Most of the honey on store shelves isn’t the genuine article. This according to testing findings, which found that most products labeled as honey are actually flower nectar with pollen filtered out. This filtering process disqualifies the product form passing most worldwide quality standards. [More]
Quality & Safety
Customer Finds Live Tree Frog In Salad Bought At Costco
By 11.2.11 — Updated: 4.29.13
Everyone knows you’re supposed to rinse out your salad to get rid of any dirt before you chow down, but the food safety folks rarely mention the presence of frogs. So you can imagine the surprise that one California woman had on Monday when she spotted a living croaker in the salad she’d just bought from Costco. [More]
FDA Study Concludes That ADHD Meds Don't Cause Heart Problems
By 11.2.11
A Food and Drug Administration study found that those who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can take medications without increasing their risk of heart problems. The study focused on patients ages 2 through 24. [More]
FDA Trying To Protect Us From Salmonella By Testing Pet Food
By 11.1.11
Salmonella is a nasty little pathogen that can get into your home in any number of ways. That’s why the Food and Drug Administration has begun testing pet food, treats and supplements for Salmonella in an effort to keep the bacteria at bay. [More]
NTSB: Cheapo Buses 7 Times More Likely To Kill Passengers
By 11.1.11
The last decade has seen a huge increase in the number of people opting for discount long-distance buses that pick passengers up at curbside over more traditional bus services operating out of terminals. But a new study from the National Transportation Safety Board says you’re seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal incident when you go for that lower-cost option. [More]
Obama Calls On FDA To Reduce Drug Shortages
By 11.1.11
In an attempt to quell drug shortages that are affecting patients around the country, President Barack Obama ordered the Food and Drug Administration to adjust policies in order to streamline the process of getting drugs into patients’ hands. [More]
This Halloween Toy Could Also Be Used To Harden Dental Composite Material
By 10.26.11
A dentist in California was recently looking at the little Halloween toy — a black cat whose eyes glow blue when you press a button — and thought there was something familiar about that bright light: it looked just like the one he uses to harden dental composite material used to repair his patients’ chompers. [More]
Bill Proposed To Felonize Selling Fake Maple Syrup As Real
By 10.25.11
In order to tamp the scourge of artificial maple syrup being sold as the real deal, New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer are sponsoring a bill that would make it a felony. [More]
Mom Crusading Against Dirty Fast Food Playgrounds Says She's Now Banned From 11 McDonald's
By 10.24.11
Over the summer, concerned mom Erin Carr-Jordan made headlines around the country with her online crusade to clean up filthy playgrounds found at McDonald’s and other fast food chains. It seems her efforts have rubbed at least one Golden Arches franchisee the wrong way, as Carr-Jordan claims she’s been barred from all of his eateries. [More]
Target Recalls Frog Masks That Could Suffocate Kids
By 10.24.11
Some early bird parents who indulged their kids’ wishes to dress up as frogs for Halloween will have to re-do their costume shopping. Target recalled 3,400 products called Children’s Frog Masks due to a potential suffocation hazard. [More]
71 Drivers Cross A Defective Bridge In Chicago Every Second
By 10.20.11
A new study says that 71 drivers in Chicago cross a structurally defective bridge every second. [More]
Don't Yap Or Tap On Your Phone While Teaching Your Kid To Drive
By 10.20.11
Teaching your teenage child to drive is an emotionally fraught yet important time. You can instill good driving habits that will see them through the couple of decades we have left before robotic flying cars dominate the market, then eventually enslave us. Or you can set a bad example by whipping out your phone while teaching the finer points of highway merging. Guess which one most American parents choose? [More]
Toys 'R' Us Must Pay $20.6 Million In 2006 Pool Slide Death
By 10.20.11
We enjoy mocking Banzai and their tendency to put wildly inaccurate photographs of their products on the boxes. But another wild inaccuracy led to tragedy in Massachusetts in 2006, when a 29-year-old mother went headfirst down an inflatable waterslide that collapsed. She broke her neck and later died as a result of the injuries. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before awarding her survivors $20.6 million–and they weren’t even allowed to hear about the other person allegedly paralyzed by a similar injury while using the same product. [More]
FDA: Dirty Equipment Likely Responsible For Deadly Cantaloupes
By 10.19.11
While authorities are still investigating the source of the listeria-tainted cantaloupe outbreak that killed 25 people and sickened more than 100 others, the FDA now believes that puddled water and dirty packing equipment is the likely culprit. [More]
Pediatricians: Crib Bumpers Of Any Sort Pose A Risk To Your Baby
By 10.18.11
In its latest effort to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that parents just completely skip the whole idea of putting any sort of crib bumper — regardless of thickness — in their kids’ cribs. [More]
Senate Bill Would Streamline Medical Device Approval
By 10.14.11
When it comes to approving medical devices for patients to use, the Food and Drug Administration is handcuffed by conflict of interest rules that it says slow the process. A bipartisan trio of senators have introduced a bill that would ease the rules in favor of getting devices approved quicker, possibly at the expense of medical ethics. [More]
Big Sony Bravia TV Fire Recall Is Only In Japan, But US Models May Be Affected
By 10.12.11
Headlines are blaring about the 1.6 million 40″ Sony Bravia TVs getting recalled for fire and smoke risk, but they’re overlooking a key fact. The recalled models were only sold in Japan. No recall has been issued in America. However, there are 400,000 models that were sold in the US that contain the same component that prompted the Japan recall. Here are the Sony Bravia TV model numbers you should check to see if you have. [More]
Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Death Toll Now Tied With 1998 Incident
By 10.11.11
The recent national outbreak of listeria has now upped its death toll to 21, and Federal health officials are warning that those numbers may grow. It’s currently tied with another health scare for the deadliest our country has seen in years. [More]
