An ongoing battle about the nature of mayonnaise that began in November 2014 seems to have finally reached a peaceful resolution: the Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow Just Mayo, sold by Hampton Creek, call itself “mayo,” even though the vegan, eggless product technically isn’t mayonnaise, according to the government’s definition. [More]
Quality & Safety
CPSC Intensifies Investigation Into Exploding “Hoverboards,” USPS Restricts Shipments
By 12.17.15
One of the holiday’s hottest gifts has gotten a bit too hot, literally. Following claims that so-called “hoverboard” scooters have caught fire while charging, retailers have pulled the popular devices to ensure they’re safe. In the meantime, the country’s top product safety regulator says his agency is working “non-stop” to find the root cause for the fire hazards linked to the self-balancing scooters. [More]
Chipotle Takes Out A Full-Page Ad To Continue The Apology Parade
By 12.16.15
Chipotle co-CEO and founder Steve Ells has been riding a great big apology train around the news circuit lately, issuing a mea culpa on TV last week and mentioning again this week how “deeply sorry” he is that the chain has been linked to a nine-state E. coli outbreak that’s sickened more than 50 people and a major norovirus incident in Boston involving 140 students. He’s not done yet, either: the company took out a full-page ad in 61 newspapers around the country on Wednesday to continue apologizing to customers. [More]
Chipotle CEO Promises New Safety Standards Won’t Mean Higher Prices
By 12.16.15
After Chipotle CEO Steve Ells pledged that new safety standards would be going into effect at the chain’s restaurants across the U.S., promising it would soon be “the safest place to eat,” some customers might have wondered whether the cost of that initiative would hit them right where it hurts most, the wallet. But Ells says customers don’t need to worry about the price of their (hopefully) E. coli-free burritos and tacos going up. [More]
Customer Says Box Of Pasta Contained Free Mummified Frog
By 12.16.15
Poor frogs. We keep accidentally scooping them up and serving them in our food. The latest case of a free frog found where it wasn’t supposed to be is a very strange one: a woman in Minnesota says that she found a petrified frog in her box of pasta. [More]
Farm Animals Can Get Over-The-Counter Antibiotics That Humans Need A Prescription For
By 12.15.15
If you get sick and need an antibiotic, you’ll also need a prescription because these medically important drugs shouldn’t be used willy-nilly. But if you’re a cow, pig, chicken, or fish, you can get many of those same antibiotics without any prescription whatsoever at any number of retail and online stores. [More]
Legislation Would Require Liquid Nicotine Come In Child-Proof Packages
By 12.11.15
Legislation to ensure children aren’t able to get their little hands on tasty-looking – but poisonous – liquid nicotine has made it past one hurdle: the Senate unanimously passed the measure yesterday, indicating widespread support for the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015. [More]
Chipotle Has Been Making Customers Sick Since The Summer, Company Says “There Really Wasn’t A Pattern”
By 12.11.15
Although Chipotle CEO and co-founder Steve Ells apologized yesterday to customers who have gotten sick from eating at the chain recently — whether from E. Coli or norovirus — it’s worth remembering that there are some folks who’ve had to wait a bit longer for that mea culpa. [More]
Chipotle’s Bad Year Continues With Closure Of Seattle Restaurant For Repeated Violations
By 12.11.15
Not even two months after Chipotle temporarily closed 43 restaurants in the Pacific Northwest amid an E. coli outbreak that resulted in 52 sick customers in nine states — and the same week that a Boston Chipotle had to be shuttered after being linked to around 80 illnesses — the burrito chain has had to shutter a Seattle eatery after being repeatedly flagged for serious health violations. [More]
Your Hoverboard Is No Longer Welcome On 3 More Airlines
By 12.10.15
Hoverboards: they’re self-balancing scooters that are currently a hot toy in the sense that they’re very popular, and a hot toy in the sense that they keep bursting into much-publicized flames, sometimes while in use. Airlines all over the world have asked customers to kindly leave their hoverboards on the ground. [More]
FDA’s Voluntary Guidance Failing To Curb Antibiotic Overuse In Farm Animals
By 12.10.15
Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration — after decades of delay — paid lip service to the idea of reducing the use of medically important antibiotics for growth-promotion in farm animals, by asking the drug makers to voluntarily stop selling antibiotics specifically for that purpose. Critics called the FDA actions pointless while the drug and beef industries weren’t bothered in the least. And now, by the FDA’s own numbers, we can see why. [More]
Chipotle CEO Apologizes For Making People Sick: “We Are Going To Be The Safest Place To Eat”
By 12.10.15
After Chipotle customers all over the country have fallen ill from eating at the chain’s restaurants, founder and co-CEO Steve Ells says he’s sorry the restaurant has caused so many to become sick, and promised to implement new food safety guidelines to help prevent such outbreaks from happening in the future. [More]
Chicken Wing Crime Exposes Pervasive, Disgusting Black Market For Meat
By 12.9.15
Yesterday, we learned about a father-and-son team of crooked cooks who teamed up to illicitly order and re-sell $41,000 worth of chicken wings from their employer’s wholesale supply accounts. Yet who buys wings from the Back of Some Dude’s Truck Meat Market? It turns out that there’s a market for ill-gotten meats, and other restaurant owners receive occasional offers of chicken or shrimp from the back of a truck. [More]
Nut Butter Spreads Recalled Over Salmonella Risk After Report Of 11 Illnesses In Nine States
By 12.3.15
An Oregon company issued a recall for 12 different types of nut butter as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigates 11 salmonella-related illnesses in nine states that may be linked to the spreads. [More]
Walmart Shoppers Surprised To See Flock Of Snacking Birds Camped Out In Store’s Meat Section
By 12.1.15
Of all the places one would expect to see a flock of birds settled down for a group snack, the meat display at your local grocery store is probably pretty far down on the list. To that end, Walmart shoppers in Massachusetts were understandably surprised over the weekend, when at least two customers snapped video footage of a group of live fowl pecking away at packages of red meat. [More]
Family Claims “Hoverboard” Scooter Exploded, Burned Down House
By 11.30.15
You’ve probably seen all the videos on Facebook, Vine, and YouTube of people cruising around on “hoverboard” scooters (that don’t actually hover at all, in spite of the nickname). While the product might be a hot item for the holidays, one Louisiana family says their not-actually-a-hoverboard caused a fire that burned down their home. [More]
Costco Chicken Salad E. Coli Outbreak Found In 7 States So Far
By 11.25.15
When last we discussed the recently announced outbreak of E. Coli illnesses tied to chicken salad sold at Costco, the sick customers had been limited to four states — Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Montana. Last night, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the outbreak is more widespread, sickening Costco customers on both coasts. [More]
Costco Pulls Chicken Salad In Western States Over E. Coli Concerns
By 11.24.15
After linking a number of cases of E. coli poisoning back to chicken salad bought at Costco, the warehouse chain has pulled the product from its shelves in the western portion of the U.S. [More]
