Have you bought a frozen meal from Trader Joe’s recently? Check your freezer, because a batch of their butter chicken meals, which are imported from Canada, have been recalled for possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria of nastiness.
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Quality & Safety
Trader Joe’s Recalls Butter Chicken With Basmati Rice Meals
By 12.5.12
FDA Replies To Lawsuit Over Food Regulation Deadlines: Slow Your Roll, We’re Working On It
By 12.3.12
Back in January 2011, the government signed a law that said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have to undertake an overhaul in food safety regulations, the first of its kind in about 70 years. Well, time’s been a-ticking and now a new lawsuit leveled at the agency claims the FDA has missed a bunch of deadlines required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. But the FDA says that’s not the case, it’s just that it’s a big job that it’ll take time. [More]
Processing Plant Behind Great Peanut Butter Recall Of 2012 Won’t Reopen Just Yet
By 12.3.12
The Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2012 began with a few voluntary recall notices on the shelves of Trader Joe’s, and has now escalated to the Food and Drug Administration making an unprecedented move to shut down the plant where the offending nut products were processed. [More]
Mom Not Happy About Finding Nose Ring In Daughter’s McDonald’s Breakfast Burrito
By 11.30.12
While kids love to get free shiny playthings with their fast food meals, someone else’s nose ring doesn’t usually fall into that category. But that’s exactly what a mom in Georgia says she discovered in her kid’s McDonald’s breakfast burrito. [More]
L.A. Seafood Task Force’s Catch Of The Day Features Lots Of Mislabeled Fish
By 11.21.12
What you see is apparently not always what you’re getting in L.A., says a county Seafood Task Force that took on the problem of mislabeled fish in the food industry. The group found that a whole slew of issues that were widespread across supermarkets and restaurants alike that could pose health problems for consumers. [More]
CPSC Issues Safety Alert On Detergent Pods
By 11.20.12
A month after the Centers for Disease Control issued a report showing that nearly 500 kids had been exposed to the lovely cleansing chemicals by playing with or chewing on colorful, shiny detergent pods, the folks at the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued a safety alert declaring them harmful to children. [More]
We Never Knew The World Needed Caffeinated Cracker Jacks, But Here They Come
By 11.16.12
If you’re the kind of person who hates wrapping your hands around a warm cup of invigorating coffee to get your daily dose of caffeine, how about tossing some caffeinated sugary caramel popcorn down your gullet? Frito-Lay is taking its beloved Cracker Jack brand and actually jacking it up with Cracker Jack’d, including two varieties called Power Bites that contain coffee. [More]
If Gooey Blobs Of Mold Count As Vitamins We’ll Have To Pass On That VitaminWater
By 11.15.12
Yeah yeah, we know: Penicillin is mold*. But healthy or no, nobody wants to take a slug of a liquid beverage and find a globular bunch of moldy stuff trying to get down your throat. Grody to the max, right? Reports of contaminated vitaminwater are hitting the news, as one enterprising consumer even sent his blobular grossness off to a lab to be tested. The result? Mold. Not a vitamin. Nope. [More]
5-Hour Energy Cited In Reports Of 13 Deaths
By 11.15.12
Only a few weeks after it was revealed that FDA incident reports linked Monster Energy drink to five deaths in recent years, it’s come out that the heavily advertised 5-Hour Energy “shots” have been cited in 13 deaths and dozens of hospitalizations since 2009. [More]
Toyota Recalling 2.77 Million Vehicles Worldwide For Steering Snafu, Water Pumps
By 11.14.12
Toyota announced it’s voluntary recalling a total of almost 3 million vehicles worldwide for steering and water pump issues that have popped up recently, which will make this the second multi-million vehicle recall for the company in just over a month. There haven’t been any accidents or injuries reported thus far from the problems, which can be fixed relatively quickly but will likely cost Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars to repair. [More]
Guy Finds Mummified Bat In His Cereal, Count Chocula Reported Missing
By 11.13.12
First of all — I’m totally kidding about Count Chocula. I’m sure he’s just fine, safe in his Transylvanian marshmallow castle or wherever he keeps his coffin. But there is a man claiming he found a mummified bat in his breakfast cereal and he’s suffering from the kind of shock that experience surely brings. [More]
Buy Lengthy Legal Document, Get Free Space Heater
By 11.13.12
Robbie is very pleased with his new DeLonghi Mica Panel heater. Attached to the cord, though, is a tag the size of a small flag covered with warnings. This festive decoration exists to cover the company in case a customer does something stupid with their heater. That makes sense. Robbie wonders, though: at what point do we accept the limits of human stupidity and stop warning against every thing that could possibly go wrong? [More]
Nestlé Recalling Nesquik Drink Mix Because Chocolate Milk Shouldn’t Contain Salmonella
By 11.9.12
Chocolatey Nesquik, that beloved after school treat, wouldn’t be such a delight if it contained say, salmonella. Nestlé has issued a voluntary recall of some of its batches of the chocolate drink mix because there’s the possibility of salmonella contamination in one of the ingredients used to make the powder. [More]
Jeep Recalls 745,000 Vehicles In U.S. After 50 People Injured By Air Bags
By 11.9.12
Because air bags are not supposed to go POOF! all up in your face while you’re driving, the folks at Chrysler have announced a recall of 745,000 model year 2002-03 Jeep Liberty and 2002-04 Grand Cherokee vehicles. [More]
How Long Is Refrigerated Food Safe To Eat After The Power Goes Out?
By 10.30.12
So you made sure to attack the rapidly melting pints of ice cream in your freezer when the power went out, but what about all that other food in your fridge— if it isn’t of the melting variety, how long is it safe without being refrigerated? Well first of all, don’t employ the “I’m just gonna taste this to see if it’s okay” test, warns the United States Department of Agriculture in its handy guide to post-power loss food safety.
Apple Announces iMac Hard Drive Replacement Program, Runs Out Of Hard Drive
By 10.25.12
Apple has recalled Carla’s iMac. Specifically, the hard drive, which was made by Seagate, and has has a record of failing more than a hard drive should. Customers were told to bring their computers in so that Apple could swap the hard drive for a nice new one. Carla made her appointment as instructed, but when she got to the store, learned that the replacement hard drives were out of stock and they’d have to hold on to her computer for a week while waiting for them to restock. [More]
The World May Never Know Which Company Filed This Lawsuit To Block Consumer Safety Complaint
By 10.23.12 — Updated: 12.13.12
If a manufacturer has an unresolved issue with a complaint lodged with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s saferproducts.gov database, it has the right to take the CPSC to court and prove its case. But should that same company be able to litigate the matter anonymously, keeping its name and all relevant court findings under seal? [More]
FDA Incident Reports Link Monster Energy Drink To Five Deaths
By 10.23.12
Last week, a mother in Maryland sued the makers of caffeine-heavy Monster Energy drink, alleging that the beverage was not only behind the death of her teen daughter, but that the company knew of possible health risks and failed to warn consumers. [More]
