Perhaps you’d like to think that your shrink-wrapped ready-to-eat cheese was made in something resembling a science-fiction movie — stark white walls, spotless machines, a few doctor-like employees supervising the sterile process behind surgical masks. You certainly don’t imagine the conditions that got one Delaware cheese company shut down. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Drug-Resistant Superbug Gene Found In At Least 19 Countries Since November
By 1.22.16
You’ve likely never been prescribed the antibiotic colistin, because it’s a drug of last resort that you turn to after only other antibiotics have failed. But there’s a gene that can make bacteria resistant to colistin, and a new report says it’s been found in at least 19 countries on four continents. [More]
Chipotle’s Woes Reportedly Leading To Layoffs At Suppliers
By 1.21.16
Chipotle’s recent foodborne illness issues — a six-state e.coli contamination that sickened more than 50 people and a norvirus outbreak that left more than 150 customers ill in Boston — haven’t just caused problems for the fast casual restaurant in terms of slumping sales and dropping stock prices, it’s also reportedly trickled down the chain to the company’s suppliers in the form of layoffs. [More]
Police: Drive-Thru Customers Attacked Burger King Worker Over Slow Service
By 1.21.16
We know it can be frustrating to wait for your food to be cooked, bagged, and passed to your eagerly awaiting hands, but it is never okay to throw a fit — or punches — when you grow impatient in the fast food drive-thru line. Police in Florida say two men who were ticked off at how long their Burger King order was taking left their vehicle and took their beef into the restaurant. [More]
Chipotle Customers File Lawsuit Claiming Company Tried To Cover Up California Norovirus Outbreak
By 1.20.16
It’s a new year, but that doesn’t mean Chipotle is going to be able to start fresh after the spate of outbreaks at its restaurants last year. Seven customers have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court yesterday claiming that the chain tried to sweep a norovirus outbreak that sickened 234 people who’d eaten at a Simi Valley, CA location under the rug. [More]
Cinnamon Bun Oreos Have Landed In Stores
By 1.20.16
If you’ve been waiting around and salivating since the coming of cinnamon bun flavored Oreos was announced back in September, good news: the cookies have finally been spotted in the wild. They are still not in the smaller “seasonal” package and there’s no mention of the flavor being a limited-time offering, which means that they could be a permanent Exotic Oreo flavor. [The Impulsive Buy] [More]
Chipotle To Give Employees Paid Sick Leave So They Don’t Make Customers Ill
By 1.19.16
Today Chipotle released more information on what exactly it’ll be discussing with employees when the chain shuts down all locations for a few hours on Feb. 8 to discuss the E. Coli and Norovirus outbreaks that hit the chain in 2015. Along with previously announced new food safety protocols, Chipotle says it will offer paid sick leave so that employees who are ill don’t have an incentive to show up to work, thus avoiding the risk of making customers sick as well. [More]
Starbucks, Spotify Team Up To Let Users Take The Sounds Of The Coffee Shop On The Go
By 1.19.16
Have you ever walked into a Starbucks for your daily caffeine fix, heard the music playing and thought to yourself, “Man, this is my jam, I wish I had this on my playlist.” No? Well, okay, but just in case this ever does happen, you’ll be covered, as the coffee giant has partnered with Spotify to allow customers to take more than just java home with them. [More]
Trader Joe’s Recalls All Bags Of Raw Cashew Pieces Over Salmonella Concerns
By 1.19.16
If you like to grab a handful of nuts for a quick snack now and then, you might want to check that your stash doesn’t include raw cashew pieces from Trader Joe’s, as they may come with a side of salmonella. [More]
Coca-Cola, Pepsi Once Again Fund Study Claiming Diet Soda Is Better For You Than Water
By 1.18.16
Back in 2014, the soft drink industry funded a study that, coincidentally, concluded that diet soda is better for weight loss than water. These same companies are at it again, not only providing the backing for another study extolling the virtues of diet drinks, but also — according to new reports — directly paying money to the researchers involved. [More]
Big Tobacco Loses Legal Challenge To FDA Report On Menthol Cigarettes
By 1.15.16
A federal appeals court has stymied the tobacco industry’s attempt to challenge a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel report on the safety of menthol cigarettes. [More]
Chipotle Closing All Restaurants For A Few Hours To Talk To Employees About E. Coli
By 1.14.16
After months of being repeatedly kicked in the butt by humiliating outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, Chipotle has decided it’s time to take a short breather to sit down with its employees to talk through this recent crisis. [More]
Taco Bell Will Reportedly Use Super Bowl To Announce Year-Old “Quesalupa” Idea
By 1.13.16
It’s been a year since we first got wind of the Taco Bell “Quesalupa” — or as Conan O’Brien put it, the “case of lupus” — and 11 months since the company began testing the vaguely taco-like object (complete with a soft, cheese-stuffed shell) in Dayton, Ohio. Now it looks like the Bell is set to unleash this menu item nationwide. [More]
Waffle House Fires Workers Caught On Camera Running A Kitchen Hair Salon
By 1.13.16
There are a few businesses where customers might expect to witness employees performing grooming rituals, of course. But because a restaurant is definitely not a salon, two Arkansas Waffle House workers were fired after customers filmed them doing stuff with hair in the kitchen. [More]
Cold Weasel Salad Is Not A Thing, Not Even In England
By 1.12.16
Here’s the problem with eating plants: they come from outside, where animals also live. Sometimes, animals want to try our food, too, and the safeguards meant to keep animals that we didn’t mean to eat off our plates fail. That’s when we end up with dead baby weasels in our salads. [More]
Papa John’s Is Eliminating All Artificial Flavors, Synthetic Colors From Its Menu
By 1.12.16
Now that the anti-everything-artificial train has left the station, it is showing no signs of stopping: Papa John’s says it’s the first pizza chain to eliminate all artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its entire menu. [More]
Blue Bell Pinky Swears, Promises Its Ice Cream Is Totally Safe To Eat Now
By 1.12.16
Blue Bell Creameries is working hard to reassure customers after last year’s outbreak of Listeria contamination and a slew of massive recalls, issuing yet another message promising that its products are now safe to eat. [More]
Bill Requiring Childproof Packs For Liquid Nicotine Heads To President’s Desk
By 1.12.16
The Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, intended to reduce the odds of kids getting their little hands on tasty-looking – but poisonous – liquid nicotine, appears destined to be the first new federal law regulating e-cigarettes. Yesterday, Congress passed the measure, which now goes to the White House for President Obama’s signature. [More]
