Another day, another food misadventure for IKEA: Fresh off the heels of the Swedish retailer’s horsemeat-in-the-meatballs snafu, the company has announced it’s pulling almond cake from its stores in 23 countries after some batches on the way to China were found to contain coliform bacteria. That’s a common bacteria in human an animal fecal matter. Yup, more poop in the news. [More]
Quality & Safety
February Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Antibiotic Pig Ear Edition
By 2.28.13
Chewy pig skins, chia seed treats, brownie mix, and herbal supplements that are a little too close to actual drugs: it’s all here, in the Food and Drug Edition of the Recall Roundup. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 1.3 Million Fords, Toyotas & Hondas For Safety-Related Issues
By 2.25.13
There’s a whole lot of investigating going on right now at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and it includes almost 1.3 million vehicles from Toyota, Ford and Honda. All three are in potentially hot water for safety-related issues, from steering problems to brake issues. From the sound of it, the Prius is bearing the brunt of the scrutiny. [More]
Wegmans And King Arthur Recall Flour Due To Infestation Of Blue Balls
By 2.25.13
Wegmans, the Rochester, N.Y.-based chain that serves as the Platonic ideal of what a grocery store should be, currently has two recalls going. First came a recall of their in-store bread products, and now they’ve recalled bags of flour that may contain little blue balls. [More]
IKEA Pulls Meatballs From Stores In 14 European Stores Because Of Yup, Horsemeat
By 2.25.13
Perhaps you thought the horsemeat crisis spreading across Europe had been contained or even just quieted down for a bit. But no, yet another retailer has announced the discovery of horsemeat in its food, and this time it’s a big one. IKEA says it’s pulled meatballs from stores in 14 European countries after the Czech Republic store said it found horsemeat in the product there. [More]
Tainted Sausages Prompt Recall And A Whole Lot Of Elbow Nudging
By 2.22.13 — Updated: 2.25.13
Connoisseurs of sausage know that the meat is much better without pieces of plastic gloves in it, which is why one company is recalling 38,000 pounds of sausage suspected to contain such foreign bits. The Gwaltney mild sausage rolls come in a one-pound package and may contain “small pieces of glove particles.” [More]
Warning: Do Not Store Your Glock And Ammo In The Oven
By 2.22.13
Sure, the oven seems like an ideal place to stash your handgun: it’s out of sight, but easily accessible in an emergency, and it’s not the first place an intruder would think to look for guns. Unfortunately, there’s a reason why this isn’t a common practice. Ovens get hot. That’s how a Florida woman got shot by the oven while making some waffles at a friend’s house. [More]
Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries Recalled Because Glass Is Not Part Of A Balanced Breakfast
By 2.20.13
If you noticed a little unexpected crunch in your Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries cereal, you might have been unlucky enough to buy one of the boxes that have been recalled over the possible presence of glass fragments. [More]
Do Not Drink These Energy Shots Unless You Are A Car
By 2.19.13 — Updated: 2.20.13
We have no idea whether gasoline additive Eco Fuel Saver does what it’s supposed to: increasing your fuel mileage, cutting back on pollutants, and making your car 800% more awesome. Or maybe just those first two. What we do know is that people are stupid. It’s not hard to picture what must have happened to lead the management of this gas station to put up this very prominent sign. [More]
Horsemeat Found In UK School Meals But Kids Likely Didn’t Eat Much Of It
By 2.15.13
Someone over there in Europe, please, can you just make it stop? Reading about the ever spiraling horsemeat scandal hurts our horse-loving hearts so, but it doesn’t sound like the scandal is going away any time soon. UK officials say horse DNA was found in cottage pies sent to 47 schools in Lancashire, but the kids probably didn’t eat much of it. Whew. [More]
Group Calls For Limits On Sugar In Soft Drinks
By 2.13.13
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which loves to ruin everyone’s day by reminding people of all the calories and fat in the foods we enjoy, are calling on the FDA to set a safe level of added sugars in soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. [More]
Horsemeat Scandal Widens To 16 Countries & Everyone’s Busy Pointing Fingers
By 2.11.13
Over the course of the last few weeks, Europe has been rocked by the revelation that horsemeat has been found in various “beef” products, from lasagna to burgers. At first it seemed the scandal was contained to the U.K., Ireland and France, but now things are spiraling outward to include as many as 16 countries. Finding out who to blame is still very much up in the air, however. [More]
Some Lean Cuisine Ravioli Recalled Because “Fragments Of Broken Glass” Wasn’t Listed As An Ingredient
By 2.11.13
Some people like crunchy food, but most of us don’t enjoy the sensation of chewing on glass. This is why Nestlé has recalled some of its Lean Cuisine Culinary Collection Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli. [More]
February Recall Roundup: The Heated Parka’s Revenge
By 2.8.13
In this month’s Recall Roundup, pots and pans collapse on themselves, kids need to keep away from some vitamins, and battery-operated electric parkas turn on their owners and give them too much of a good thing. [More]
U.K. Health Officials Find “Beef” Lasagna Meals Containing 60%-100% Horse Meat
By 2.8.13
Our neighbors across the pond are caught in an equine-lover’s nightmare: First, beef hamburgers on shelves were found to contain horse DNA and recalled, after authorities traced the contamination back to a couple processing plants. Burger King got caught up in it as well, although no burgers with horse in them made it to stores. And now the scandal has spread to frozen “beef” lasagna meals. [More]
This Safeway Select Shepherd’s Pie Tastes As Good As It Looks
By 2.7.13
We know that packaged food doesn’t always come out the way it’s supposed to look on the box, but this Beef Shepherd’s Pie that Consumerist reader PR bought from Safeway looks more like a pie that’s already passed through the shepherd. [More]
Here’s Why It Never Hurts To Give Your Soda Can A Rinse
By 2.6.13
If you’re the type to drink from a soda can straight out of a store cooler or right from a vending machine, you might want to consider giving it a rinse or a wipe down with a wet napkin first. [More]
Should Used Car Sellers Have To Repair Recalled Cars Before Selling Them?
By 2.5.13 — Updated: 6.24.14
According to a 2011 survey, there were 2.7 million used vehicles available for purchase that had at least one un-repaired safety recall. Now, California lawmakers want to require used-car sellers to make those repairs before the vehicles can be sold. [More]
