Canada Dry and Lipton have been yellow-carded by referees at at Food and Drug Administration, who have warned the beverage makers of making unauthorized nutrient claims on their green tea drinks. [More]
Quality & Safety
Hartz Dog Treats Recalled Over Salmonella
By 9.6.10
Don’t reward your dog a Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treat from a bag stamped with lot code BZ0969101E, says the FDA, unless you want a potentially confused dog. Hartz says salmonella has been found in at least one bag from that lot, so it’s recalling nearly 75,000 bags. So far no one has reported any sick pets, but if you have questions you can call Hartz at 1-800-275-1414. [More]
CPSC Says No Link Found Between Dry Max Diapers And Diaper Rash
By 9.3.10
Back in May a lotta parents were venting online about newly formulated Pampers Dry Max Diapers giving their kids bad diaper rash. The CPSC got almost 4,700 incident reports and investigated, but so far has not found any specific link that says the diapers are causing adverse reactions any different from normal diaper rash. [More]
$230,000 Ferraris Recalled For Being So Hot They Could Burst Into Flames
By 9.2.10
The Ferrari 458 Italia is a hot car. Too hot. So hot that at least 5 of them have burst into flames because of a design flaw, leading the Italian luxury car maker to recall more than 1,200 Italias, each worth around $230,000. [More]
FDA Finally Inspects Tainted Egg Farms, Discovers They're Unsanitary
By 8.31.10
Conditions at the two salmonella egg farms in Iowa are so bad that you’d think they were Tylenol factories, according to recent FDA inspections. Wait, I mean the first and only inspections. [More]
Calorie Count Rules Coming To Theaters, Airplanes, Convenience Stores, Supermarket Food Courts
By 8.31.10
The FDA says the law that requires restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie counts also applies to other types of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, movie theaters, airplanes, trains, food courts in grocery stores, and convenience stores are all considered chains and will soon have to start following the law. The agency hasn’t made up its mind yet whether things like salad bars in grocery stores will have to fall in line. The FDA will announce official guidelines in December. [More]
TSA's "Enhanced" Pat-Down Procedure Lets Their Fingers Do The Searching
By 8.30.10
In an effort to make air travel safer but less appealing, the TSA has begun using an “enhanced” pat-down procedure for those who would rather not subject themselves to a full-body scan. And if you’re a fan of having strangers touch you all over, then you should just get straight in line for this one. [More]
NYC Slumlords Outed By Public Advocate's Worst Landlord List
By 8.30.10
Not many renters in New York City are in love with their landlords, but only a handful of the city’s landlords deserved to be called out in public for repeated violations and ignored complaints from tenants. Starting this morning, the city’s Public Advocate has decided it’s time that the worst offenders be forced into the spotlight with a public, searchable database. [More]
8,500 Lbs. Of Ground Beef Recalled From BJ's Wholesale Clubs In 8 States
By 8.30.10
A few tons of ground beef from a meat processor in Pennsylvania have been recalled over fear of possible E. coli contamination. As of early Monday morning, the only retail outlets identified as possibly having received the ground beef were BJ’s Wholesale clubs in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. [More]
Toyota Recalls 1.13 Million Corolla and Matrix Vehicles
By 8.26.10
It almost seems like Toyota is gradually recalling every vehicle it manufactured over the last decade. The latest — 1.13 million 2005-2008 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles have been recalled to “address some Engine Control Modules (ECM) that may have been improperly manufactured.” [More]
Garmin Recalls 1.3 Million GPS Devices For Fire Hazard
By 8.26.10
So you’re driving down the highway, looking for the exit that will lead to the secluded cabin where you and your long-lost twin have arranged to meet for the first time. The turn-by-turn directions intoned by your Garmin Nuvi are a welcome threshold to cling to as anxiety churns through your stomach. Then, there it is, the offramp, its emerald sign throbbing gently as your headlights trace over it. Relief washes through your veins, just as your GPS unit explodes into a ball of flames, instantly turning you and everything inside your car to ash!
Nothing like that has been reported in the 1.2 million Garmin Nuvi devices recalled for battery overheating that increases the risk of fire hazard affecting model numbers 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx and 7xxt where xx is a two digit number, but man, if it did, what a story that would be.
Pick A Backpack That Won't Break Your Kid's Spine
By 8.24.10
Here are some tips from Consumer Reports for making sure your kid’s backpack won’t turn them into a hunchback: [More]
Two Farms In Egg Recall Scramble Linked To Same Businessman With Runny Past
By 8.24.10
Two of the Iowa farms that recalled over half a billion eggs for potential salmonella taint are linked to the same businessman, and he has a history of health, safety and employment violations. So how come no one stopped him before? [More]
190 Tons Of Walmart Deli Meat Recalled Over Potential Listeria Contamination
By 8.24.10
A New York company called Zemco Industries has recalled 380,000 pounds of deli meat that it distributed to Walmart under the Marketside label, because it might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Although nobody has reported any illness and healthy people aren’t usually in danger, listeriosis can kill old people, infants, and others with weak immune systems. [More]
What A Salmonella Outbreak Looks Like To The CDC
By 8.21.10
The CDC has released a graph that compares the recent salmonella outbreak associated with eggs to the number of cases of the disease that would be expected without an unusual amount of tainted food on the market. [More]
There Are Now 380 Million Recalled Eggs
By 8.21.10
Although the 380 million recalled eggs represent a small fraction of the total eggs out there, it’s still a staggering number of items that could be tainted with salmonella. The latest recall involves a second Iowa producer, Hillandale Farms. [More]
Read Egg Carton Codes
By 8.20.10
For those who are visual learners, this graphic breaks down how to read an egg carton’s codes. Useful for telling if your eggs were part of the 228 million recalled for salmonella, for instance. [More]
Family Drinks Milk Containing Dead Mouse For 3 Days, Sues Walmart
By 8.20.10
I’ve never tasted milk that contained the corpse of a dead mouse, so I can’t say whether or not it would be noticeable, but a couple in Kentucky claim they drank three days’ worth of moused-up milk they’d purchased at Sam’s Club before ever noticing the rotting rodent inside. Now, as happens in these situations, they have filed a lawsuit. [More]
