Food and Drug Administration

Frozen Berry Blend Sold at Costco Tainted With Hepatitis

The package says "organic" and "antioxidant," so you think you're doing something positive for your health. Unfortunately, missing from the label is "with hepatitis and God knows what else added." The Food and Drug Administration is investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen organ ... More >>

CT State Senate Votes For GMO Labeling U.S. Senate Votes Against GMO Labeling

It seems as though more and more states are becoming willing to demand labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The most recent state to move in that direction is Connecticut: The state's State Senate this week voted 35-to-1 in favor of a GMO labeling bill. This doesn' ... More >>

Restaurant Dishes: More Calories Than Fast Food?

The average meal at an average sit-down restaurant chain contains a belt-busting 1,128 calories -- more than half of the Food and Drug Administration's recommended 2,000 calories a day for a healthy adult, according to a study by University of Toronto researchers. In contrast, the average fast food ... More >>

Is Your Microwaved Lunch Going to Give You Cancer?

It might be hard to recall a time when microwaving wasn't considered a casual cooking tool -- or, for some, a legitimate cooking method. The speed at which you can defrost things, melt chocolate or make popcorn is unparalleled. These days, you might even get a microwave oven before you get a stoveto ... More >>

Cucumbers Sicken 28 in California, 73 Nationwide

The Food and Drug Administration has blocked cucumber imports from a Mexican company after the vegetables sickened 73 people in 18 states, including 28 in California. The cukes have tested positive for Salmonella Saintpaul, the Associated Press reports. Twenty-seven people have been hospitalized, a ... More >>

The Latest Cupcake Trend? Cannabis Cupcakes

With so much talk of late about cupcakes and legalizing marijuana, we should have known a Cannabis Cupcakes cookbook wasn't too far behind. "What better way to take advantage of both [the cupcake and cannabis] trends than with a cookbook that satisfies these guilty pleasures?," the cookbook's press ... More >>

Lean Cuisine Recalled Due to Glass Shards

Lean Cuisine is recalling ravioli dinners because of glass fragments found in the pasta, the Food and Drug Administration reports. The voluntary recall of Lean Cuisine Culinary Collection Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli comes after three consumers reported they "found small fragments of glass in the ra ... More >>

Smoked Salmon Recalled for Listeria

Put down that lox. It might be loaded -- with bacteria. A Seattle-based company is recalling 371 cases of ready-to-eat smoked salmon because the fish may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, Food Safety News reports. Ocean Beauty Seafoods LLC issued a voluntary recall of its Nathan's Brand ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 11/26 - 11/30

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Ahh, to be a fly on the wall of the marketing department of KFC." Should KFC Put Chicken Spices In Cookies? No, Really... "Nachos are not aspirational food." 10 Best Nachos in Los Angeles. "The glass depicted above, contai ... More >>

Ready-to-Eat Popcorn Recalled Due to Listeria

Popcorn manufacturer Popcorn, Indiana has issued a voluntary recall of several ready-to-eat bags of popcorn due to possible contamination with that very nasty bacteria Listeria, Fox News reports. According to the company's product recall site, bags that were distributed "to various retailers" and s ... More >>

2C-I, Drug Known as Smiles, in Spotlight After Johnny Lewis Murder Case

Every so often a drug invented by California psychedelic explorer Sasha Shulgin, the Godfather of Ecstasy, escapes the lab and becomes a headache for law enforcement. This is one of those times. Amid reports that actor Johnny Lewis might have been on 2C-I, or "smiles," when he allegedly flipped out ... More >>

Toxic Chemicals in Lunchboxes, Canned Foods and Rice: A Summary Tips for Parents and Non-Parents

Three recent studies have left some parents wondering if the cards are stacked against them when it comes to protecting their kids. New research on dangerous chemicals in vinyl lunch boxes, canned foods and dozens of rice products suggests that what we don't know could hurt us. Children are most at ... More >>

3 Tons of Trader Joe's BBQ Chicken Salad Recalled

Nearly three tons of prepared barbecue chicken salads sold at Trader Joe's have been recalled, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The recall comes after the announcement of possible Listeria contamination at Oxnard-based Gills Onions, Trader Joe's o ... More >>

Most Meat Is Full of Antibiotics, Survey Finds

Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York has released the results from a survey of more than 60 fast food, retail, production and grocery companies asking them about their policies on the use of antibiotics in meat and poultry, Forbes reports. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate their level of transp ... More >>

Bath Salts in SoCal? Five Recent Freak-Outs That Signal a Zombie Apocalypse

Cops can never say for sure whether their suspect has been taking bath salts. Like "spice" (imitation marijuana), the synthetic drug is so popular because it can't be detected in urine tests. But unlike spice, which is banned across the country, only two of the 17 chemicals used to make bath salts ... More >>

Campbell's to Phase Out BPA in Cans

Campbell's Soup Co. has announced that it soon will stop using the notorious chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, in the linings of its cans, the Environmental Working Group reports. The move comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to decide by March 31 whether to ban the chemical's use in ... More >>

Marijuana's Top 5 Uses, From Real University Research

Here in California, marijuana is legal for just about any ailment you can dream up. And while medical cannabis supporters have argued that the drug is a harmless tool for grandmothers with cancer who want to forget their pain and spark their appetites, there has been plenty of academic research on ... More >>

Dial Soap Sued for Alleged False Pheromone Body Wash Claims

Thanks to our main ho at TheJayFK for giving us a heads up on this legal brief. "Dial" F for fail! A team of San Diego lawyers have filed a class action suit against Dial Corp. and its parent company, Germany-based Henkel, claiming that the company's Dial for Men Magnetic body wash does not live up ... More >>

Blowfish: FDA Approves Hangover Cure (No It's Not Fugu)

Conveniently in time for this weekend's New Year's Eve festivities, the FDA has finally approved a hangover cure: a pill called Blowfish. Designed by Brenna Haysom, a Manhattan-based Harvard Business School grad, and developed by Rally Labs LLC, the pill is a combination of aspirin and caffeine and ... More >>

The Year In Honey: The Must-Have "Bee" Book, Local Beehive Legislation, The Pollen Debate Our Favorite Honeys

backwardsbeekeepers.comBackyard Bee Supporters ​It's great DYI canning and preserving is back in full force, but this year we've been more focused on the original preservers: honeybees. And so in honor of the humble bees and beekeepers who have served us so dutifully -- in countless cups of te ... More >>

Ready Pac Recalls Bagged Romaine Salads

FDAToss your salad.​ Irwindale-based Ready Pac Foods Inc. is recalling 5,379 cases of bagged salad products containing romaine lettuce because they may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, Reuters reports. The voluntary recall includes a dozen different salad products including Caesar salad ... More >>

Marijuana Legalization Petition Gets Blown Off by Obama Administration

DEAObama is not your bud.​Admit it: You got all excited when President Obama opened up an online petition process -- promising to respond to top signature-getters -- and one advocating the full-legalization of marijuana went to the top of list. The president would have to respond. So he did. ... More >>

Lawsuit Against "Corn Sugar" Can Proceed

Guzzle & NoshWill the real sugar please stand up?​Big Sugar won the latest skirmish in the legal battle against Big Corn when a federal judge ruled that a recently filed lawsuit can proceed. Last month, a coalition of sugar farmers led by C&H Sugar Company filed suit against the Corn Refiners ... More >>

China's Restaurant Smiley System: Eating Based on Emoticons

nhburdick​ As most of us know, Los Angeles uses a grading system when it comes to rating restaurants after a safety inspection. A, B, C, etc. But according to China Daily, China is considering doing something a little more cutting edge: posting cartoon happy faces, straight faces and sad faces ... More >>

Sugar vs. High Fructose Corn Syrup: Court Battle Begins

Guzzle & NoshA little sugar in your bowl?​This morning in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, a bitter legal battle begins over identity. In one corner, a coalition of table sugar producers complaining about false advertising and attempted "food identity theft." In the other, high fructose corn ... More >>

Born to Act Up

Born This Way, or BPA? Research Suggests Exposure to Plastic Compound Makes Men More Feminine

​That explains it. New research suggests that exposure to the plastic compound BPA could not only be bad for the sex lives of men, it might cause them to "become demasculinized and behave more like females." Not our words people, but rather those of the University of Missouri, which this wee ... More >>

Four Loko Study: Caffeine Ingredient Further Impairs Judgement, But Actually Helps With Response Time

Joke's on you, squares​This isn't exactly what the FDA and Mothers Against Four Loko (aka, all of them) want to hear right now, or ever, but a new backfiery study out of Northern Kentucky University suggests that driving under the influence of Loko might be superior to driving under the influe ... More >>

Low Levels of Radiation Found in West Coast Milk: Far Below Levels of Concern, According to the EPA

Flickr/Ashley R. GoodNo need to fear milkshakes.​ According to reports from the New York Times and Associated Press, low levels of radioactive iodine from the compromised Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan have been found in milk in California and Washington state. Last week, tests of mi ... More >>

Four Loko Lawsuit: Phusion Projects Sued in SoCal for Shady Sale Tactics, Asked to Refund Every Last Loko

You are getting very thirsty...​Updated after the jump: How to get your $2.75 back, if the Four Loko case is won! Months after Phusion Projects pulled their "blackout in a can" off the nation's shelves and replaced it with a watered-down, far less enticing alternative (something of a ghetto p ... More >>

The FDA Weighs Tightening Regulations on Raw Milk Cheese

Adam Kuban/FlickrA Tomme de Savoie​ Somewhere in a smoke-filled boardroom, the Whey and Curds Committee is hunched over a heap of runny rounds with washed rinds, trying to figure out whether or not the Federal government ought to clamp down on cheeses made with unpasteurized milk. A recent Ne ... More >>

Four Loko Banned In New York City (What A Bunch Of Squares)

Ellie Bragg via The Daily Tar HeelNorth Carolina is now officially less shitty than New York​One by one, all the weak states are banishing Four Lokos -- those scary-tall $2-odd cans disguised in camo; part energy drink, part alcohol -- from their every last convenience aisle. The latest to ca ... More >>

Irvine-Based Botox Company Transcends Plastics, Sells Shares After FDA Approves Face-Plumper For Use On Chronic Migraines

TopNews.inI think I've got a migraine in my crow's feet too, Doc​Stock-market hawks saw this one from a mile away. Allergan shares jumped over 5 percent last week, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its anti-wrinkle housewife staple Botox for use on chronic migraine headache ... More >>

X-Rated Cereal Alert: Ochocincos Not Just For Kids Anymore

​Chad Ochocinco, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, 6-time Pro Bowl selectee and former player at Santa Monica City College, is known primarily for having legally changed his name (from Johnson) to the two numbers on his uniform, and for getting his own cereal, Ochocincos. Not anymore. As o ... More >>

Check Your Eggs: Millions Recalled Due to Salmonella

Flickr/stevendepolo​An outbreak of salmonella in eggs has prompted a nationwide recall and lead to hospitalizations in counties across the U.S., including in California, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Since May, at least 266 people across the state have become ill after eating contaminated ... More >>

Behold! Power of the Riff Festival Brings Mega Rock and Brutal Burgers to Echo Park

Behold! Power of the Riff Festival Brings Mega Rock and Brutal Burgers to Echo Park

The 10 Foods Most Likely to Make You Barf, According to the CDC

​ With recent food-borne illness outbreaks linked to alfalfa sprouts and romaine lettuce, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has re-released its list of what the group calls the top 10 riskiest foods regulated by the FDA, based on cases of illness reported to the Centers for Diseas ... More >>

Unintenionally Funny Culinary Ephemera and Food Ad Gallery

Food advertising may not be built to last forever, but it sure can be entertaining. Scan online ephemera collections and you'll quickly find a collection of tasty--and sometimes stomach turning--food advertisements that prove some promotional materials really should have a brief shelf life. Aspiri ... More >>

Plate Spinning: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- The 50 worst restaurants in the world. The fiction edition. [Chicago Tribune] -- How Alinea's Grant Achatz lost and found his sense of taste. [CNN] -- 10 Pepsi flavors you can't get in this count ... More >>

Food Safety Product ID: German Shopper Finds Poisonous Weed in Mixed Salad

University of WisconsinDo not eat this for dinner​This in from Berlin: A shopper buying a bag of salad in a Hanover, Germany, supermarket discovered a poisonous weed mixed into his mixed salad. Fortunately the shopper knew his plants, and was able to discern the difference between rocket and t ... More >>

12 Consumer Products That Should Not Have Exploded But Did: Recall-a-rama

In honor of April Fools, I give you a dozen consumer products (and one nuclear battleship) that should not have exploded but unfortunately did. Or, in the case of the ship, could. These are all true. (Except for the last one.) As usual, the joke is on the hapless consumer. 1. Electrolux Vacuum Cle ... More >>

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