Quality & Safety

E. Coli Prompts Beef Recall in Eight States

E. Coli Prompts Beef Recall in Eight States

By consumeristcarey 5.13.07

PM Beef Holdings is recalling 117,500 pounds of beef that may be tainted with E. coli. The tainted beef has already landed three Minnesotans in the hospital, and now threatens residents in eight states.

“Because these products later became ground beef sold under many different retail brand names, consumers should check with their local retailer to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products subject to recall,” the USDA said.

The USDA is working overtime to figure out who received the tainted beef, which was prepared on March 27. The beef has already been traced to Minnesota, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. To thwart E. coli, heat your meat to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Chrysler Recalls 400,000 Minivans With Corroded Airbag Sensors

By consumeristcarey 5.12.07

Chrysler is recalling 400,000 Dodge Caravans and Chrysler Town & Country minivans over concerns that road salt may corrode sensors, preventing air bags from properly deploying. Chrysler told the government, “brass brushings on the sensors could corrode and crack on the front air bags, allowing water to enter the sensor and causing it to fail.” Were that to happen, the air bag warning light would illuminate, meaning you should try really hard not to crash.

Deadly Recalled Toy Still Available At Walmart, Target, Kohl's And More

Deadly Recalled Toy Still Available At Walmart, Target, Kohl's And More

By 5.11.07

Magnetic toys that killed one boy and injured more than 2 dozen others are still available for sale in many Illinois stores according to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The attorney general’s office found the recalled toys at several stores all over the state, and a Chicago Tribune reporter was able to purchase the toys Wal-Mart, Target and Big Lots stores in the northwest suburbs.

Panopticon Of CPSC Hazardous Product Illustrations

By consumerist.com 5.11.07

We find ourselves oddly captivated by this gallery of product warnings we unearthed on the Consumer Product Safety Commission site.

Evenflo Recalls 450,000 Car Seats Due To Fall Hazard

Evenflo Recalls 450,000 Car Seats Due To Fall Hazard

By 5.10.07

Infant Car Seat/Carrier you should immediately stop using the product as a carrier for your baby, because the handle could unexpectedly release, “causing the seat to rotate forward. When this happens, an infant inside the carrier can fall to the ground and suffer serious injuries.” Evenflo has received 679 reports of the handle on the car seat/carriers unexpectedly releasing, resulting in 160 injuries to children—including a skull fracture, and two concussions.

2001 Dodge Ram Dashboards Collapsing, Cracking, Dealerships Won't Fix

By consumerist.com 5.10.07

When consumers try take the truck in for warranty repair, dealerships say the dashboards aren’t on a recall list, so they can’t do anything. The only thing Dodge will say is that they’re “reviewing records.”

Tainted Chinese Product Was "Wheat Flour" And It Was Also Fed To Fish

Tainted Chinese Product Was "Wheat Flour" And It Was Also Fed To Fish

By 5.10.07

We’ve decided to take a week off and let the chemical melamine write the blog, because our feeble minds can not comprehend the extent of the contamination that has entered our food supply. Today’s news is that it is not “wheat gluten” that contaminated the pet food that has killed thousands and thousands of pets, but “wheat flour.” What’s more, the wheat flour was also used as food for fish that were meant for human consumption.

Walmart Caught Incorrectly Tagging Food As Organic

Walmart Caught Incorrectly Tagging Food As Organic

By 5.9.07

People in Wisconsin take their organic food seriously, Walmart. Don’t mess with Wisconsin. They wear cheese on their heads, for pete’s sake.

FDA/USDA Says Melamine-Fed Pigs And Chickens OK To Eat

FDA/USDA Says Melamine-Fed Pigs And Chickens OK To Eat

By consumerist.com 5.8.07

The FDA and USDA today jointly announced that swine and poultry fatted on feed containing wheat gluten laced with melamine pose a “very low risk” if you eat them.

"Cocaine" Energy Drink Withdrawn Because Everyone Hates Its Name

"Cocaine" Energy Drink Withdrawn Because Everyone Hates Its Name

By consumerist.com 5.8.07

The company that made an energy drink called “Cocaine” took its product off the streets amidst haters getting all up in its grill over its “edgy” name.

There's Salmonella In The Target Risotto

There's Salmonella In The Target Risotto

By 5.7.07

Like that Archer Farms Four Cheese Risotto you bought from Target? Too bad, throw it out. Random testing by the FDA found salmonella contamination. Don’t you dare eat the following:

This Kmart Bacon Is Excellent, But Could Use Some More Fat

This Kmart Bacon Is Excellent, But Could Use Some More Fat

By 5.7.07

In the continuing saga of people who buy their food from big box stores, find it to be sub-par and then send us a picture, meet Simon. Simon is displeased with his bacon, purchased at Kmart and manufactured by the Smithfield corporation of the Commonwealth of Virginia, because it contains too much fat.

USDA Denies Seal Of Inspection To 20 Million Chickens Fed Tainted Pet Food

USDA Denies Seal Of Inspection To 20 Million Chickens Fed Tainted Pet Food

By consumeristcarey 5.6.07

Pet food tainted with melamine may have been consumed by up to 20 million chickens destined for your dinner plate. The federal government is not taking the matter lightly. The USDA, FDA, and EPA are conducting a risk assessment to determine if the chicken is safe for human consumption. Until the assessment is complete, the USDA will not issue the poultry a seal of inspection, which is required for the meat to be sold commercially. The results of the assessment should be announced early next week.

The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Thursday that no evidence indicated any harm to humans from chicken or pork that had entered the market after having eaten melamine-contaminated feed.

— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

BBQ Grilling Safety Tips

BBQ Grilling Safety Tips

By 5.4.07

Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent foodborne illness, don’t use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.

Reported Pet Deaths Top 8,500

Reported Pet Deaths Top 8,500

By consumerist.com 5.4.07

The FDA said yesterday that consumers have reported 8,500 pet deaths as a result of eating contaminated pet food. Of those, only 20 have been confirmed. However, that number should increase as officials work through a call backlog.

D.I.Y. Related Emergency Room Visits Increasing

D.I.Y. Related Emergency Room Visits Increasing

By 5.3.07

The CDC clams that: “Each year, approximately 36,000 people are treated in hospital emergency departments for injuries using chain saws.” And then, of course, is the fact that although nail gun injuries are increasing rapidly— work-related nail gun injuries have stayed the same. What’s going on here?

Lead Poisoning/Choking Hazard Recall Round Up

Lead Poisoning/Choking Hazard Recall Round Up

By 5.3.07

There have been quite a few lead poisoning and choking hazard related recalls lately, so we thought we’d just round them up for you. Here they are:

Manager of Chinese Wheat Gluten Manufacturer Arrested

Manager of Chinese Wheat Gluten Manufacturer Arrested

By 5.3.07

The mystery of the poisoned pet food continues to unravel as Mao Lijun, head of the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company, has been arrested and is being held “in coastal Jiangsu Province, about 320 miles northwest of Shanghai, though a police spokesman in Pei County declined to say on what charges,” according to the New York Times.

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