New rules about tobacco marketing that targets young people go into effect this week as part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act. Among the rules: No candy- or fruit-flavored cigarettes. [More]
Quality & Safety
38,700 Lbs. Of Ground Beef Recalled For Possible E. Coli Contamination
By 6.23.10
Yesterday, the Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety & Inspection Service announced two separate recalls — one in California and one in New York — totaling nearly 40,000 pounds of ground beef after learning that the batches of meat could have been contaminated with the E. coli bacteria. [More]
Special Lovemaking Coffee Can Cause Sudden Drop In Blood Pressure, Lovemaking
By 6.21.10
If you want to be a passionate lover, or at least a noticeably hyper one, of course you should drink a lot of coffee before hitting the sheets. That’s just common sense. But the FDA says that a specially marketed aphrodisiac coffee, Magic Power Coffee, can interfere with prescription drugs and cause a dramatic loss of blood pressure. [More]
Italy Recalls 70,000 "Blue" Balls Of Mozzarella
By 6.21.10
It may seem like we’re going for cheap innuendo in the headline — and on some level, we are — but this time it’s also accurate. Authorities in Italy have removed 70,000 balls of mozzarella from stores in Turin (or Torino, if you’re not into the whole Anglicizing thing) after customers complained of a bluish tint to the spheres. [More]
You Still Can't Trust Trust Sunscreen SPF, Waterproof Claims
By 6.20.10
Sunscreen makers can say almost anything they want about their product’s sun protection factor or water fighting ability because the FDA’s sunscreen regulations are a just a teensy bit late. Well, they’re actually thirty-two years late, but the FDA swears that they’re going to publish final regulations by October. Except maybe not. So what can consumers do in the meantime? [More]
Salmonella Recall Notices No Match For Hungry, Oblivious Consumers
By 6.19.10
Look, when the Centers for Disease Control recalls your frozen pot pie because it’s contaminated with salmonella, don’t eat it. Sure, it sounds easy, but hundreds of consumers apparently fell ill in 2007 even after ConAgra yanked millions of contaminated Banquet pies from store shelves. So just who were these sickened frozen pot pie devotees? [More]
Are They Trying To Starve Us? Now Marie Callender Recalled For Salmonella
By 6.18.10
First they took our Spaghetti-o’s, kombucha, and cat food, now Marie Callendar cheesy chicken and rice frozen meals have been recalled for a possible link to a salmonella outbreak in 14 states. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT? [More]
Potentially Boozy Kombucha Drinks Drive Whole Foods Yank
By 6.18.10
Whole Foods has removed all kombucha drinks from its shelves over concerns that it might contain elevated levels of alcohol. The supermarket was worried that, to paraphrase the great poet J-Kwon, “errybody in the fermented culture club gettin’ tipsy.” What’s kombucha, you ask? And why does the process of making it remind me of a certain Capri Sun pouch? [More]
Uh-Oh: 15 Million Pounds Of SpaghettiOs Recalled By Campbell's
By 6.18.10
I never got the whole SpaghettiOs thing. It always kinda tasted like noodles in ketchup to me. And now I’m quite thankful I’m not a fan, because Campbell Soup Co. has issued a recall for 15 million pounds worth of SpaghettiOs products do to the presence of undercooked meat in the canned pastas. [More]
IAMS Recalls Vitamin-Deficient Canned Cat Food
By 6.18.10
Do you feed your cat or kitten Iams ProActive Health canned food? Check the dates on the cans, because your noms may be part of a recall. The food isn’t dangerous in itself, but has dangerously low levels of vitamin B1, which is essential for cat nutrition. [More]
Female Answer To Viagra Just Can't Stand Up To Testing Says FDA
By 6.17.10
Sad news for the world of gettin-it-on today: A drug that had been intended as a female analog to Viagra has not only not shown promise in tests, but has actually demonstrated some quite non-sexy side effects. [More]
More Moldy Barfy Benadryl And Tylenol Recalled
By 6.17.10
Oopsy-poopsies! Johnson and Johnson forgot to recall four “lots” of Benadryl Allergy Ultratabs and one lot of Extra Strength Tylenol Rapid Release Gels along with the dozens already recalled in Jan. J&J took the pills off the market after consumers complained they smelled moldy and in a few cases, caused vomiting and diarrhea. [More]
Kraft's Amusing Capri Sun Mold FAQ
By 6.16.10
Last week we told you how Melissa found a giant scary mold in her Capri Sun juice pouch. After she posted pictures on her Facebook, sections of the internet went totally apesh*t. This is probably because the mold looked like a giant horse eyeball and Kraft’s initially slow response only fueled the flames of hysteria. As part of getting up to speed, Kraft even put up a whole FAQ devoted specifically to this one issue. Between its lines, though, you can read their frustration with the blowup. Their answer to the last question “What kind of mold is it?” is both honest and funny: [More]
Using H2O As Wiper Fluid Might Turn Car Into Pneumonia Breeding Ground
By 6.16.10
If you’re cheap and/or lazy and use only water as your windshield wiper fluid, you could increase your risk of contracting Legionnaire’s disease and pneumonia, according to a new study. That’s right, treat your car poorly and it will try to kill you. [More]
Kroger Issues Recall Of Unintentionally Nutty Ice Cream
By 6.15.10
If you bought some Kroger Deluxe Chocolate Paradise Ice Cream recently and have a nut allergy, you might want to read this before chowing down. The grocery store chain has recalled this particular ice cream in 17 states because it may contain tree nuts not listed on the label. [More]
Target Realizes Spain Is No Longer A Dictatorship; Pulls Shirt With Franco Flag
By 6.15.10 — Updated: 9.11.13
While it’s nowhere near as embarrassing as the Walmart Nazi skull shirt fiasco of 2007-08, the folks at Target are more than a little red in the face after having to pull a shirt featuring the former flag of Spain, which is now closely associated with murder-happy dictator General Francisco Franco. [More]
USDA Wants To Make Sure That Organic Food From China Is Really Organic
By 6.14.10
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has banned one of the biggest food inspector groups in the nation from operating in China, reports the New York Times, because of conflict of interest concerns. It turns out the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) was using employees of a Chinese government agency to inspect Chinese government-owned farms, which sort of misses the point of independent certification entirely. [More]
Johnson & Johnson Hired Fake Shoppers To Buy Up Bad Motrin, Avoid Public Recall
By 6.14.10
Ever since the FDA and Congress started asking Johnson & Johnson to explain why it keeps recalling medicine, there have been references to an unpublicized “recall” that happened in November 2008. Last month, at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a J&J executive swore that the company didn’t mean to mislead anyone. It turns out that wasn’t exactly accurate: Bloomberg has obtained emails from J&J’s company, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, that show executives knew the secret recall would trigger an FDA reaction if the agency got wind of its full scope. [More]
