If you’re the kind of person who likes to add extra sugar to your dose of sugar, your sweet tooth may soon have to accept a new reality, one where an ice cream treat isn’t dotted with brightly colored candy: Mars, the company behind the M&Ms in your McFlurry, the Snickers in your Burger King dessert pie, may be considering ending those kinds of partnerships with fast food chains. [More]
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The FDA Wants You To Eat Less Salt, Hopes The Food Industry Will Help With That
By 6.1.16
When it comes to salt, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agrees with the Centers for Disease Control: we’re all consuming too much sodium, and the food industry should be helping us cut back by cutting it from their products. [More]
With High Shipping Costs, Online Shopping Is Not Big Business For Chocolate Makers
By 3.25.16
Sure, shopping from the comfort of your couch can be an easy, convenient alternative to schlepping to the mall or grocery store. But there are just some things that might not be worth the trouble to have shipped. Case in point: chocolate. The sweet treat can be a real pain to transport, for both the company and customer. [More]
Mars Recalling Candy In 55 Countries Because Eating Plastic Isn’t So Sweet
By 2.23.16
U.S. candy maker Mars has issued a recall in 55 countries over concerns that some candy bars and other sweet treats might contain an ingredient that isn’t nutty, nougaty, chocolatey, or otherwise delicious: plastic bits. [More]
Seasonal Bags Of Dove Chocolate Recalled Due To Surprise Snickers, Allergy Concerns
By 12.21.15
Food allergies can be a life-threatening condition, which is why the maker of Dove candies has recalled a winter-themed assortment of chocolates available only from one nationwide food retailer and distributed to 35 states. Which nationwide food retailer is that? Mars didn’t bother to include that information, which might have been helpful. [More]
Company Behind M&M’s, Snickers Endorses “Added Sugars” Label For Foods
By 5.8.15
Of all the companies to advocate for alerting consumers to added sugars, the country’s most famous candy maker would be probably be among the least likely. But yesterday, Mars Inc. — the company behind M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, and Twix — gave its corporate stamp of approval to the idea of limiting the use of added sugars and labeling those products that contain extra sugar. [More]
100 Finalists Left To Compete For 24 One-Way Tickets To Mars
By 2.16.15
It’s been almost two years since Mars One started taking applications for people who wanted a free one-way ticket to the red planet, in order to set up an inflatable habitat and settle off-world forever and ever. Out of the 202,586 applicants, the non-profit group of scientists and entrepreneurs says the finalists competing for 24 total spots have been winnowed down to a (lucky?) group of 50 men and 50 women. And again, of course the whole thing is going to be a reality TV show. [More]
Boxes Of Plain M&Ms That Really Contain Peanut Butter M&Ms Recalled
By 9.22.14
I think that peanut butter M&Ms are one of the tastiest invention in candy history, but not everyone agrees. Some people are allergic to peanuts, and some people just don’t like ’em. These people wouldn’t find a box full of peanut butter M&Ms in a plain M&Ms box to be a pleasant surprise, so 36 lots of the candy have been recalled. [More]
Comfort Food Crime Wave Is Back: $362,000 Worth Of Candy Disappears
By 1.2.14
In spring of last year, comforting, tasty foods began to disappear by the truckload. Soup, hamburgers, Nutella: all stolen. Consumerist developed a theory. What if these crimes were the work of a syndicate of well-traveled, resourceful, and extremely hungry thieves? After laying dormant for most of 2013, the Comfort Food Criminals are back. [More]
Moms Ask Mars To Remove Artificial Dyes From M&Ms
By 10.18.13
Brightly colored M&Ms are surely attention grabbing, but the sponsors of a new petition urging Mars to replace the artificial dyes it uses to make those blues and greens so pretty say the colorings can cause some kids to be hyperactive. [More]
Birthday Cake M&Ms Are Coming So You Can Have Your Cake And Eat Your Candy, Too
By 9.18.13
Whether you see your birthday as yet another inevitable reminder of your mortality or a joyous day made for celebrating all things you, there’s always the fact that you get to eat birthday cake to mark the occasion. Because cake takes the sting out of/adds extra glory to this day, some might wish that every day could be birthday cake day. And it can be. Or rather, birthday cake-flavored M&Ms day. [More]
Apply Now For A Free Trip To Mars If You Don’t Mind Never Coming Back To Earth
By 4.23.13
We’ve often wished we could ship reality TV stars out to space and never have to deal with their self-important squabbling and petty attempts at fame, but a new, somewhat odd proposition by a nonprofit organization could make that somewhat of a reality. The group of scientists and entrepreneurs at Mars One said it’s opened up the application process for a commercially sponsored one-way mission to Mars as part of a venture that will (sigh) also include a reality TV program. [More]
Sheba Says It’ll Only Use Sustainably-Sourced Seafood In Cat Entrees By End Of 2013
By 2.25.13
When we heard that Sheba is promising to use only sustainably-sourced seafood in its cat food entrees, of course we pictured a fleet of feline fishermen, sharpening their claws and licking their whiskered chops. That’s not exactly how it’ll be, but the brand has pledged to be good to the environment going forward. [More]
Mars Is Going To Snatch That King-Sized Candy Bar Right Out Of Your Hands
By 2.16.12
Okay fine, Mars isn’t going to run up to you and steal your candy, but the makers of Snickers bars and other tasty treats are going to stop selling chocolate products that have more than 250 calories per portion. So that means no more king-sized Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Mars, Milky Way and more. [More]
Don't Toss Those Halloween Candy Wrappers Just Yet
By 11.1.10
Even if you didn’t go trick-or-treating last night, there’s a decent chance you have some candy and chocolate sitting around the house. Perhaps you’re like some Consumerist staffers who just can’t help but be tempted by the bulk bags of Kit Kats that go on sale at their local Walgreens? Regardless, before you toss those empty wrappers in the garbage, you might want to consider using them to help out a good cause. [More]
Food & Entertainment Industries Get Failing Grade For Pushing Unhealthy Snacks On Kids
By 3.10.10
The folks over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently took a look at how 128 different food and entertainment companies market food to kids. And, perhaps not surprisingly, they gave failing marks to 95 of them for having either weak policies for marketing food products to children or having none at all. [More]
Food Companies Warn Of Impending Sugar Shortage, Misery, Doom
By 8.13.09
The food companies say we are on the brink of a sugar shortage that will wreak havoc on your candy bars and all that. According to the WSJ several large food companies including Kraft Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Hershey Co. and Mars Inc. sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warning that the US could run out of sugar if we don’t get rid of some tariffs.
