Do you have a hole in the heart that’s shaped like artisanal drinks made from a kola nut and peddled by a soda company that knows how to use all the coolest corporate buzzwords? You’re in luck! Pepsi is opening the country’s first “experimental kola bar, restaurant, lounge, and event space” in New York City. From the sound of the company’s press release, it’s where buzzwords go to die. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Wisconsin Police Recover Second Load Of Stolen Cheese
By 1.29.16
We can all rest easy tonight, safe in the knowledge that cheese that was once ripped from the arms of its rightful owner has been safely returned. Wisconsin police say they’ve found a second load of stolen cheese, worth $90,000, that was pilfered last week. [More]
McDonald’s Apologizes For Giving People Fried Air Instead Of Mozzarella Sticks
By 1.28.16
Facing the righteous indignation of customers demanding mozzarella sticks that actually contain cheese, McDonald’s is doing a dairy apology dance, saying that cheese must have somehow escaped its breaded casing. [More]
People Are Still Getting Sick From Cucumber Salmonella Outbreak
By 1.27.16
When the strain of Salmonella making people sick was traced to batches of cucumbers imported from Mexico back in September, it seemed that the cucumber outbreak was solved. Only people are still getting sick with that same strain, suggesting either that people keep cucumbers around for a while or that there’s another food source still out there infecting people. Since we last updated you, hundreds of more people have become sick, and authorities reported three more deaths. [More]
Sure, Go Ahead And Try To Use That Expired Coupon
By 1.27.16
It’s frustrating when you clip or save a coupon, then forget to use it. What you may not realize, though, is that some stores and restaurants will allow you to use coupons after the expiration date. The policy may vary according to location or even the employee’s mood, but you don’t always have to let your couponing go to waste. [More]
Walgreens Refuses To Kick Its Cigarette Habit
By 1.27.16
Nearly two years ago, CVS announced it would finally be giving up tobacco once and for all, leading Walgreens to say it was “evaluating” its future with the cancer-causing products. Now that the country’s biggest drugstore chain has had some time to kick back and ruminate on the matter, it’s decided… well, it’s decided to continue selling cigarettes while it thinks some more. [More]
Airlines Allowing Travelers To Zika Virus-Affected Countries To Cancel, Postpone Trips At No Cost
By 1.27.16
UPDATE: JetBlue is also offering refunds for travelers with tickets to regions affected by the Zika virus. [More]
Pizza Hut Now Selling A Pizza With Built-In Garlic Knots
By 1.26.16
Did you like the idea of Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Bites and Cheesy Bites pizzas, but didn’t want all of that meat or cheese? Good news: Pizza Hut is back to its usual tricks as a crust innovator, and has announced a new pull-apart crust, this time with garlic knots. [More]
Family Finds Free Lizard Inside Bundle Of Salad Greens, Brings It To Live At School
By 1.26.16 — Updated: 12.30.16
The tale of Green Fruit Loop the anole lizard is an epic one, as tales about lizards go. GFL began life somewhere in the southern half of the country, apparently as a wild lizard. She made the amazing journey from being a wild lizard hanging out in a field to living in a reptile habitat in an elementary school science lab. [More]
Walmart, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé Offer 176 Truckloads Of Clean Water To Flint Schoolkids
By 1.26.16
You’ve no doubt heard about the concerns over lead-tainted water in the Michigan city of Flint. While the city and state have declared it a public-health emergency, some big businesses are stepping up with the promise of delivering millions of bottles of clean water to Flint schoolchildren through the rest of 2016. [More]
Police In Wisconsin Track Down $70K Worth Of Stolen Cheese
By 1.26.16
Wisconsin has been in a state of gripping suspense over the last few days, after two separate cheese thefts saw a total of $160,000 go missing. Now, $70,000 in cheese has recovered in Milwaukee (unharmed, I hope). No arrests have been made and police have no further information (beyond the fact that cheese is delicious) at this time. [Germantown Police Department] *Thanks for the tip, Mom! [More]
Whole Foods Recalling Frozen Pork Pepperoni Pizzas For Masquerading As Beef Pepperoni Pizzas In New England
By 1.26.16
Labels are very important when it comes to food, considering most of us do not have X-ray vision that allows us to scan products with our eyes and know exactly what ingredients those items contain. That’s why Whole Foods is recalling a bunch of frozen pizzas on the East Coast: some pies labeled as containing “uncured beef pepperoni” are actually covered in pork pepperoni. [More]
Wendy’s Customer Says She Found Bugs In Baked Potato; Restaurant Says They Are Sprouts
By 1.25.16
Yet another fast food customer is claiming she was served up a little unwanted something extra with her meal, while the restaurant says it only looks like she was served up some bugs with her order.
Some Jerks Stole $160,000 Worth Of Cheese In Two Separate Thefts In Wisconsin
By 1.25.16
UPDATE: Police have recovered $70,000 worth of that stolen cheese. [More]
CDC Investigating Possible Listeria Outbreak In Dole Salads
By 1.22.16
Since the beginning of July, there have been twelve people who became so sick from a specific strain of Listeria that they were hospitalized. One of them died. Public health authorities know that the cases are linked because of genetic analysis of the bacteria, and have finally been able to link the illnesses to one Dole packaging plant for salad greens in Ohio. [More]
Starbucks Transitioning Three Teavana Tea Bars To Coffee Shops, Closing Another
By 1.22.16
When you think of Starbucks, you probably picture a cup of coffee, but the chain also operates several similar tea shops. Or at least it did. Starbucks announced Friday that it would transition three Teavana tea bars in New York into coffee shops and close a fourth location in California. The Teavana bar in Seattle, as well as 350 retail-only stores will remain open. Starbucks purchased the Teavana brand in 2012. [Starbucks] [More]
To Make Up For Outbreaks, Chipotle Wants To Cater Your Super Bowl Party
By 1.22.16
Since Chipotle’s foodborne illness issues came to light last fall, the company has tried to win back customers by sending its CEO on an apology tour, revamping its food service standards, and now it’s looking to customers’ wallets. [More]
