Some batches of a certain type of Tylenol had an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that is associated with non-serious nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. The smell is apparently from a chemical that was on the wood pallets the pills were stored on. Originally, the recall was just for one type of Tylenol. Now there is a big ass list, which includes some types of Motrin, Rolaids and St. Joseph brand products. [More]
Quality & Safety
U.S. Airways Flight 401 Had Passenger Infected WIth Tuberculosis
By 1.15.10
A tuberculosis-infected passenger flew on U.S. Airways 401 Saturday from Philadelphia to San Francisco, CNN reports. This despite the fact that the contagious and unidentified passenger was listed on a federal “do not board” list. [More]
New Nonprofit Created To Make Drivers Put The Damn Phone Down
By 1.14.10
What would it take to get you to put the phone down while you’re driving? FocusDriven is an advocacy group for the victims of accidents caused by distracted drivers, and their families. The group hopes to do for distracted driving what Mothers Against Drunk Driving was able to do for drunk driving–raising awareness that it’s a really stupid thing that can hurt innocent people you don’t know. [More]
Slim-Fast Thinks Its Shakes Are Worth About 29 Cents A Can
By 1.11.10
Daniel agreed to throw away 35 cans of Slim-Fast after the company announced a recall last month over fears of contamination. He called the number provided by Unilever and provided his address, and then waited for the full refund they promised. What he got was a check for $10.20. [More]
Acer Recalls 22,000 Defective Laptops
By 1.10.10
22,000 Acer laptops have been recalled by Acer and the CPSC because of a wiring defect. The computers can short circuit, melt the casing, and theoretically burn users. [More]
Home Improvement Books Recalled
By 1.8.10
The publisher of a series of home improvement books has announced a recall of nine of them, because of errors in their instructions on installing or repairing electrical wiring. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says no injuries have been reported so far even though the books have been published since 1975, which I think proves that nobody has ever actually attempted a project from any home improvement book. [More]
Hey, Corvette Owners, Your Roofs May Fly Off
By 12.30.09
If you’re a Corvette owner who really, really likes to feel the wind in your hair as you drive, you may not want to partake in a recall that prevents roofs from flying off as you speed down the highway. [More]
Self-Described Toy Tester Will Go Through Your Stuff If You Pay Her
By 12.29.09
Every time there’s a warning or recall over lead-tainted toys–and it hasn’t happened much this past year, but check out our archives from a couple of years ago–lots of people get up in arms about not being able to trust the government or big business. Well, one woman has bought herself an X-ray flourescence (XRF) analyzer and now hires her services out to worried families, reports the Washington Post. For a fee, she’ll come to your house, point her gun at your kids’ toys, your heirlooms, the fishtank, whatever you ask her to test, and then tell you whether you should throw it out. [More]
RC2 Agrees To Pay $1.25 Million Over Lead Toys
By 12.29.09
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just worked out another penalty settlement with a toy company over those lead-tainted toys that graced shelves from 2005 to 2007. Reuters says RC2 will pay a $1.25 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it “imported and sold Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys with paints and surface coatings that contained lead levels above legal limits.” About two years ago, RC2 settled a class-action lawsuit over the same toys. [More]
"Moldy Smelling" Tylenol Recalled
By 12.29.09
All TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN caps have been recalled after consumer complaints of “an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.” [More]
Was Fatal Car Accident Caused By Stuck Toyota Accelerator?
By 12.27.09
Police in Southlake, Tex. are investigating whether a fatal automobile accident could have been caused by the same mechanical issue that led to the recall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles and multiple fatal accidents in the U.S., including one involving a California Highway Patrol officer and his family. In the accident on Saturday morning, police say that the vehicle ran a stop sign, hit a tree and a fence, and drove into a pond. Two people were killed, and two were injured. [More]
Pretty Much All Roman And Roll-Up Blinds Recalled
By 12.15.09
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council have announced a “recall to repair” of all Roman shades and roll-up shades, after multiple reports of deaths and near strangulations in recent years. If you’ve got kids in your house and you use either type of window covering, visit www.windowcoverings.org or call 800-506-4636 to receive a free kit that will let you retrofit the shades and blinds with clips. [More]
McDonald's Meat Is Safer Than Your Kid's School Lunch
By 12.9.09
You might assume that the meat your kids get from their school cafeteria is held to higher standards than the flesh that’s fed through the grinders at McDonald’s or Burger King. Not exactly, according to USA Today. The paper conducted an investigation and found that “millions of pounds of beef and chicken” served up in schools wouldn’t make the grade in many fast-food restaurants. [More]
Baby Hammock Recalled After Two Deaths
By 12.8.09
Maybe those hamsters are okay, but these Amby Baby Motion hammock beds are not. Two infants have died–one in June, the other in August–from suffocation, prompting Amby Baby and the CPSC to issue a recall notice. You can make the hammock safe to use after repairing it with a free kit, which you can order directly from Amby Baby. [More]
Relax, Toy Hamsters Not Metalloid Death Bringers After All
By 12.8.09
You can dig up that bag of Zhu Zhus from your backyard and re-wrap them for the kids again. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has said that the robot hamsters are not loaded with too much antimony after all, despite claims made by the website GoodGuide. [More]
Consumerist Videodrome #2: The "New Moon" Felons
By 12.7.09
Is loving New Moon a crime? It is, if you accidentally tape it during your sister’s surprise birthday party at the movie theater. Plus, how you will end up paying for Hulu after the Comcast/NBC merger, Oscar Meyer shaved meat, subprime loan gangstas, and a pacifier you might choke on. Now that we have a video show, what should my signoff be? Leave your thoughts in the comments. [More]
Zhu Zhu Pets May Contain Poisonous Substance: Should You Care?
By 12.6.09
This holiday season’s inexplicably hot toy, Zhu Zhu Pets, may be hazardous to your health. And not just because many parents stood outside in the cold for hours to get one. No, according to green ratings guide GoodGuide.com, the cuddly robot toys contain high levels of the substance antimony, which could be hazardous. [More]
