Taco Bell’s former green onion supplier is suing Taco Bell for libel after the taco giant incorrectly linked green onions to the e. coli scare that sickened more than 70 people last year.
health
Woman Hospitalized After Eating Single Bite Of Tainted Dog Food
By 3.26.07
Elaine Larabie said Saturday she ate some dog food last week in an effort to convince her terrier, Missy, to do the same. Soon afterwards, both Larabie and Missy found themselves in hospital — Larabie at an after-hours emergency room, and Missy at Ottawa’s Alta Vista Animal Hospital.
Aged, Frail Denied Care By Insurers
By 3.26.07
But when she filed a claim with her insurer, Conseco, it said she had waited too long. Then it said Beehive Homes was not an approved facility, despite its state license. Eventually, Conseco argued that Mrs. Derks was not sufficiently infirm, despite her early-stage dementia and the 37 pills she takes each day.
Walmart's Ailing Recall System
By 3.24.07
Walmart watcher “Behind the Counter” has identified the weakness in the retailer’s notoriously ineffective recall system. [More]
Salmonella From Illegal Cheese Strikes Chicagoland
By 3.24.07
Kane County health officials said Thursday that cheese may be causing a salmonella outbreak that has made at least 20 people sick.
Woman Buys $1,000 In Tainted Pet Food At Walmart
By 3.23.07
A woman said she was so worried about reports of tainted pet food she spent more than $1,000 buying all the product she could find at her local Wal-Mart. Margaret Trask said she filled a shopping cart full of canned pet food made by Canadian company Menu Foods at the Beaufort Wal-Mart after hearing about the recall Friday.
Blue Cross of California Hates Pregnant Women and Sick People
By 3.23.07
The state of California is fining the company $1 million as a result. Not that that will help the hundreds of people who lost their coverage.
If You're Not Ill, Drink Coffee With a Good Conscience
By 3.22.07
My wife grew up in Massachusetts, and her music teacher must have been a descendant of one of the original Puritan settlers. In chorus, the kids were taught a “coffee song,” which they sang , perhaps with fingers wagging, for the parents on recital night. The lyrics, approximately, were “C-O-F-F-E-E, coffee is not for me, it’s a drink that people wake up with, and it makes them nervous, it is a SIN…”
Doctors Who Have "Close Relationships" With Drug Makers Prescribe Newer, Pricier Drugs
By 3.21.07
“When honest human beings have a vested stake in seeing the world in a particular way, they’re incapable of objectivity and independence,” said Max H. Bazerman, a professor at Harvard Business School. “A doctor who represents a pharmaceutical company will tend to see the data in a slightly more positive light and as a result will overprescribe that company’s drugs.”
In Minnesota, a state in which drug company payouts are disclosed to the public, “More than 250 … psychiatrists together earned $6.7 million in drug company money — more than any other specialty. Seven of the last eight presidents of the Minnesota Psychiatric Society have served as consultants to drug makers, according to the Times examination.”
Get Ready For Passover Coke!
By 3.15.07
What, you ask, is “Passover Coke?” It’s Coke made with sugar. Yes, real sugar! Not corn syrup. From NPR:
NYC Health Department Closes 'Hip' Union Square 'Coffee Shop'
By 3.13.07
Yesterday, would-be Coffee Shop diners were shocked to see their neighborhood hotspot shuttered. “I wasn’t surprised about Taco Bell, but this?” a regular patron, Ursula Pilter, 34, said. “It’s such a hip place. I just can’t believe it.”
Oh, no! Not ‘hip’ restaurants! You mean rats don’t know they’re not cool enough to hang out at the Coffee Shop? —MEGHANN MARCO
NYC Health Commissioner: Rats Are Not A Health Risk
By 3.9.07
The city spends $8 million a year on rodent control and has a team of more than 100 inspectors who close about 500 restaurants each year.
Salmonella Peanut Butter Still Stalking Nation’s Children
By 3.9.07 — Updated: 12.14.16
People. You need to toss your Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter if the jar says “2111” on it. The plant that produced the peanut butter has been closed for 3 weeks, but cases of salmonella linked to the peanut butter continue to rise.
Aveda Secretly Pulls Environmentally Unfriendly Hair Product?
By 3.8.07
According to a company insider, Aveda recently pulled a hair product from their shelves because it contained too many or too high a concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be nasty pollutants.
Soft Drinks Try To Convince You They Are Healthy
By 3.7.07
While the soda business remains a $68 billion industry in the United States, consumers are increasingly reaching for bottled water, sparkling juices and green tea drinks. In 2005, the amount of soda sold in this country dropped for the first time in recent history. Even the diet soda business has slowed.
Coke’s chief executive told the NYT: “Diet and light brands are actually health and wellness brands.” Hmmm.
FDA to Review Children's Cold Remedies
By 3.2.07
The agency has for decades promised to review systematically the safety of all old drugs, but for a variety of reasons like budgetary constraints, time and popularity of a particular drug has not done so.
We, like the reader who sent this story in, find it troubling that “popularity” is a factor in deciding whether or not to review the safety of a drug. The New York Times doesn’t explain in detail what is meant by this quote, but we’re hard pressed to think of any explanations that would make us say, “Wow, that’s really awesome.”
