Here’s the thing: if you make something that’s brightly colored and looks like candy, kids are going to eat it. Water Balz and other similar expanding, water-absorbing polymer toys seem pretty fun, and are also bright and shiny and look like candy. The problem comes when a pet or a child who is too young to understand gets hold of one of these delicious treats and eats it. [More]
Quality & Safety
Hyundai And Kia Recall 1.7 Million Vehicles Because Brake Lights Are Supposed To Work When You Brake
By 4.3.13
The entire point of brake lights on a car are to indicate to others that the driver has pressed the brake, so it’s a bit of a problem when that fails to happen, or when pressing the brake doesn’t disengage the vehicle’s cruise control like it should. And thus we have the reason why 1.7 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles are being recalled. [More]
Publix Recalls Fruit And Grain Salad Because Listeria Is Neither Fruit Nor Grain
By 3.29.13
The folks at Publix Super Markets have recalled their ‘Publix Deli Tri Fruit and Grain Salad’ out of concern that it may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, which is not something you want to be eating. [More]
Does The Lint Lizard Actually Work? Surprisingly, Yes
By 3.22.13
Infomercial products usually claim to solve a problem that you didn’t know you had. This is usually the stuff of jokes, but what if the products actually improved our lives and made us and our homes more safe? Such a thing is possible in the case of the Lint Lizard, a $11 gadget that promises to attach to your vacuum and suck gobs of lint out of the crevices of your dryer. [More]
Natura Pet Recalls Four Brands Of Cat And Dog Foods For Possible Salmonella Contamination
By 3.19.13 — Updated: 3.20.13
It seems like only a week ago that we last shared with you the news of a pet food recall––because it was. This week, a kibble sample from Natura Pet turned up with salmonella bacteria, and the company has recalled a wide variety of cat and dog kibbles sold under the California Natural, Evo, Healthwise, and Innova brand names. [More]
The Secret To Delicious No-Sugar-Added Baking: Tasty, Tasty Sugar
By 3.15.13
What’s the secret to totally delicious healthy, no-sugar-added baking? Fat and sugar, of course! This re-enactment of a classic “Seinfeld” episode is brought to you by Butterfly Bakery of New Jersey, where three out of the company’s 45 varieties of baked goods were shown to contain a lot more saturated fat and sugar than the label stated. By “a lot,” we mean twice the saturated fat listed on the label, and three times the sugar. [More]
No More Kinder Surprise Smuggling: New, Legal Chocolate Eggs With Toys Inside Available In The U.S.
By 3.14.13 — Updated: 3.15.13
If you’re a lucky and/or worldly person, you’ve experienced the tiny ovoid wonder that is the Kinder Surprise candy. It’s a chocolate egg with a plastic egg inside, and the interior egg includes a moderately cool toy. As many Americans learn the hard way while traveling home from Canada every year, the Surprise is illegal in the United States. This Easter, though, chocolate eggs hit the market that are thoroughly American-proof and legal. Meet Choco Treasure. [More]
Honda, Acura Recall 182,000 Vehicles For Problems With Vehicle Stability Assist System
March 14, 2013
Honda has issued recalls of 101,000 Honda Pilots, 60,000 Acura MDX vehicles, and 21,000 Acura RLs (model year 2005, along with a few MDXs from 2006) over concerns and complaints about malfunctions with the Vehicle Stability Assist systems in these models. All the pertinent details are in this PDF. [More]
Customer Claims To Have Discovered This… Thing… Inside Minute Maid Juice Container
By 3.14.13
We know that compromised juice containers can turn a pleasant beverage into a mold-apalooza, but we’ve never seen anything like this before. [More]
Bill Seeks To Phase Out Over-Use Of Antibiotics In Farm Animals
By 3.14.13
It’s been almost two years since the FDA asked the farmers of America to pretty please stop pumping up their livestock with antibiotics they don’t need, and yet that amazingly seems to have had no effect. And so today, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter of New York has introduced legislation that would curb the controversial practice. [More]
Don’t Worry, The Caterpillar You Found In Your Dinner Is Totally Safe To Eat
By 3.13.13
Unless that’s what they set out to eat in the first place, people aren’t thrilled to find insects in their food. Reader V. and his family are vegetarians, and were even less thrilled than most people to find a worm in their package of frozen edamame from Trader Joe’s. When he wrote to complain, the company was pretty transparent about what the critter was and how it ended up in their dinner. The company gave a refund. But V. found the company’s assurance that the critter was safe to eat insensitive. [More]
FDA Says Writing Menu Labeling Regulations That Please Everyone Is A Tough Task
By 3.12.13
If you’re hankering for a calorie count on your local restaurant chain’s menus, it’s going to be awhile: the Food and Drug Administration says it’s finding the task of writing up menu labeling regulations a very tricky one. The requirement to include calorie counts on menus and in vending machines is part of the 2010 health care law, but the rules on which businesses must comply have yet to be written. [More]
March Recall Roundup: This Garlic Slicer Prefers Human Fingers
By 3.11.13
In this month’s Recall Roundup for consumer goods, crossbows fire at will, snorkeling masks buckle under pressure, and garlic slicers are out to slice your fingers instead. [More]
Petition Asks Kraft To Stop Using Controversial Dyes In Its Macaroni & Cheese
By 3.8.13
For anyone who grew up in the United States of Cheese-Loving America, Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese likely made at least a few appearances on the plate at mealtimes. Picky kids are often convinced to eat dinner just at the sight of the bright orange noodles in various shapes and it’s a better alternative than say, 30 packets of ketchup or whatever else they want to eat. But two of the yellow dyes used in the product have been banned in Europe, prompting two bloggers to petition Kraft to stop using those additives. [More]
Additional Lots Of Bumble Bee & Chicken Of The Sea Tuna Recalled
By 3.8.13
The tuna recall train keeps rolling on, with Bumble Bee expanding its earlier recall of some Chunk White Albacore and Chunk Light Tuna products over concerns about improperly sealed cans. The entire list of recalled Bumble Bee products is available at FDA.gov. Details on an expanded similar Chicken of the Sea recall can be found here. [More]
Chicken Of The Sea Tuna Also Recalled For Possibly Faulty Can Seals
March 7, 2013
One day after Bumble Bee announced a recall on some of its canned tuna products because the cans’ seals might not be up to snuff, the makers of Chicken of the Sea tuna have issued a similar recall. See all the recall details at FDA.gov. [More]
Subaru Recalling 47,000 Vehicles Because Cars Shouldn’t Start On Their Own
By 3.7.13
The super handy thing about having a remote starter for your car is pretty self-explanatory — you can start your vehicle from inside the house to warm it up on a cold day, or from wherever you are nearby instead of climbing in and turning it on. But that doesn’t mean cars should just start up on their own without you doing a thing, which is why Subaru is recalling about 47,000 vehicles. [More]
Bumble Bee Recalls Cans Of Tuna Because They Might Not Have Been Sealed Properly
By 3.6.13
When you buy canned tuna, you’re generally working under the assumption that the can has been sealed properly. But the folks at Bumble Bee say that may not be the case for some of its Chunk White Albacore and Chunk Light Tuna products. [More]
