Last fall, the Food & Drug Administration announced they would be requiring tobacco packaging to carry larger and more graphic warning labels. And because our governmental agencies move like quicksilver, it only took about seven months for the FDA to finalize the nine images that will soon decorate your pack of Kools. [More]
Quality & Safety
Porsche 911s Recalled For Wheel Hubs Wearing Down
By 6.20.11
For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost. And for want of durable wheel hubs, high-powered Porsche 911s were recalled because the could lead to a compromised wheel-retention system and a crash. [More]
Bananas Foster Inferno Possibly Started By Inappropriate Pouring
By 6.16.11
An update on that flaming banana desert that engulfed a customer in flame story from earlier in the week: according to witnesses the waiter poured the alcohol on using the whole bottle instead of using a ladle. The flames then shot back up into the bottle and caused the “explosion of fire.” The diner who was covered in fire remains sedated in the hospital. [More]
Target Recalls Additional 375,000 Booster Seats Because Kids Keep Falling Out Of Them
By 6.16.11
Almost two years ago, Target recalled around 43,000 Circo booster seats because a fault in the seat’s buckle could end up with a child on the floor. But after kids continued to fall down and go boom, Target decided this week to expand that recall by 375,000 seats. [More]
800 NYC Restaurants Caught Trying To Hide Sub-Par Health Inspection Grades
By 6.15.11
Last summer, the New York City Board of Health began requiring all restaurants to post the letter-grade results of their latest health inspections. But a large number of eateries with non-A marks opted either to not post their grade or post it in a spot where no one could see it. [More]
FDA Announces New Labeling Standards For Sunscreen
By 6.14.11
Earlier today, the Food and Drug Administration announced new labeling guidlines for sunscreen in an effort to make it clear to consumers which products offer the best chance of keeping your skin from turning into shoe leather. [More]
9 Out Of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Are Doing It Wrong
By 6.7.11
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child’s car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you’ve put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you. [More]
German Sprouts Not Deadly E.coli Culprit, Initial Tests Show
By 6.6.11
German sprouts are not the cause of the deadly e.coli outbreak that has killed 22 and sickened over 2,000, according to initial tests of samples from a farm that a German agriculture minister had earlier named as the epicenter. The retraction is only the latest in a series of confusing finger-pointings and “cucumber slurs,” and has left European consumers afraid to eat a salad. [More]
"Super-Toxic" E.Coli Strain Kills 18 In Europe
By 6.3.11
A virulent strain of antibiotic-resistant E.coli has left 18 dead in Europe, left over 1,800 sick, and touched off a continent-wide scare against all produce, suspected to be the source of the infection. [More]
AT&T Thinks You Should Just Take That Tree Off High-Tension Line Yourself
By 6.3.11
There are some things that you really, really don’t want to handle doing yourself. After a tree took out electric and phone lines on his property, A. in Texas is left with the heavy trunk resting on high-tension steel cables that normally go between the poles. An AT&T told A. during a visit to just remove the tree trunk and let the cables go up. A city inspector and a professional lineman separately told A. that doing so might lead to the cables flying up and taking the utility lines out again, and could also injure or kill the person doing the work. [More]
"Nutrition Plate" Replaces "Food Pyramid"
By 6.2.11
It was announced this morning that the much-derided USDA “food pyramid” has gone the way of the Pharaohs and will be replaced by a simpler “nutrition plate” that for the first time emphasizes vegetables over all other food groups. [More]
Toyota Recalls 106,000 Prius Vehicles Over Steering Concerns
By 6.1.11
Toyota has issued a recall on some early model (2001-2003) Prius vehicles over concerns that a problem in the steering system could could lead to drivers having difficulty controlling the car. [More]
$10M Awarded After Child Got Skin Burns On 85% Of Body After Taking Motrin
By 5.27.11
A jury has awarded the family of a child $10 million after she developed skin burns on 85% of her body after taking Children’s Motrin. [More]
Use Too Much Hand Sanitizer, Fail An Alcohol Test
By 5.25.11
Not only is hand sanitizer not so effective in preventing the cold and flu, it also could give you false positives if you’re tested for alcohol consumption. [More]
USDA: You Can Eat Pink Pork Without Getting Sick
By 5.25.11
If you’ve been cooking pork chops until they’re dry and leathery in the name of safety, stop now! The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised its pork-cooking guidelines, saying it’s OK to cook the other white meat to 145 degrees, and that the previous 160 degree recommendation was “probably overkill.” [More]
Design A Safety Map To Plan For Disaster
By 5.21.11
There’s a reason your office building probably has a fire evacuation map posted on a wall. When things get crazy, it’s best to have a plan in place for how to react, and a map with a rendezvous point for friends and loved ones could prove invaluable during earthquakes, fires and floods — not to mention the apocalypse. [More]
FDA: Diabetes Drug Avandia To Be Pulled From Retail Pharmacies In November
By 5.19.11
For several years, prescription diabetes medicine Avandia has been at the center of a debate about whether the medication’s heart attack risk was high enough to pull it from pharmacies. Now, nearly eight months after the FDA announced it would be introducing strict restrictions on its sale and use, the agency has finally gotten around to announcing the specifics of those restrictions. [More]
