Well, that was quick: two days after New York City’s new salt labeling rules went into effect — requiring chain restaurants to slap a salt shaker symbol on especially salty menu items — a restaurant group is suing the city, arguing that health regulators have gone too far. [More]
health
Walmart Shoppers Surprised To See Flock Of Snacking Birds Camped Out In Store’s Meat Section
By 12.1.15
Of all the places one would expect to see a flock of birds settled down for a group snack, the meat display at your local grocery store is probably pretty far down on the list. To that end, Walmart shoppers in Massachusetts were understandably surprised over the weekend, when at least two customers snapped video footage of a group of live fowl pecking away at packages of red meat. [More]
NYC’s Salt Warning Labels Set To Debut At Chain Restaurants This Week
By 11.30.15
Menus at New York City’s chain eateries will be getting a makeover this week, as the city’s rule requiring warning labels for particularly salty menu items goes into effect. [More]
Researchers Who Probably Hate Pizza: Living Alone Is Basically Terrible For Your Diet
By 11.5.15
Living by yourself can be great — it means you have the option of never wearing real pants at home, guilt-free Netflix binges on sunny days and the ability to eat your meals in front of the open refrigerator by picking through whatever it is you happen to have in there. On that last note, researchers say living solo has a downside: it means you eat like crap. [More]
Anthem Blue Cross Will Pay $8.3M To Customers To Settle Class-Action Suit Over Mid-Year Policy Changes
By 10.27.15
When you sign up for an insurance policy, you’re given a price for that plan for the year. So when California consumers discovered changes to their Anthem Blue Cross policies in the middle of the year that came with extra out-of-pocket costs, two policyholders filed a class-action lawsuit against the insurance provider in 2011. Anthem Blue Cross has now agreed to a settlement that includes reimbursing about 50,000 customers in California almost $8.3 million. [More]
World Health Organization Report Links Bacon, Hot Dogs, Other Processed Meats To Cancer
By 10.26.15
You might want to put down your daily hot dog snack while you read this one: a new report from the World Health Organization says bacon, ham and other sausages are a major cause of cancer, putting processed meats in the same category as carcinogens like tobacco, arsenic, asbestos and alcohol. [More]
United Names Interim CEO While Oscar Munoz Recovers From Heart Attack
By 10.20.15
For the second time in just over two months, the United Airlines board of directors has announced a new leader as its recently appointed CEO, Oscar Munoz recovers from a heart attack. [More]
Walmart Moving Protein Bars To More Highly-Trafficked Areas In Health Push
By 10.6.15
Walmart wants its customers to know it’s thinking about their health, so it’s moving things around a bit in its stores: instead of leaving health and protein bars to languish amidst dietary supplements and vitamins, in January the big box store is shifting those products to aisles that see more grocery traffic. [More]
Target’s Health Kick: Replacing Candy Bars With Granola Bars At The Register, Giving Employees Fitbits
By 9.16.15
With more than a dozen Target stores gearing up to test a healthier cafe concept – switching out hotdogs and nachos for salads and green juices – the retailer appears to be trying to keep the wellness momentum going by making several other changes: giving employees fitness trackers and swapping the candy bars lining the register with more wholesome snacks. [More]
Pharmaceutical Companies Using Fitness Trackers To Collect Data On Drug Trials, Other Research
By 9.14.15
Consumers looking to improve their health have turned to fitness trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, Vivofit, and Fuse that record the user’s heart rate, calories burned, steps walked, and other pertinent data. These devices are also increasingly being used for another purpose: tracking the effectiveness of new medications in drug trials and other research for pharmaceutical companies. [More]
Salmonella Outbreak In Minnesota Linked To At Least 17 Chipotle Restaurants
By 9.11.15
A salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that’s sickened 45 people and sent five to the hospital has been linked to at least 17 Chipotle restaurants, say investigators with the state’s Department of Health. Officials believe that the contaminated ingredient has already been removed from all Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota. [More]
NYC Board Of Health Approves Sodium Warning Labels For Extra Salty Menu Items
By 9.9.15
Like your food salty? If you live in New York City, you’ll be reminded exactly how salty your next meal is starting Dec. 1, when chain restaurants will have to include a salt shaker symbol on menu items that exceed the recommended daily intake of sodium. [More]
Health Group Challenges E-Cig Makers After Tests Find High Levels Of Toxic Chemicals In Most Products
By 9.3.15
A health watchdog group took legal action against some of the country’s largest e-cigarette manufacturers for failing to properly warn consumers about the risk of such products after tests show that most produce high levels of toxic chemicals. [More]
How Safe Is Your Ground Beef?
By 8.24.15 — Updated: 8.31.15
This story was first published by our sister publication Consumer Reports. [More]
Study: Ordering Pizza Online Adds Up When It Comes To Calories And Cash
By 8.6.15
The appeal of ordering food online is obvious — it’s easy, you don’t have to talk to anyone and it’s perhaps less likely that your order will get screwed up with the list of toppings, extras or instructions entered in with your own two hands. But summoning grub with the touch of a button, especially ordering pizza, really stacks up the calories and drains the wallet, a new study says. [More]
Whole Foods Apologizes For Accidentally Selling $6 Bottles Of “Asparagus Water”
By 8.4.15
While there are many ridiculous food trends out there, most food faddists would be forced to take pause at a $6 bottle of water with a few asparagus stalks hanging out in it. And to our supreme relief, it turns out that not even Whole Foods is willing to go that far into the realm of unnecessary products, calling a recent “Asparagus Water” offering a mistake. [More]
DOJ Sues Supplement Makers Over Mislabeling, Failure To Follow Good Manufacturing Processes
By 8.3.15
When people buy dietary supplements, they do so assuming that the product in the pill, powder, or liquid actually is what it claims to be, and that the amount you’re taking is correct. The U.S. Department of Justice has accused three supplement makers of being careless with what went into their products –– or, in bureaucrat-speak, “misbranding” and “not complying with the FDA’s current good manufacturing practices.” [More]
Texas Neighborhood Displeased To Find Worms In The Drinking Water
By 7.30.15
It sounds like the stuff of nightmares, or a bad drug trip: turning on the faucet for a glass of water, only to have worms come wriggling out of it. Residents of one Texas subdivision claim they’ve been finding worms coming out of faucets and clogging up sprinklers, and have been showing up with water samples to prove it to local authorities. [More]
