Hold it right there, fella! You, with the reduced fat Galbani string cheese in your hand! Don’t you know that stuff is for the ladies? Otherwise, why would all the less fatty cheese options feature a female character with flowing locks, while the regular fat packages have a male anthropomorphized cheese stick? [More]
Food & Personal Care
Maytag Blue Cheese Recall Expands To Cover Hy-Vee Supermarkets
By 3.3.16
The recall of potentially listeria contaminated Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese expanded Thursday, as Hy-Vee announced it would voluntarily recall the product and remove it from shelves in 240 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The cheese, produced by Maytag Dairy Farms, was sold in packages of crumbles, whole wheels, or cuts, and re-packaged in foil or clear plastic wrap with scale labels in various weights. The potential for contamination was discovered after testing by the state of Iowa revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in two lots of product. [FDA] [More]
Federal Court Enters Injunction Against Grower Of Listeria-Laden Sprouts
By 3.3.16
Back in 2014, we began asking whether everyone should just quit eating raw sprouts, and the sprout industry hasn’t done much to prove that we should since then. One of those companies that was part of the 2014 recalls apparently hasn’t cleaned up its metaphorical act and its literal sprouting facility, and the Food and Drug Administration went through the federal courts system went through the federal courts to stop them from sprouting until the company meets certain conditions. [More]
Are Cheetos The New Doritos At Taco Bell?
By 3.2.16
After the rather underwhelming and unsurprising launch of the Quesalupa last month, it appears that Taco Bell is attempting to replicate the popularity of its Doritos Locos Tacos, by once again raiding the pantry at Frito-Lay and stuffing Cheetos inside its Crunchwrap sliders — at least in Canada. [More]
International Fast Food Roundup: Fish-Shaped Fish Sticks And A Creme Egg McFlurry
By 3.1.16
For American fast-food chains, their international subsidiaries serve as a research lab where they can inflict strange food combinations on the unsuspecting public. Combine that impulse with food tastes that are simply different from Americans’, and you end up with glorious and fascinating combinations that you kind of want to see imported, and kind of don’t. [More]
Whole Foods Recalls Maytag Blue Cheese Over Possible Listeria Contamination
By 3.1.16
It’s always a sad day when you have to chuck a chunk of delicious, yet stinky, cheese. But that’s what some Whole Foods customers are being advised to do, unless they want to be sickened by a possible listeria contamination. [More]
Alfalfa Sprouts Under Investigation For Salmonella And E. Coli Formally Recalled
By 2.29.16
Last week, we brought you the news that there were two unrelated investigations into bean sprout producers, but no recalls yet. Maybe, we thought, it’s time to put warning labels on sprouts served raw in sandwich shops and salad bars, telling people to eat at their own risk. Now the sprouts involved in both incidents have been formally recalled. [More]
Judge Signs Off On Settlement That Will Ensure Subway’s Footlong Sandwiches Measure Up
By 2.29.16
Our national nightmare is nearly over: the so-called “Footlong” sandwich from Subway will finally have to measure up to a full 12 inches in length. [More]
New Contact Lens Solution Warnings Mean Fewer Users Getting Peroxide In Their Eyes
By 2.26.16
If anyone ever tries to convince you that life isn’t constantly getting better, remember this: only an average of three people each year since 2012 have stuck contact lenses soaked in hydrogen peroxide in their eyes and caused injuries bad enough to report to the Food and Drug Administration. 61 people did from 2010 to 2011. The reason for this medical miracle? Red plastic. [More]
Florida Man Barred From Selling Unapproved “Natural Herpes Medicine”
By 2.26.16
Five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration first warned a Florida man to stop peddling a supposed cure for herpes until he proved it worked and was safe. He subsequently tweaked the marketing to make it less cure-like, but federal prosecutors say he still went too far in promising his supplement could treat the sexually transmitted disease. [More]
You Will No Longer Need To Go To Seattle To Resolve A Starbucks Card Dispute
By 2.26.16
As things stand now, if you have a legal dispute with Starbucks about your Starbucks Card, the coffee company could force you to travel to Seattle to resolve the matter — not in court, but through the shadowy, unfair process of binding arbitration. However, Starbucks is about to adopt new policies to be more flexible about the location, and give you 30 days to opt out of signing your rights away. [More]
If You’re Still Eating Raw Sprouts, You May Want To Rethink That
By 2.25.16
Sprouts are a tasty addition to a salad, a sandwich, or a stir fry, but they’re also grown in water and usually eaten raw. That makes them excellent vehicles to bring a variety of foodborne pathogens straight from the farm or processing plant to your mouth. Over a year ago, we wondered whether everyone should just stop buying and eating sprouts, and since then, the sprout-growing industry hasn’t done anything to make us change our minds. [More]
Woman Bites Down On Rare Pearl In Her Food While Dining At Her Favorite Italian Restaurant
By 2.25.16
We can’t even begin to count the number of times we’ve heard about someone chomping down on an unexpected item in their food, but usually in those cases, something gross is happening and the customer is upset. One diner in Washington who encountered the unusual in her meal came away from her experience with a much more appetizing prize than usual, however: a rare purple pearl. [More]
Walmart Faces Lawsuit For Selling Parmesan Cheese With Wood Pulp Filler
By 2.24.16
With federal regulators now cracking down on Parmesan cheese products that contain wood pulp and other fillers, it was just a mater of time before the first lawsuit was filed against a retailer selling its grated cheese product as “100% Parmesan.” [More]
Sargento Shortchanges Customers Who Prefer Sharp Cheddar Cheese
By 2.23.16
Megan was shopping for cheese at Target over the weekend, as many sensible people do, and she noticed something strange about the pre-sliced packages of Sargento cheddar. It came in two different sizes, which had the same price. Yes, it turns out that one of them was the victim of the Grocery Shrink Ray, taking the total from 20 slices to 18, depriving customers of enough slices to make an entire grilled cheese sandwich. UPDATE: The different sizes may represent different package sizes between cheddar types, which is confusing. [More]
Macadamia Nuts From Target, HyVee, Western Family Recalled For Potential Salmonella Contamination
By 2.23.16
If you’ve bought raw macadamia nuts from a number of retailers across the country, it’s time to check your pantry: nuts sold at retailers including Target, HyVee, Pear’s Gourmet, and independent grocery stores that carry Western Family brands have been recalled because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Why is it that raw dried nuts keep getting recalled for problems with that one pathogen, anyway? [More]
Analysts Say Chipotle’s Customers Are Suffering From “Menu Fatigue”
By 2.23.16
If you’ve ever been to Chipotle before, you know exactly what you can expect: burritos/burrito bowls, tacos, fajitas, and salads that can be made from a combination of toppings and fillings. Those ingredients have remained basically unchanged over the years (besides the addition of tofu sofritas in 2014). But while that familiarity might be comforting, Chipotle’s lack of new offerings is causing “menu fatigue” in some customers that could make it harder for the chain to come back after its recent food safety issues. [More]
Police: Pizzeria Melee Sparked By Unwanted Cheese On Garlic Knots
By 2.22.16
It’s surely an inconvenience when your food comes out with an unwanted ingredient on it, but violence is never the appropriate response if your order isn’t exactly right. Police in Daytona, FL say a group of customers at a pizzeria reacted a bit strongly when a worker allegedly put cheese on an order of garlic knots that was not supposed to include cheese. [More]
