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Sony has agreed to sell its songs DRM-free on the Amazon MP3 store, completing the set—now all four big record companies are on board. It’s amazing how a little iTunes competitiveness will bring a bunch of executives together.
Starting today, Warner Music songs are now available on the Amazon MP3 music store, in DRM-free formats and at prices competitive to what iTunes charges. According to Reuters, Amazon has now reached “deals with music labels Universal Music Group, part of Vivendi, and EMI. The remaining major recording group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, has yet to offer its songs for the service.” Sony BMG, you guys are very, very old dorks.
Ever wonder where your goat meat came from? No? Well several Senators did, so their chamber’s version of the farm bill extends country of origin labeling to chickens, macadamia nuts, and goat meat. The labels, which are already required for beef, pork, lamb, peanuts, fresh fruits, and vegetables, should appear by late next year.
Radiohead may have moved 1.2 million copies of its new album “In Rainbows” when it was released last week, but according to industry analysts, over 500,000 copies were downloaded through old-fashioned file sharing networks, eroding the perceived success of the distribution plan and possibly hindering similar release plans for other artists in the future.
Over a year and a half ago, we alerted readers to the sneaky practice of using carbon monoxide to indefinitely preserve raw meat’s red color—several stores admitted to the practice, and while the small amount of gas used does not pose a health risk, the perma-red meat can make it harder to detect spoilage. Now, in the wake of so many food and product safety scandals, the government has proposed a new mandatory warning label as part of the Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007. It would read:
Carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the ‘use or freeze by’ date alone to judge the freshness or safety of the product. Discard any product with an unpleasant odor, slime, or a bulging package.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering a bill that would require bottled water to bear a label clearly stating the source of the water, contact information for the bottler, and the location of recent water quality reports. SB 220 sailed through the California Legislature earlier this month, and would remind bottled water guzzlers that they are shelling out big bucks for a free, public resource.
The confusion has put some companies in hot water. PepsiCo Inc.’s Aquafina brand and Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani were slammed by consumer and environmental groups for failing to clearly note that their products came from water systems.
It’s yesterday’s news that you can eat healthier by avoiding foods full of unnecessary sugars, and that sugars appear on labels under different names, but you might be surprised to see just how many different guises sugar and sugar-related substances can assume.
Did you know that ingredients on ingredients labels are listed in their descending order of proportion?
The suspense is over. After two years filled with action-packed consumer research, suspenseful public meetings, and frank discussions with advocacy groups, the Federal Trade Commission is finally ready to tag dehumidifiers, dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines with a new and improved EnergyGuide label.
Unlike seafood, the meat, produce and nuts you buy don’t have a country of origin label, despite a 5 year old law that says they should, according to the New York Times. Lobbyists and congresspeople have managed to hold off enforcement of the law since it was passed in 2002, but now proponents of country of origin labels (COOL) think they may have enough momentum from the Chinese Poison Train to finally make the label a reality. From the NYT:
“No. 1, there’s a basic consumer right to know,” said Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, an advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine and supports the labeling law. “People are more and more concerned about the food they eat.”
Polysorbates are made by polymerizing ethylene oxide (a precursor to antifreeze) with a sugar alcohol derivative. The result can be a detergent, an emulsifier, or, in the case of polysorbate 60, a major ingredient in some sexual lubricants.
Shame we never got to hear Charlton Heston exclaim: “Cool Whip is Lube!” — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
The Coca-Cola Company plans to list the caffeine content labels of all products sold in the U-S. It’ll start in May with cans of its flagship Coke Classic, then expand to its other brands during the rest of the year.
No word on how Coke compares to Pepsi. Any unfounded guesses? —MEGHANN MARCO
“Every company that adds caffeine to food should tell consumers how much they’re getting, so consumers can comparison shop and make their decisions accordingly,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Pepsi deserves credit for voluntarily putting caffeine contents on labels. I don’t know why Coke and coffee companies are so jittery about letting their customers know how much they’re getting.”
Regular Pepsi contains 25 milligrams of caffeine per 8 oz, Diet Pepsi 24. “Pepsi One and Mountain Dew have more with 36 mg per 8 ounces. Brewed coffee varies, but a 16-ounce cup at Starbucks has around 260 mg, though the company doesn’t make that number easy to find.” Mmm, caffeine. Starbucks is sort of confusing. We’re not sure why they’d neglect to mention/hide how much caffeine is in coffee… isn’t it a selling point?—MEGHANN MARCO
We posted recently about the Humane Society’s investigation into the widespread use of canine fur from China in clothes sold in the US. One coat in particular was made by Diddy’s line “Sean Jean” and was initially labeled “faux.” Tests prove the coat uses dog fur.
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