Plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit against Toyota over sudden unintended acceleration won a minor court battle on Monday when the judge in the case ruled that owners of the recalled vehicles can sue the car maker for economic loss because they may not have gotten what they paid for. [More]
Quality & Safety
Entenmann's Pop'Ems Recalled In Four States For Mold Concerns
By 5.13.11
Bimbo Bakeries doesn’t just have an amazing name, it’s also the company that makes, among other products, Entenmann’s donuts. Alas, Bimbo has had to issue a recall for three different varieties of both Entenmann’s Pop’Ems donuts and its Bimbo Donitas. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 2.7 Million Ford F-150s For Potential Fuel Tank Problems
By 5.9.11
It’s been a bad spring for the Ford F-150 pickup truck brand. First, there was the recall of around 1.3 million vehicles for faulty airbags. Now comes news that NHTSA is investigating a problem with rusting fuel tank straps that could impact 2.7 million F-150 trucks. [More]
Toy Story 3 Bowling Set Recalled Because Kids Apparently Aren't Supposed To Play With Lead Paint Anymore
By 5.6.11
Considering the menagerie of toys that come to life in Pixar’s Toy Story movies — and considering the number of toys out there that are slathered in lead paint — it’s surprising that not one of them has exhibited any definitive symptoms of lead poisoning (well, maybe those three-eyed alien things). But that hasn’t stopped the makers of a Toy Story 3 bowling set from using lead paint. [More]
GM Recalls 170,000 2011 Cars, Trucks & Vans
By 5.5.11
General Motors announced three recalls affecting several 2011 model year vehicles, including its popular Chevrolet Cruze sedan–recently recalled for steering wheel concerns. [More]
Teachers, Sign Up For Free Kid's Product Safety Alerts And You Could Win $100
By 5.5.11
If you’re a teacher, parent or caregiver, take 10 seconds today and sign up for safety. Get the latest alerts about food and products that affect children in a free weekly email from the National School Safety Coalition, of which Consumers Union is one of three founding members. As an added incentive, if you’re a teacher, you may be able to win $100: the five teachers who get the most parents to sign up will win $100 each (you don’t need to be a teacher to sign up for the email alerts). So sign up here and pass it along, especially to any teachers you know! No child should be put in harm’s way simply because we couldn’t get the word out. [More]
Do You Live Near A Food Desert?
By 5.4.11
If you’ve ever wanted to find out if you live in a wasteland with a dearth of access to fresh and nutritious food, boy have we got the government-sponsored data mashup for you! The USDA just launched the “Food Desert Locator” which lets you see where it’s hard to get a decent bite to eat in America. A “food desert” (remember: not dessert, that has two s’s because you want more of it) is a low-income area where a most of the people live more than one mile from the nearest grocery store/supermarket. Thanks to this map, now we know why North Dakotans are so sad: no one will make them a sandwich! [More]
Create An Emergency Kit For Your Pet
By 5.4.11
If you had to leave your home on short notice due to a natural disaster or other emergency, would you have a bag of emergency supplies ready to go? While adults and older children can handle packing their own bags in a hurry, members of your family who don’t have opposable thumbs can’t. [More]
Tomatoes Recalled For Salmonella Contamination
By 5.3.11
Of all the toppings that go well with tomatoes, salmonella isn’t one of them. Thus, Six L’s tomato farm of Florida issued a recall of its potentially contaminated tomatoes. [More]
Nissan Recalls My Car But Then Refuses To Take It Back
By 5.2.11
It’s really very responsible when a car company like Nissan lets its customers know there is a safety problem with their vehicles, and issues a recall. But what happens when they won’t take the recalled car back, for no reason anyone can figure out, including Nissan? [More]
Government Proposes New Guidelines For Marketing Food To Kids
By 4.28.11
Earlier today, an interagency working group consisting of folks from the Federal Trade Commission, Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, and the Dept. of Agriculture, issued a set of “proposed voluntary principles” it hopes the food industry will ultimately adopt in its marketing to the youth of America. [More]
Just How Much BP Oil Is Left In The Marshes?
By 4.28.11
On the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic BP oil spill in the gulf, scientists are still struggling to figure out just how much oil is in the marshes. This excellent New York Times video explores their challenges, not the least of which is the inherent complexity of determining the damage to a vast and vibrant ecosystem. One group of researchers, for example, are guesstimating the number of bird deaths by taking bird carcasses out to sea, dropping them in, and seeing how many wash ashore. [More]
Consumer Reports Rates Britax B-Nimble Strollers 'Don't Buy'
By 4.28.11
If you’re in the market for a stroller with a confusing parking brake that could send your child rolling down a hill, consider the Britax B-Nimble stroller. Or…don’t. Our safely strolling siblings at Consumer Reports found the stroller’s parking brake system problematic, and have given it a “Don’t Buy” rating. [More]
Recall Roundup: Fire In The Fish Tank Edition
By 4.27.11
While it makes sense, it’s a little strange at first glance to read that an aquarium heater is being recalled for a fire hazard. Isn’t it underwater? Not the parts that could potentially catch fire. But they’re not the only thing catching on fire: on with the recall roundup! [More]
Nissan Recalls 196,000 Older SUVs Over Possible Steering Loss Problems
By 4.25.11
If you’ve got a 10-year-old Nissan Pathfinder or Infinit QX4 sitting in your driveway, you might want to pay attention. Nissan has recalled nearly 200,000 of these vehicles over concerns that accumulated road salt and water could cause a loss of steering. [More]
Texan Refuses To Evacuate Home Close To Wildfire
By 4.22.11
When authorities advise you to abandon your home to flee an oncoming natural disaster, things tend to not work out so well if you stick around. But a defiant Texas man is taking his chances, standing pat at his house even though a raging wildfire is encroaching on his property. [More]
Toyota Recalls Over 200,000 RAV4 & 90,000 Highlander Vehicles Over Airbag Concerns
By 4.21.11
The Toyota recall parade continues with the announcement of a recall of approximately 214,000 of its 2007 and 2008 model year RAV4 and 94,000 of its 2008 model year Highlander and Highlander Hybrid vehicles due to faulty roll-over sensors in their side airbag systems. [More]
Delta Warned About Mice Feces On Plane
By 4.21.11
Most people are worried about a seatmate that takes up more than their fair share of the seats, but on one Delta plane they should be more concerned about a far tinier co-passenger. CNN reports the FDA has sent Delta a warning letter (read it here) about mouse droppings “too numerous to count” onboard one of its planes. [More]
