Each year thousands of manufacturers recalled potentially dangerous and deadly products. While systems in place to notify consumers of these issues have resulted in fewer deaths and injuries in recent years, a new report has found that companies aren’t using their power on social media to protect consumers. [More]
Quality & Safety
February Food And Supplement Recall Roundup: Curse Of The Contaminated Cumin
By 2.10.15
In this month’s Recall Roundup for food and supplements, some cumin became contaminated with peanut protein, then spread its potentially deadly payload everywhere from ethnic markets to the hot bar at Whole Foods. Pet food marketed for raw feeding of dogs and cats contains bacteria that can harm humans and pets alike. Oh, and there was some more undeclared knockoff Viagra masquerading as a “bee pollen” dietary supplement. [More]
Land Rover, Jaguar Recall 104,000 Vehicles For Brake, Light Issues
By 2.9.15
Jaguar Land Rover North America issued three recalls affecting nearly 104,000 vehicles over the weekend for myriad issues, ranging from problems with brake lines to lights. [More]
Proposed Bills Would Revamp Food Safety Agencies & Recall Protocols
By 2.6.15
Last year a group of legislators introduced a bill that would have given the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture the legal backbone to get unsafe meat, poultry and eggs off store shelves. While that bill died in Congress, two new measures seek to pick up the pieces, establishing a single, independent federal food-safety agency and providing new recall procedures. [More]
Whole Foods Recalls Macadamia Nuts In 6 States For Possible Salmonella Contamination
By 2.4.15
Hey you — Did you buy raw macadamia nuts from Whole Foods? Did you buy them in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee? If so, then you might want to check the label to see if they belong to the batch of nuts being recalled for potential Salmonella contamination. [More]
USDA Introduces New Maple Syrup Grading System To Clear Up Consumer Confusion
By 1.28.15
If you think people don’t take maple syrup seriously, clearly you have never been to Vermont. While that state already switched up its grading system for the sweet stuff, the rest of the country is set to change as well with new categories introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week. [More]
January Recall Roundup: Watch Out For Melted Monkeys
By 1.19.15
In the Recall Roundup for January, defective candles risk burning people and property, a coffeemaker sprays hot water somewhere other than the coffee grounds, and flammable and drawstring-laden children’s clothes made it to stores despite bans on both. Oh, and a toy monkey melts its own battery compartment. [More]
Couple Sues Caramel Apple Company, Supplier And Walmart Following Woman’s Listeria-Linked Illness
By 1.16.15
Less than a month after a California family filed a lawsuit against Safeway for selling caramel covered apples linked to an outbreak of listeria, a second California couple has filed a similar suit against one of the candy apple makers, Walmart and the producer where the apples came from. [More]
What Recall Woes? GM Sold Record 9.92M Vehicles In 2014
By 1.15.15
Back in June, General Motors hit the mark where it had officially recalled more cars during the 2014 recallapalooza than it had sold in the United States during the past seven years. While that comparison was startling and put the sheer enormity of the company’s many recalls into perspective, it apparently wasn’t something the company or consumers worried about, as a new report points out that the company still managed to sell a record number of vehicles last year. [More]
Organic Ground Beef Sold At Wegmans Stores Recalled Due To Plastic Fragments
By 1.14.15
There are many things that are very delicious alongside ground beef when mashed into a hamburger patty or loafed into a meatloaf, but plastic shards are not one of those things. Customers of Northeastern grocery chain Wegmans have reported finding “small malleable plastic pieces” in their packages of organic ground beef. [More]
IKEA Recalls 169,000 Crib Mattresses After Reports Infants Became Trapped Between Mattress And Crib
By 1.14.15
When parents put their child to bed they likely have a reasonable expectation that their kiddo will sleep comfortably and safely. Hundreds of thousands of customers who own certain IKEA crib mattresses might not sleep so soundly, however, after the company issued a recall following reports that the product poses a hazard to infants. [More]
Alibaba Promises To Help CPSC Keep Banned Merchandise Out Of The United States
By 1.13.15
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba is the world’s largest online marketplace, and its wide reach has a downside for consumer safety. Retailers and consumers alike use the site to source parts and products directly from factories abroad. The lack of intermediaries makes it very easy to order products that have been banned in the United States for safety reasons, and that’s why the Consumer Product Safety Commission has teamed up with the site. [More]
New NHTSA Chief Says 2015 Might See Even More Recalls Than Last Year
By 1.13.15
It might be difficult to envision a year punctuated by more vehicle recalls than the recallapalooza that was 2014. But the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration predicts that 2015 could be another record-setting recall year for car manufacturers. [More]
California Apple Plant Issues Recall After Tests Find Link To Deadly Listeria Contamination
By 1.12.15
Federal investigators have confirmed a connection between a California apple processing plant and a strain of listeria bacteria responsible for killing seven people and sickening more than 30 others, prompting the producer to recall an undetermined number of Gala and Granny Smith Apples from retailers. [More]
More Than 48,000 Pounds Of Beef, Pork Recalled Because Pieces Of Metal Aren’t Edible
By 1.9.15
Finding a piece of metal in your frozen pork or beef might be enough for you to rethink your dinner plans. To ensure that doesn’t happen in your kitchen, a Los Angeles company is recalling more than 48,000 pounds of frozen meat that may be contaminated with metal. [More]
Ford Recalls 13,500 Cars Because Drivers Keep Accidentally Shutting Them Off While Driving
By 1.6.15
The future of cars is very high tech: they’re computers on wheels, full of touch-screen and push-button systems. So many push-button systems, in fact, that for one line of Lincoln SUVs, owners can have trouble telling them all apart. And that’s how drivers have been turning off their ignitions while trying to hit other functions. Like the radio. [More]
Happy Apples Recalls More Candy Apples Sold Under Kroger Name
By 1.6.15
If you hadn’t already heard the news that you should stay away from pre-packaged candy apples due to the risk that they might be contaminated with Listeria bacteria, and you’ve been hoarding some in your pantry past peak caramel apple season in the fall, well, it’s time to check your pantry. Kroger-brand caramel apples have been named in the big, sticky nationwide recall. [More]
Snoqualmie Ice Cream Total Recall Affects Other Ice Cream Makers
By 1.5.15
Here’s a very regional food recall that provides us with a very universal lesson about the inter-connected nature of our food system. You may remember the recall announced shortly before Christmas of the entire 2014 output of Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream. That was bad enough for the company and for ice cream lovers alike, but Snoqualmie supplied dairy to other ice cream makers, which now must recall their 2014 output and sanitize their facilities. [More]
