wins. [More]
In Denial About America’s Opioid Painkiller Problem? This Map Might Change Your Mind
By 5.26.16
If you think the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is being alarmist by urging primary care physicians to stop prescribing so many opioid painkillers, or that the fact that 10% of doctors are writing more than 50% of the prescriptions for opioids is not a concrete indicator of a problem, then perhaps this map of overdose deaths in the U.S. will help to drive the point home. [More]
FDA: ‘Evaporated Cane Juice’ Is Just Sugar, Deal With It
By 5.26.16
What’s “evaporated cane juice”? It’s a sweetener produced from the liquid that comes out of sugar cane when you cut or shred it. However, the Food and Drug Administration notes that it’s also a term that food producers use in ingredients list to avoid using the word “sugar.” The FDA has had enough of this, and issued guidance telling food marketers that they need to just call ECJ what it is: sugar. [More]
Report: Walgreens Signed Theranos Deal Despite Problems With Tests
By 5.26.16
A few years ago, back when lab-testing startup Theranos was still a hot and revolutionary company valued at billions of dollars, the company signed a deal to put retail lab-testing clinics in Walgreens stores. Now, Walgreens employees are reportedly wondering whether they were too eager to sign on with the company without having an outside observer ensure that the tests are actually accurate. [More]
Pizza Robots Continue To Proliferate As Pizza Hut Tests Order-Taking Humanoid
By 5.24.16
It seems our future overlords are trying to butter us up before they dominate the human race, and by butter I really mean hot cheese, tomato sauce, and crust: Pizza Hut is the most recent pizza chain to have fallen under the sway of robots, with the test of a humanoid AI machine known in the robotics industry as Pepper. [More]
