There are many things one would not want to find in their beverage, but a slimy razor blade has got to be one of the least appetizing. That’s what a mom in New Hampshire said she found in the bottom of a Wendy’s soda her daughter was drinking. [More]
Quality & Safety
Dole Found Listeria In Salad Processing Plant As Far Back As 2014, Kept Shipping Veggies
By 5.2.16
Is it a crime for a company or its representatives to keep on shipping food products that may be dangerous to the public if they know that the items may be contaminated? Dole’s Springfield, OH processing plant has started shipping salad again, but new evidence shows that the company kept shipping lettuce even as it was aware of Listeria contamination in the building as far back as 2014. [More]
Dole Restarts Production At Salad Facility That Had 9-Month Listeria Outbreak
By 4.28.16
Back in January, the state of Ohio and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered and investigated Listeria contamination in salad greens that came from a Dole processing plant in Springfield, OH. The plant has been closed since January, and Dole started limited production this week, but the company announced exactly what the source of contamination was or how they were able to eradicate it. [More]
Chipotle To Expand Chorizo, Consider Loyalty Program To Bring In New And ‘Lapsed’ Customers
By 4.27.16
Last year, Chipotle’s food-safety crisis led the burrito eatery’s business to plummet, with same-store sales plunging as low as 37% in December 2015. In 2016, though, there have been no reported outbreaks, and the company has been mailing and texting out coupons to draw old and new customers. The massive giveaways of food are now over, and the chain is moving on to new promotional methods, including buy one, get one free entrées and potentially a loyalty program. [More]
Pilgrim’s Pride Recall: 4.5M Pounds Of Chicken Products May Contain Plastic, Wood, Rubber, Metal
By 4.27.16
In yet another example of unexpectedly crunchy, contaminated food, Pilgrim’s Pride is busy getting the news out about a recall of more than four million pounds of pre-cooked poultry products that could contain unwanted additions like plastic, wood, rubber, or metal bits. [More]
15 Types Of Frozen Vegetables Sold At Costco, Meijer Recalled Over Listeria Concerns
By 4.25.16
For the second time this month packages of frozen vegetables sold at national retailers has been recalled for possible listeria contamination. CRF Frozen Foods issued a recall of 15 frozen vegetable products sold at Costco and Meijer stores over the weekend. [More]
Federal & State Agencies Probing High Lead Levels In Cra-Z-Art Jewelry Kits
By 4.22.16
Under federal law, the acceptable level of lead that can be present in a product is capped at 100 parts per million. A recent investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office found 10 times that level of lead in certain children’s jewelry toys sold by national retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon, and now federal regulators have opened a probe into the crafts. [More]
130,000 Polaris Off-Road Vehicles Recalled After 160 Reports Of Fires & One Death
By 4.19.16
After receiving 160 reports of fires that resulted in 19 burn injuries and the death of a 15-year-old passenger, Polaris announced Tuesday that it would recall 130,000 recreational off-highway vehicles. [More]
More Walgreens “Nice!” Brand Sliced Fruit Recalled For Possible Glass Shards
By 4.18.16
Only a few months after recalling Walgreens Nice! store-brand orange slices because shards of glass might have found their way into the jars, the company is recalling jars of Nice! peach slices and mixed fruit for the same reason. [More]
After Third Death Linked To Toppling Dressers, IKEA Expands “Repair Program”
By 4.18.16
Last July, following the deaths of two children crushed by falling IKEA dressers, the retailer and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a “repair program” that involved little more than sending out wall anchors to affected customers. Now, in the wake of a third death, IKEA is expanding that program. [More]
Woman Says She Was Treated Unfairly At Subway Because She’s Pregnant
By 4.11.16
An Iowa woman says she was belittled and treated unfairly at a Subway restaurant because she’s pregnant, when a worker told her he was too busy to accommodate her request to heat the deli meat on her sandwich. [More]
Reser’s Recalls Salads For Possible Listeria, Also Sold Under Walmart And Safeway Brands
By 4.11.16
Reser’s Fine Foods may not be a food brand name that you immediately recognize, but their products are popular across the country, and are also sold under store brand names. From a 3-ounce container of Reser’s brand potato salad to an 8-pound tub of Sysco-brand macaroni salad meant for restaurants and cafeterias, cold salads containing onions from Reser’s have been recalled. [More]
Recall Roundup, Flammability Edition: Ivanka Trump-Brand Scarves, Givenchy Silk Shirts
By 4.7.16
Things are heating up over at the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently, with a slew of products that are being recalled for being literally hot fashions, due to the unfortunate possibility that they may burst into flames. [More]
H-E-B Packs Of Apple Slices Recalled For Possible Listeria Contamination
By 4.6.16
Consumers’ preference for pre-prepared but fresh and healthy snacks is a great trend for public health, but there’s one side effect that people may not have expected: fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables can carry dangerous pathogens right along with those fresh and healthy snacks. Listeria bacteria was found in apples that may be in prepared fruit platters and snack packs from supermarket H-E-B, and they’ve all been recalled. [More]
Diamond 100-Calorie Cashew Packs Recalled, May Contain Glass
By 4.4.16
A little bit of salt goes well with your roasted cashews, and maybe even a sprinkling of chili powder, but what does not go well with a packet of cashews are pieces of glass. That’s why Diamond is recalling their 100-calorie packs of roasted and salted cashew halves and pieces after one customer reported finding a glass piece. [More]
FDA Proposes Limit For Inorganic Arsenic In Infant Rice Cereal
By 4.1.16
While there are currently no federal limits on arsenic levels in most food, the Food and Drug Administration announced today that it’s taking steps aimed at reducing inorganic arsenic in at least one product, infant rice cereal. [More]
CDC: The Dole Salad Listeria Outbreak Is Finally Over
By 4.1.16
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, the outbreak of Listeria in bagged salad mixes is now officially over. Contaminated salads sent 19 people to the hospital, killing one patient, and made an unknown number of other people sick. How did the greens get contaminated? Was there a problem with the Ohio facility, and is it still shut down? We don’t currently know. [More]
Gree Must Pay Record $15.45M CPSC Penalty For Self-Immolating Dehumidifiers
By 3.25.16
This morning at the Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly in Washington, DC, Consumer Products Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye announced a record civil penalty against Gree Electric Appliances, the manufacturer of millions of particularly flammable dehumidifiers that were recalled in 2013 and 2014. The company has been ordered to pay $15.45 million to the CPSC to settle charges that they failed to report fires to the Commission, “knowingly made misrepresentations to CPSC staff,” and put UL safety marks on products that didn’t meet UL standards. [More]
