On Friday, the makers of Banana Boat sunscreen recalled a slew of products over concerns that they could possibly ignite on a users’ skin. And while the idea of flaming sunscreen scored its share of giggles, the image here shows it’s no laughing matter. [More]
Quality & Safety
Banana Boat Sunscreen Recalled Because Your Skin Isn’t Supposed To Be Set On Fire
By 10.19.12
Considering that Banana Boat sunscreen products are supposed to keep you from getting sunburn, it’s a bit surprising that the stuff is being recalled because it could ignite while still on your skin. [More]
Sprouts Are Out At Kroger
By 10.19.12
If you’re a fan of fresh sprouts and a Kroger shopper, you’ll have to choose between the two after this weekend, when the supermarket chain sells the last of the little green veggies, which are apparently a pain in the butt to keep clean. [More]
Why Isn’t Jif’s Natural Peanut Butter Spread Labeled Just ‘Peanut Butter?’
By 10.18.12 — Updated: 9.26.13
Kate was confused at the grocery store. Side by side on the shelf were regular old Jif peanut butter and Jif’s “natural” peanut butter. Only the “natural” stuff was labeled “peanut butter spread,” while the standard, presumably less natural, Jif got to call itself peanut butter. “It makes me wonder, what about ‘natural’ makes it less than true peanut butter?” she wrote to us. “Why does it need to be called ‘peanut butter spread’, when traditional, sugar filled, [Jif] can be called ‘peanut butter’? Shouldn’t the natural product version be truer to the genuine article?” That would be the intuitive answer, wouldn’t it? It’s the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration that keep the “natural” variety of Jif from being declared plain old peanut butter. Here’s the relevant part of the FDA standards for peanut butter: [More]
Only Bad Things Can Happen When You Abandon Thousands Of Bottles Of Counterfeit Ketchup In A Warehouse
By 10.18.12
Taking huge, commercial-size bladders of Heinz Ketchup and repackaging it into smaller plastic bottles may not seem like that insidious of a scam, until you think about what else might be getting added to the sweet red goo — and what happens when you leave a few thousand bogus bottles of the stuff in a warehouse unattended. [More]
Great Peanut Butter Recall Of 2012 Now Includes Bagged Nuts, Ice Cream, Candy
By 10.18.12 — Updated: 8.21.14
The Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2012 is now the Great Peanut Recall of 2012. What began with salmonella illnesses traced back to a few varieties at Trader Joe’s has expanded to include foods including peanuts processed by Sunland, but made by a variety of manufacturers. These products include candy, ice cream, and other tasty peanut-including treats. [More]
October Recall Roundup: High Chairs, Herring, And Metal Shards
By 10.16.12
In this months’ recalls: wood cleaner sprays users in the face, wooden porch swings collapse, there’s Listeria everywhere, and an unusual number of herring products are recalled for unrelated reasons That number: two. [More]
Seized Pirate Costumes Rendered Decidedly Scarier Due To High Levels Of Lead
By 10.16.12 — Updated: 10.24.12
Attention, Halloween lovers: While you might want to be perceived as dangerous this Halloween, there are some costumes that are so dangerous they’re actually harmful to your health. Shipments of pirate costumes coming from China were recently seized by authorities because they contained high levels of lead. The better to sink you with when you walk the plank, perhaps, but not so great for your health. [More]
8 Horrifying Things We Learned From Bloomberg Report On Inept, Ineffective Food Inspectors
By 10.11.12
During recent mass recalls of eggs and cantaloupe because of salmonella and listeria contamination, you heard a lot about FDA inspectors not catching this or that, and “How could no one notice all that filth?” Now a new report in Bloomberg Markets Magazine sheds a huge light at the sad state of food inspection in the U.S. [More]
Toyota Issues Recall Of 7 Million Cars Worldwide For Faulty Window Switch
By 10.10.12
In one of its biggest recalls yet, Toyota is recalling 7.43 million vehicles from around the United States, Japan and Europe — all because of a faulty power-window switch in about a dozen models that didn’t get greased up enough when the cars were built. That could cause friction in the switch and at times, even smoke. [More]
Tainted Smoked Salmon Blamed For Salmonella Outbreak In U.S. & The Netherlands
By 10.2.12
I remember asking my mom when I was little after being warned not to eat raw eggs, “But how can I get salmonella if I’m not even eating salmon?” The answer back then didn’t make sense, but now my 7-year-old self would nod at the inevitability of salmon actually being linked to salmonella. In this case, it’s smoked salmon that’s reportedly sickening hundreds in the Netherlands and the U.S. [More]
Chinese Restaurant Closed Because Roadkill Wasn’t On The Menu
By 10.2.12
It’s one thing for a restaurant to serve up a nice plate of venison that comes from a legally hunted deer that’s been dressed and butchered properly. It’s another to simply chop up some roadkill in the kitchen and pass it off to your customers, and that is why a Chinese food restaurant in Kentucky is now closed. [More]
Honda & GM Both Recalling Vehicles As No One Wants To Have Their Car Catch Fire
By 10.1.12
It’s one of those days where car recalls are abounding and it seems that fuel leaks are to blame in both cases: General Motors has issued a recall of almost 41,000 vehicles from the 2007 to 2009 model years after discovering a possible problem with cars sold in warm weather states. And then Honda blows that recall out of the water by issuing an alert for 573,000 Accords from model years between 2003 and 2007. [More]
5 Major Rental Car Companies Agree To Stop Renting & Leasing Recalled Vehicles
By 9.27.12
You know what’s a scary thought? Renting a vehicle from a car rental company and then finding out that it’s part of a recall, but was never brought in for the necessary repairs. Then there you are, driving a potentially dangerous vehicle. We’re kind of surprised it took this long, but now Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Dollar Thrifty and National have agreed to stop leasing vehicles under safety recalls. [More]
Great Peanut Butter Recall Of 2012 Began With Trader Joe’s, Now Includes 17 Brands
By 9.26.12
The Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2012 started relatively small, with Valencia peanut butter sold at Trader Joe’s. Thirty individuals in nineteen different states became ill from salmonellosis, and the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified that product as the likely source of the infections. Sunland, the company that actually manufactures peanut butter sold under the Trader Joe’s label, took the precaution of recalling other products manufactured on the same product line during the same period. That includes products sold under Sunland’s own label, as well as 15 other store and niche brands. [More]
Kroger Recalls Spinach In 15 States Because No One Wants A Listeria Salad
By 9.19.12
It’s baaaack and this time it could be plaguing Kroger stores supply of spinach — our old foe Listeria has returned and is once again triggering a recall. Kroger is alerting customers in 15 states that its Fresh Selections Tender Spinach might be contaminated with Listeria. [More]
Two London Residents Find Dead Frogs In Their Tesco Spinach
By 9.19.12
We’ve come to use the tag “free frogs” for any story about unexpected dead animals in one’s food. Over in the United Kingdom, they’re apparently running some kind of regional free-frog promotion. Two London customers of chain retailer Tesco have found dead frogs in their spinach in the last week. [More]
FDA: We Can't Prove Chinese Jerky Killed Hundreds Of Dogs, But Maybe Avoid It Anyway
By 9.19.12
“Imported Chinese jerky?” you might be saying. “Who would buy their pet any food from a country whose safety standards would shock Upton Sinclair?” Lots of well-meaning Americans are feeding their dogs and cats imported treats. Every year, the United States imports 86 million pounds of pet food products from China. Some of that food is jerky that’s packaged and sold under brand names you may recognize: Waggin’ Train (Purina), Canyon Creek (Purina), and Milo’s Kitchen (Del Monte) are the most common. Now thousands of pet owners claim that these products may have sickened or even killed their animals, and demand recalls and justice. The only problem is that the FDA can’t find any proof of harmful chemicals or pathogens in the meat. [More]
