Chicken processing company Foster Farms is not having a good year. Just two days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture lifted last week’s suspension for a cockroach infestation, Foster voluntarily shut down operations at its Livingston, CA, plant Sunday, while continuing to come under fire from consumer advocates. [More]
Quality & Safety
Cute Puppy Chews Deodorant Can, Causes Explosion
By 1.9.14
We’re not quite sure how this happened, but it’s an important cautionary tale for all pet owners. A British couple says that their puppy’s chewing antics caused an explosion that did about $3,300 in damage to their home. Bad dog. [More]
Bag Of Frozen Spinach Comes With Free Bird Head
By 1.9.14
Poultry and spinach go well together, but that doesn’t mean that a Florida woman was happy to see that her frozen spinach came with some free meat. Mostly because it came in the form of the tiny skull (eyes included…well, one eye) of an unidentified bird. [More]
USDA Shuts Down Chicken Processing Plant Because Gross, Cockroach Infestation
By 1.9.14
When you hear about a big salmonella outbreak that’s sickened hundreds, you know there’s got to be a problem somewhere along the supply chain. But hearing the words “cockroach” and “infestation” linked to a chicken processing plant is just so… real. And gross. Which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture has shut down a plant in California, saying live cockroaches running around at such a place are not good for public health. [More]
Here’s A Fun Game: Spot The Counterfeit Canon Power Accessories!
By 1.8.14
Let’s say that you’ve found a great deal on a brand-name accessory for your camera on eBay, on the Amazon marketplace, or even at an offline store. The deal seems too great. Suspiciously great. What’s the catch? Canon wants consumers to know that you should watch out for electronics that claim to be genuine Canon accessories. [More]
This Is Why Your Office Bans Space Heaters
By 1.8.14
It doesn’t have to be cold outside for your office to be a little drafty. Buildings ban space heaters for a reason, though. Just ask the Pennsylvania factory worker whose clothes caught fire due to to the small heater he was keeping in his workspace. [The Intelligencer] [More]
Buckyballs Founder Could Be Found Personally Liable For $57 Million In Refunds
By 1.6.14
Buckyballs: cute office toy, or powerful balls of magnetic doom? The inventor insists they’re the former, the Consumer Product Safety Commission insists they’re the latter, and the lawsuit fighting it all out just keeps getting uglier. [More]
Walmart Recalls 73,400 Card Table And Chair Sets Because Finger Amputations Are No Fun
By 1.3.14
The thing about fingers is that they work best when each one is nice and complete. Since it’s much harder to complete everyday tasks with only half a finger, not to mention it’s a very uncomfortable experience to have the tip of your digit squeezed off, Walmart has issued a recall for 73,400 card table and chair sets. [More]
Imagine How Upsetting It’d Be If Donkey Meat You Bought At Walmart Was Actually Fox
By 1.2.14
If I had a nickel for every time my donkey meat snack turned out to be fox meat instead, I’d have no nickels. But there would be plenty of coins coming in for customers at some Walmart stores in China after tests showed that what was labeled as “Five Spice” donkey meat was tainted with the meat of other animals. [More]
Pret A Manger Customer Not Pleased With Free Frog In Her Salad
By 12.31.13
Isn’t it a good thing when you get a bonus item with your lunch? Not when that bonus item is a dead, uncooked frog hanging out in the middle of the bowl. That’s what a Wall Street Journal staffer allegedly found in her bowl at a Manhattan Pret-a-Manger. It was a tuna salad. Not a frog salad. We cannot emphasize this enough. [More]
Coming Soon: Vending Machine Calorie Counts
By 12.30.13
The Affordable Care Act doesn’t just mean highly entertaining conversations over dessert amongst your relatives this holiday season. There’s one new requirement that’s been sort of overshadowed by health insurance exchanges and electronic medical records: companies that own more than 20 vending machines will have to post calorie counts for the items they sell. [More]
Is Your Food Genetically Modified? Senator Asks President To Change Rules So You’ll Know
By 12.20.13
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California today urged the Obama administration to change FDA food labeling regulations to include a provision for indicating when foods or ingredients come from a genetically modified source. [More]
“Organic” Chicken Is Different Than “Antibiotic-Free” And “Natural” Means Nothing
By 12.19.13 — Updated: 12.19.16
Once upon a time, not very long ago, you went to the grocery store — not a big box store, or a warehouse club or online — and bought “chicken.” Now the poultry section can be a confusing mish-mash of labels that may not mean what consumers think they mean, or may not mean anything at all. [More]
Consumer Reports Finds Potentially Harmful Bacteria All Over Chicken Breasts
By 12.19.13
While hundreds of people around the country were getting sick from the recent salmonella outbreak, our co-workers at Consumer Reports just happened to be looking into the tiny life forms clinging to that popular poultry offering, the chicken breast. The results — that potentially harmful bacteria are lurking on and in almost every single chicken breast for sale at the supermarket — may not shock you, but they do highlight the growing concern over everything from what chickens are fed to how their meat is handled and prepared. [More]
December Food And Supplement Recall Roundup: Lurking Dairy And Sulfites
By 12.18.13
Sulfites and hidden milk are everywhere, but not as common as actual erectile dysfunction drugs and their analogues in “natural” supplements. Welcome to the December Recall Roundup for edible items. [More]
Google Officially Recalls Super-Hot HP Chromebook 11 Chargers
December 17, 2013
A month after Google pulled its then-new HP Chromebook 11 laptops because the micro-USB charger included with the device can reach unsafe temperatures (as high as 140 degrees), the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued a formal recall. If you have an affected Chromebook 11, just fill out this form here to get a replacement charger. [More]
FDA Proposal Gives Makers Of Antibacterial Soap A Year To Prove Their Products Are Safe
By 12.16.13
The Food and Drug Administration has been under pressure for some time now to take a closer look at antibacterial soap to see whether we should actually be slathering the stuff all of over our hands and bodies every day. And now it’s proposing a one-year period for manufacturers to prove that yes, the soap is safe for everyday use and in the long-term. [More]
Big Meat & Big Pharma Pleased As Punch With FDA’s Pointless New Antibiotic Guidelines
By 12.13.13
Yesterday, the FDA came out swinging (with a Wiffle ball bat) against the medically unnecessary use of antibiotics in animal feed (by politely asking the drug companies that make piles of cash off these drugs to please stop selling so many of them to farmers just to encourage tissue growth). To demonstrate just how weak this (in)action is, one need look no further than the enthusiastic response from the nation’s huge meat and drug companies. [More]
