How long should a drug company be allowed to be the exclusive manufacturer and seller of their product? Crestor, a best-selling statin (cholesterol-lowering drug) that has enjoyed exclusivity for the last 12 years, is due to lose that protection today. AstraZeneca, the maker of Crestor, is fighting that decision, hoping to squeeze a little more time as the drug’s exclusive manufacturer before generics hit the market. [More]
Quality & Safety
After 215 Reported Injuries, Pacific Cycle Recalls 217K Strollers
By 7.7.16
When strapping your child into a stroller for a quick jaunt around the block, the last thing you would expect is for the front wheel to detach, causing the stroller to crash to the ground. But after receiving reports of more than 132 incidents – resulting in 215 injuries – Pacific Cycle is recalling more than 217,000 Instep and Schwinn brand jogging strollers. [More]
Nearly 501,000 Hoverboards Recalled Over Safety, Fire Hazards
By 7.6.16
Nearly five months ago, major retailer pulled “hoverboard” scooters from shelves after the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the not-actually-hovering devices were unsafe unless they met certain standards. Now the federal safety agency is announcing an official recall of around 501,000 hoverboards. [More]
Massive IKEA Dresser Recall Means Long Phone Queues, Illegal Resales Online
By 7.1.16
IKEA is finally offering a fairly consumer-friendly recall on furniture that has tragically killed six children in the last three decades. Unfortunately, the massive recall effort is not exactly going as planned to keep the dangerous dressers out of consumers’ homes. [More]
Listen To A Guy With Experience Talk About Fireworks Safety
By 6.30.16
This holiday weekend, many Americans will no doubt be in the mood to celebrate Independence Day with brightly colored fireworks that go “whiz!” and “bang!” and make us all proud we got rid of the British early on. But no matter how fun fireworks can be, they can also be very, very dangerous. To bring that message home, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is sharing the story of how he lost part of his hand in a firework accident [More]
FDA: Stop Eating Raw Cookie Dough Or Making Home-Made Play-Dough For Now
By 6.30.16
For years, raw chocolate chip cookie dough was a forbidden treat. Everyone said — rightly or wrongly — that you shouldn’t consume it because the uncooked eggs could make you sick. Then came special commercial dough preparations that worked around that, and there was much rejoicing (and many ice cream sales). But now, alas, cookie dough is back off the table, as are any other uncooked treats… and this time, it’s all down to the flour. [More]
FDA Wants Proof That Antibacterial Hand-Sanitizing Products Are Actually Effective
By 6.29.16
While you may have a personal choice of antibacterial hand-sanitizing product to wipe, slather, and squirt your way to germ-free mitts, there’s one thing all those products all have in common: they should actually work. [More]
Safety Advocates Applaud IKEA Recall, Hope Consumers Return Or Anchor Dressers
By 6.28.16
Safety advocates were deeply disappointed earlier this year when the news came that another child was killed that the very popular Malm dresser from IKEA fell on top of him. It’s horrible every time that an ordinary household object kills someone, but this model of dresser was part of a voluntary repair program that IKEA wouldn’t call a recall. Now the dressers have been officially recalled, but that should have happened before another child died. [More]
Does Knowing The Calorie Count Change What Food You Decide To Order Online?
By 6.28.16
When the Food and Drug Administration’s new calorie labeling rules go into effect next year, consumers will not only see calorie counts on menu boards in stores, but in online menus as well. But will coming face-to-face with your caloric decisions change what you order when you order food online? [More]
CDC Figured Out The General Mills Flour Recall Because Some People Leave Flour In Bags
By 6.28.16
When you buy a new bag of flour, what do you do? Do you dump the bag out into a bin or canister in your kitchen, or do you scoop it out of the bag it came in? Both methods work fine, but it was the members of Team Bag who helped the Food and Drug Administration solve the mystery of a recent nationwide E. coli outbreak. [More]
Small Store Owners Say Proposed SNAP Regulations Would Send Customers To Supermarkets
By 6.28.16
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is what has replaced what were once called food stamps with debit cards. Not all stores are authorized to accept food stamps, and proposed new regulations would change the requirements to accept them. While the foods that recipients can use their balance on wouldn’t change, the food that retailers are required to stock before they can accept SNAP would. [More]
IKEA Will Stop Selling Dressers Prone To Tipping Over, Recall 29M Units
By 6.27.16
IKEA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are taking an unusual and perhaps unprecedented step, recalling tens of millions of top-heavy Malm dressers and chests. While IKEA offered repair kits and wall anchors to customers, the message clearly wasn’t getting out that they have been recalled in the United States. [More]
Frozen Vegetable Plant Behind Massive Listeria Recall Preparing To Reopen, Put Everyone Back To Work
By 6.27.16
As far as the public knows, public health authorities and the people in charge at the the CRF frozen vegetable processing plant in Pasco, WA don’t yet know what caused a multi-year Listeria outbreak. The company had to recall its entire output for almost the entire last two years, and shut down operations, leaving hundreds of people without work. [More]
Senators Trying To Strike Down Vermont GMO Labeling Law At Last Minute
By 6.27.16
Two years ago, Vermont became the first state to pass a law requiring clear disclosures of foods containing genetically modified/engineered ingredients. A number of packaged food giants — including PepsiCo, Mars Inc., General Mills, and Campbell Soup Co. — have already made the decision to label their products on a nationwide basis in advance of the July 1 start of the new rules. With that deadline approaching, a pair of agribusiness-backed senators have introduced legislation that would kill the Vermont law, prevent other states from enacting similar regulations, and give companies two years to create a label with little to no information. [More]
HP And Sony Recall Laptop Batteries Due To Possible Overheating And Fires
By 6.27.16
Lithium-ion batteries are part of items that we use every day and we hardly think about them, but they can cause explosions and fires if they’re prone to overheating. That’s the case for batteries that are part of laptop computers sold in the last few years by HP and by Sony, and now those batteries have been recalled. [More]
Three Flavors Of Raw Cat Food Recalled Over Listeria, Salmonella Contamination
By 6.24.16
In general, it’s not a good idea to feed food potentially tainted with salmonella or listeria to anyone, let alone your favorite pets. That’s why Radagast Pet Food, makers of the Rad Cat line of raw cat foods, is recalling three of its flavors.
[More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Manager Drops Tray Of Donuts On Floor, Puts Them Out For Sale Anyway
By 6.24.16
Eating any food not grown in your own garden and cooked yourself means putting a certain amount of trust in the people who prepare and handle your food. A former Dunkin’ Donuts employee leaked a video this week that shows another employee dropping a tray of donuts on the floor, then calmly putting them back on the tray and putting the tray out for sale. [More]
New Massive Frozen Food Recall Includes Walmart, Target Store Brands
By 6.21.16
Nearly two months after CRF Frozen Foods set off a massive recall of vegetables thought to be contaminated with listeria and linked to at least two deaths and eight illnesses, a second frozen vegetable supplier — National Frozen Food Corp. — has initiated a separate recall over listeria concerns, and many of the recalled products are from the nation’s largest retailers. [More]
