The question of who is in charge of a given foodborne outbreak can become complicated in the United States: responsibility for testing and recalling different food types and for tracing infectious diseases is split between three federal government and numerous state and local government agencies. Yet there is one great tool that the infectious disease experts over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given us: The FOOD database. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Discrimination Lawsuit: Starbucks Fired Deaf Worker Who Asked For Sign Language Interpreters
By 10.20.15
An Arizona woman who worked as a Starbucks barista for seven years has filed a lawsuit against the company for allegedly discriminating against her because she’s deaf. She claims she repeatedly asked for reasonable accommodations to help her on the job and was repeatedly denied, and that she was finally fired because of her disability. [More]
Supplement Company Owner Gets 30 Months In Prison For Selling Diet Pills Containing Unsafe Ingredients
By 10.19.15
One slogan used by the folks at now-defunct Floyd Nutrition on weight-loss “supplements” like ZXT Bee Pollen and ZXT Gold Infinity was “Offering the gift of health,” but a more accurate statement might have been “Offering the secret gift of drugs that were pulled from the market years ago for potential health risks,” or rather, “Offering products that will land this company’s founder in federal prison for two-and-a-half years.” [More]
At Least One Burger King Is Trying All-Day Breakfast, Too
By 10.16.15
There’s a limited pool of people who want to eat breakfast for every meal of the day, and diners and family restaurants have been preparing for a world where McDonald’s serves its breakfast menu all day. What about other fast-food outlets, though? At least one Burger King in New Jersey has decided to hop on the bandwagon and offer all-day breakfast. [More]
Sketchy 10% Of Doctors Are Writing More Than 50% Of Painkiller Prescriptions
By 10.16.15
While most doctors try to honor their oath to do no harm, some physicians just want to be paid (or are really, really, just horrible at their jobs). Take, for example, the 1-in-10 doctors responsible for writing the majority of painkiller prescriptions. [More]
Kroger Gets Rid Of Unrefrigerated Caramel Apples On Sticks Just To Be Sure
By 10.16.15
Is it possible that the caramel apples sitting on store shelves right now have been contaminated with bacteria, made worse because the fruits are impaled on sticks and coated with candy? The many grocery brands owned by Kroger aren’t taking any chances, and announced that they’re getting rid of all unrefrigerated caramel apples. [More]
Woman Claims Her Burger King Sandwich Came With Extra Ingredient: Mold
By 10.16.15
A North Carolina woman certainly didn’t get a recent Burger King breakfast “her way”: instead of a fresh sausage croissant, she claims she was given a moldy sandwich. [More]
CDC Says Your Hangover Is Costing The Country Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars
By 10.15.15
Did you tie one on last night and have a few too many whiskeys/margaritas/beers? And are you at work right now, bleary-eyed and slow, or perhaps “sick” at home with a raging hangover? Your excessive drinking habits aren’t just a drain on your body, they’re costing the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Starbucks Will Add Live Barista Video To 2,400 Drive-Thrus
By 10.14.15
When shouting your order into a personality-free loudspeaker at Starbucks, do you ever wish that you could make eye contact with the barista? The chain will be adding video screens to drive-thru lanes after successfully experimenting with the idea in Seattle. The screen will have a selection of menu items in addition to the potentially cheerful face of the person taking your order. [More]
Dole Recalls Bagged Spinach Over Salmonella Concerns
By 10.14.15
If you recently purchased some Dole brand bagged spinach at the supermarket, it’s time to go check out the bag to see if it’s among the spinach being recalled for possible salmonella contamination. [More]
Naked Woman Trashed Subway Restaurant, ‘Appeared To Be On Drugs’
By 10.14.15
We don’t know what a woman spent two hours doing in the bathroom before she went on a rampage and trashed a Subway restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska, but one of her agenda items was “remove clothing.” Police say that she emerged from the restaurant and started to destroy the furniture, tear down ceiling tiles, and cause general mayhem. [More]
October Food And Supplement Recall Roundup: Beware Of Surprise Cheese Curls
By 10.14.15
In this month’s Recall Roundup for food and supplements, dried fruit doesn’t declare its sulfites, tortilla chips may have some cheese curls mixed in, sausage patties may have bonus metal shards, and plenty of pet food and treats may contain foodborne illnesses that can make you and your furry friends sick. [More]
Subway Customer Claims Dead Rat Came Free With His Spinach-Filled Sandwich
By 10.13.15
There’s just something about frogs, spiders and rats that make our skin crawl, especially when they come free in our bags of lettuce, grapes, frozen lemonade, and now, as one Oregon man claims, a Subway sandwich. [More]
Ancestry.com Wants To Get Into The Genetic Disease-Diagnosing Business
By 10.13.15
Nearly two years after federal regulators drove genetic testing startup 23andMe out of the business of identifying potential risks for disease, the folks at genealogy website Ancestry.com say they want to be able to review customers’ DNA tests for potential problems. [More]
Maybe Stay Away From Caramel Apples At Room Temperature This Fall
By 10.13.15
Late last year, an outbreak of Listeriosis traced to caramel apples killed seven people and caused one miscarriage, and hospitalized dozens of people. These treats are most popular during the fall, which is Halloween season and apple-harvesting season, which is why consumers might be understandably worried that it could happen again this year. Microbiologists have found one possible cause of the contamination: sticks. [More]
Starbucks Launches “Green Apron Delivery” Pilot At Empire State Building
By 10.13.15
After months of will-they-won’t-they, Starbucks has officially begun tests of what it’s called the most-asked-for service: coffee delivery. About 12,000 coffee-lovers in Manhattan’s Empire State Building will have the opportunity to have cups of java dropped off at their workplace with the launch of a pilot program called Green Apron Delivery. [More]
California Governor Finally Signs Nation’s First Law Getting Tough On Antibiotics In Farm Animals
By 10.12.15
Weeks after the California state legislature passed the nation’s first law intended to hold farmers and veterinarians accountable for the use of antibiotics in livestock, Governor Jerry Brown finally signed the bill over the weekend. [More]
Whole Foods Recalls Organic Cheese Over Possible Listeria Contamination
By 10.9.15
Here at Consumerist it’s no secret that we love our cheese: cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere, Brie… there’s really no end to that list. So we hate to bring news that might sour anyone on cheese, but we have some bad news: Whole Foods has issued a recall of Papillon Organic Roquefort cheese over concerns it may be contaminated with listeria. [More]
