The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today drug counterfeiters may have added a foreign ingredient into Chinese shipments of Baxter’s blood-thinner heparin which has been linked to 19 deaths and 800 illnesses.
Government Policy
Tainted Heparin May Have Been The Work Of Counterfeiters
By 3.5.08
By 3.5.08
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H.J. Heinz Co. is recalling approximately 40,000 cases of Boston Market brand lasagna with meat sauce after realizing that it contained that sketchy recalled cow abuse beef from Westland/Hallmark. [BizJournals]
False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit: How To Get Your Airborne Refund
By 3.5.08
Yesterday we mentioned that the makers of Airborne had reached a tentative settlement over claims that it falsely represented its product as a “miracle cold buster,” by citing a study done by a research firm that ABCNews describes as “a two-man operation started up just to do the Airborne study. There was no clinic, no scientists and no doctors.”
Walmart Hated "Vista Home Basic" And Thought It Should Not Exist
By 3.5.08
Computerworld has posted some excerpts from internal Microsoft emails that seem to imply that Walmart was not happy with “Vista Home Basic.”
Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix Recalled Mysteriously
By 3.4.08
Here’s something sort of weird. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is saying that two products, “Aunt Jemima Complete Pancake Mix” and “Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix” have been “recalled and are under investigation for a possible health risk, according to a press release given out by Dierbergs grocery stores.”
Plastic Surgery Company Sues Consumer Site For Negative Customer Reviews
By 3.4.08
Lifestyle Lift claims it’s a “minor one-hour procedure with major results,” but a lot of customers who have paid for the procedure have been left unhappy, and they’ve consequently posted reviews about it on a plastic surgery review blog called RealSelf. Lifestyle Lift has sued RealSelf, claiming trademark infringement, and now RealSelf has countersued, claiming Lifestyle Lift padded RealSelf’s site with shill reviews.
IRS Reminds You To File Your Tax Return In Order To Receive Stimulus Payment
By 3.3.08
“These special letters remind people that they won’t need to do anything more than file a 2007 tax return in order to put the stimulus payment process in motion,” Acting IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff said.
Watch Out! Exploding Bleach Recalled!
By 3.3.08
Here’s a weird recall that you might care to know about: Fred Meyer and QFC supermarkets have recalled bottles of bleach that could potentially explode when opened, says the Seattle Times.
Claim Benefits In Airborne Class Action Lawsuit
By 3.3.08
The Airborne dietary supplement, which claims to help ward off the cold and flu, has reached a tentative settlement in a class action lawsuit that the company misrepresented its product. You can file online or by mail here. Boxes of Airborne used to cite a study by “GNG Pharmaceutical Services Inc” that said it tested 120 people and 47% showed little or no cold flu symptoms, versus 23% of a placebo. However, an ABC news investigation revealed that GNG was a two-man operation started up just to make the Airborne study, and had no clinic, scientists or doctors. Following the negative publicity, Knight-McDowell Labs removed references to the GNG study from its packages. Maybe people just weren’t reading the box carefully and failed to apply directly to the forehead.
Gorton's Recalls Fish After Consumer Finds Pills Inside
By 3.3.08
Gorton’s said it ordered the recall as a precaution while a laboratory conducts tests to determine the nature of the pills. Those tests should be complete early next week.
Motivational Company Waterboarded Employees?
By 2.29.08
Motivational coaching company Prosper is the subject of an unusual lawsuit: “A supervisor…is accused of waterboarding an employee in front of his sales team to demonstrate that they should work as hard on sales as the employee had worked to breathe.” C’mon team, let’s Gitmo sales! [Salt Lake Tribuine]
24,000 Cribs Recalled For Faulty Railing
By 2.29.08
The CPSC has announced the recall of 24,000 cribs for a faulty railing that puts children at risk of falling out.
Reader Sues Best Buy In Small Claims Court And Wins
By 2.29.08
Should it take several months and a small claims lawsuit to get Best Buy to take back their defective washing machine? No, but that’s what it did take for reader Keith.
19 Free Tax Services Tested And Rated
By 2.29.08
Still looking for an affordable e-filing solution for your taxes? The finance blog FiLife “tested every one of the free tax filing services available through the IRS’ Free File program, then posted the results in a detailed, easy-to-read comparison chart.
The Great 2008 Beef Recall's Cow Torturing Villains Revealed
By 2.28.08
Here are the booking photos of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., employees, Jose Luis Sanchez and Daniel Navarro. They are both suspects arrested in connection with the animal abuse incident at the slaughterhouse.
By 2.28.08
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The Humane Society of America has sued the USDA in an attempt to close a loophole that allows downer cows who aren’t otherwise ill into the food supply. They claim the loophole increases the risk of introducing mad cow disease to humans, and leads to abuse against the cattle—like with, oh, say, a forklift. [Wall Street Journal]
Network Solutions Sued For Front-Running Domain Names
By 2.28.08
Earlier this year we noted that Network Solutions is “front running” domain names—that is, automatically purchasing domain names that customers search for and holding them for four days before releasing them again. During that period, the only way customers can buy the domain names is through Network Solutions for 3 to 5 times more than what you can pay elsewhere. Now “search engine expert” Chris McElroy has filed suit against them, named ICANN as a defendant, and is seeking class action status.
"Tiny Details" Owner Sends Miniature Threats To Former Customer
By 2.28.08
Tiny Details is a work-at-home company that pays hobbyists to make little dollhousey things. You buy the materials from Tiny Details for $55, make the assigned object(s), and Tiny Details buys them back. Unfortunately, many customers have complained about problems getting payments or refunds from the company over the years—here’s their less-than-stellar BBB entry. Yesterday Kristopher Buchan, the owner of Tiny Details, emailed one former customer/client to tell him his complaints amounted to libel. Buchan demanded the customer remove them from teh interweb, and threatened him repeatedly with a lawsuit. And now we’re posting about it on The Consumerist! See how that works, Tiny Details?
