While the beef, pork, and poultry industries have been heavily criticized for using the large majority of antibiotics sold in the U.S. to fatten up their animals, that doesn’t mean that American physicians are being terribly judicious about the antimicrobials they prescribe. A new report shines a light on just how many antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary, increasing the risk of developing drug-resistant superbugs. [More]
safety
NHTSA Shames Distracted Drivers With #JustDrive Twitter Hashtag
By 4.25.16
Distracted drivers aren’t just making phone calls or taking their eyes off the road to text. Many of them are going on Twitter while they should be concentrating on driving. Which is why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying to shame them into putting their phones down. [More]
Foodservice Employees: Have You Ever Gone To Work Sick? Tell Us About It
April 21, 2016
Every day, countless American workers go to their jobs knowing they have a cold, flu, or some other communicable illness, but not all of these people have work that puts them in contact with other folks’ food. If you’ve worked in foodservice and gone to a job while still ill, we want to hear your story. Were you concerned about losing your job if you didn’t show up? Does your employer not offer sick leave? Could you not afford to lose those few hours? Whatever your reason, we’d like to hear your story. Email us at tips@consumerist.com with “SICK AT WORK” in the subject line. All details would remain anonymous, and no names or other identifying information would be published. [More]
Chocolate Milk Maker Behind Sketchy “Cognitive Skills” Study Hoped To Cash In On Concussion Movie
By 4.20.16
Last December, researchers from the University of Maryland put out a press release claiming — without showing any of the science to back up the assertions — that a certain brand of chocolate milk could improve cognitive skills of concussed athletes. The study — paid for by the chocolate milk company — was widely derided and the school has since admitted that the press release was rushed and botched. So what was the hurry in getting this incomplete science news out there? Apparently, in the hopes of riding the coattails of a new Will Smith movie. [More]
Watch: Pressure Washers Are Super Useful, Can Be Super Dangerous
By 4.15.16
Pressure washers make various outdoor cleaning tasks much easier, but they can also be pretty dangerous when pointed in the wrong direction. That’s why our ever-efficient colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports no longer recommend any pressure washers that come with zero degree nozzles, or adjustable wand tips that can be dialed down to zero. That setting poses a special risk of injury to people, and to carrots. Carrots? [More]
Uber To Pay $25M To Settle Allegations It Misled Passengers On Drivers’ Safety, Fees
By 4.8.16
Less than two months after Uber agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading consumers about its “industry leading” safety procedures, the ride-hailing company is ready to put another case behind it. The company will pay $25 million to settle a civil lawsuit with the district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco over nearly identical allegations. [More]
Recall Roundup, Flammability Edition: Ivanka Trump-Brand Scarves, Givenchy Silk Shirts
By 4.7.16
Things are heating up over at the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently, with a slew of products that are being recalled for being literally hot fashions, due to the unfortunate possibility that they may burst into flames. [More]
University Backtracks On Company-Funded Study Claiming Chocolate Milk Could Treat Concussions
By 4.1.16
Earlier this year, public health advocates criticized a University of Maryland research program for taking money from a beverage company and then claiming in a press release — with no reviewable data to back up its assertions — that this company’s chocolate milk product could improve cognitive skills of athletes who’d suffered concussions. Today, the university is admitting that maybe this was not the brightest idea. [More]
VW, Porsche Recall 800,477 SUVs Because Pedals Shouldn’t Be Loose
By 3.25.16
When preparing to hit your car’s brake pedal, the last thing you want is for the control to be broken. Unfortunately, that could be the case for more than 800,000 Volkswagen and Porsche SUVs. [More]
Gree Must Pay Record $15.45M CPSC Penalty For Self-Immolating Dehumidifiers
By 3.25.16
This morning at the Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly in Washington, DC, Consumer Products Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye announced a record civil penalty against Gree Electric Appliances, the manufacturer of millions of particularly flammable dehumidifiers that were recalled in 2013 and 2014. The company has been ordered to pay $15.45 million to the CPSC to settle charges that they failed to report fires to the Commission, “knowingly made misrepresentations to CPSC staff,” and put UL safety marks on products that didn’t meet UL standards. [More]
Passsengers On Exploded Megabus Get Inadequate Compensation For Bags, Can’t Get Legal Help
By 3.23.16
When a Minneapolis-bound Megabus caught fire and exploded last month in the suburbs of Chicago, no passengers were injured. Their baggage, however, was destroyed, and that’s how they learned how difficult it is to get compensation when everything in your bag has burned up in a bus explosion. Even having a travel writer for the New York Times on board isn’t enough to recuperate the full value of everything they brought on the bus. [More]
Lumber Liquidators To Pay California $2.5M For Having Too Much Formaldehyde In Its Flooring
By 3.22.16
More than a year ago, a 60 Minutes report on the formaldehyde levels in laminate flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators kicked off a string of investigations, and lawsuits, culminating with the exit of the company’s CEO. Today, California regulators finally closed the book on its Lumber Liquidators case after the retailer agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle charges is sold flooring that contained formaldehyde in excess of the state’s allowable levels. [More]
New Warning Labels Coming To Opioid Painkillers
By 3.22.16
A week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called on physicians to stop prescribing opioid painkillers when less-problematic therapeutic treatments will do the trick, another federal agency is joining in the effort to alert consumers to the potential risks of using these frequently prescribed medications. [More]
Toyota Promises Automatic Braking Will Be Standard In Most Models By 2017
By 3.22.16
Just days after automakers and federal regulators reached a deal that would make forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking standard in vehicles by 2022, Toyota says it’ll do one better — make these safety features standard years ahead of schedule.
[More]
SeaWorld Ending Signature Killer Whale “Shamu” Shows; Will Stop Breeding Orcas
By 3.17.16
For decades, SeaWorld parks have been associated with the visual of orca killer whales — most famously Shamu — jumping into the air for the amusement of large audiences. But amid growing criticism about the treatment of these animals and the safety of their trainers, SeaWorld has committed to not only ending these shows, but to also cease breeding orcas in captivity. [More]
Automatic Emergency Braking To Be Standard In Cars By 2022
By 3.16.16
A number of cars being sold today already have forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking as available optional safety features, but automakers and federal regulators have reached a deal that will make these features standard in almost every car sold in the U.S. by 2022. [More]
Jury Awards $72 Million In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
By 2.24.16
In the first of what looks to be many verdicts and/or settlements involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson ignored a possible link between cancer and its talcum-based products, a jury in Missouri has ordered the company to pay a total of $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. [More]
Underwriters Laboratories Reveals How It Tests Hoverboard Safety
By 2.24.16
Earlier this month, Underwriters Laboratories announced that for the first time it would start testing and certifying “hoverboards.” However, the independent safety consulting and certification company didn’t actually specify how it would test the self-balancing scooters. [More]
