Food and Drug Administration

6 Favorite Italian American Delis for Cold Cut Sandwiches

On May 28, the FDA will lift the USDA ban on imported Italian cured pork products. This means we'll finally get to enjoy artisanal salami from parts of Italy like Emilia-Romagna and Piedmonte. Although according to The New York Times, it remains to be seen how much will be made available to us, give ... More >>

Bionic Eye Is Here, Thanks In Part To Computer Chip By UCLA's Wentai Liu

Used to be if your eyesight went out, your eyesight went out. And maybe you'd end up looking like a pirate, eye patch and all. But UCLA's bioengineering professor Wentai Liu has invented what is being hailed as "the first bionic eye for the blind:"

Moms Take on Dye in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

A couple of U.S. moms with extra time on their hands (and perhaps a little self-promoting to do) perused the ingredients list for that all-time favorite kids food, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and noticed that it contains the dyes Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, which give it its distinctive cheesy-orange hue. ... More >>

Cheerios: 13 Varieties And Counting The Return of The Cheerios Kid

Walking through Target the other day, we were struck by something in the breakfast foods aisle. While most popular brands of cereal have a few varieties, Cheerios leads the way with a surprising array of flavors, which got us wondering: Do we really need dulche de leche Cheerios? Since the introduc ... More >>

Trader Joe's Butter Chicken Recalled for Listeria Risk

We're still fond of you, TJ's, and we're hoping we can work this out, but your empty promises about caring for our health and safety are beginning to make us sick (literally). Coming on the heels of recalls this year of barbecue chicken salad (Listeria, July) and peanut butter (Salmonella, Septemb ... More >>

How to Survive a Plague Review: New Doc About AIDS Organization ACT UP

Pepsi Is Tweaking Its Diet Soda Formula

PepsiCo Inc. is trying out new artificial sweeteners that would let its diet soda keep its sweet taste for a longer period of time, The Washington Post reports. The current sweetener used in Diet Pepsi -- aspartame -- loses its potency faster than high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener that's used ... More >>

Obama Foodorama Reports Conspiracy Theorists Not Amused By White House Pastry Chef's Molecular Gastronomy

Obama is in big trouble. Last election, he slipped by, almost tanking in the wake of the 2007 arugula dust-up. It was also reported, with near-devastating fall-out, that the would-be leader preferred wine to beer. And now, over four years later, the incumbent faces yet another scandal. It's not ... More >>

Afflicted With a Rare Disease Called HIBM, Daniel and Bobby Darvish Have Devoted Their Lives to Finding a Cure

10 Food Safety Tips for a Happier Summer BBQ

With summer and Father's Day right around the corner, barbecue season is here. Cooking and eating outside with family and friends are some of our favorite activities, but it's all too easy to make mistakes that could cause upset stomachs or worse. In fact, the rates of food-borne illness soar during ... More >>

Trader Joe's Chocolate Chips: Kosher Label Change Leaves Bitter Aftertaste

Trader Joe's has whipped up a big batch of customer frustration by changing the labeling on its popular semisweet chocolate chips to Kosher dairy. Until recently the chocolate chips were labeled Kosher parve, which meant they were dairy free and could be enjoyed by observant Jews after, say, a bowl ... More >>

Snoop Dogg Says He Wants to Smoke Out President Obama, Is Soon Arrested by Federal Officers

President Obama, what with his Hawaiian heritage, is one of the most laid-back presidents ever to sit in the ultimate seat of power. He once shook the hand of a Marine, which is outside protocol, and you just know that he plays it cool. But Snoop Dogg's recent suggestion is beyond the bounds of ev ... More >>

The Year in Food Recalls

It was a bad year for orange fruit (papayas, cantaloupes) and leafy greens (especially romaine). Ground turkey took a big hit (36 million pounds recalled), and raw milk products were pulled from shelves. Here's a look back at 2011 in food recalls, a year of E. coli conundrums, Listeria hysteria and ... More >>

McDonald's, Target Drop Egg Supplier Over Cruelty Concerns

Flickr/Calgary ReviewsMcDonald's will find a new egg source for its McMuffins.​ McDonald's and Target dropped one of the nation's largest egg suppliers after an animal rights group released an undercover video last Friday of the egg producer's farms in three states, according to the Associated ... More >>

Frozen Tuna Recall: Histamine Illnessess From Frozen Ground Tuna Grocery Sushi

sushi from AFC​ Another day, another food recall. The latest is of frozen tuna that has been linked to illnesses caused by elevated histamine levels. According to Food Safety News, the FDA found evidence of food decomposition and elevated histamine levels in frozen tuna packed by Osamu Corpora ... More >>

Four Loko Makes Fun of Hokey TV Journalism via Passive-Aggressive L.A. Billboard

America's assault on alcoholic energy drink Four Loko has been accepted with a surprising amount of maturity by Phusion Projects, the drink's manufacturer. Instead of firing back with truth bombs like "Loko doesn't kill people, people kill people" and "The fun of the many shan't be outweighed by the ... More >>

BPA Found in Kid-Friendly Canned Foods

Campbell'sDisney princesses may contain toxic chemicals​ Disney princesses may be toxic, and not just for sociological reasons. New testing by the Breast Cancer Fund has found BPA (bisphenol-A) in six brands of canned foods marketed to children, with the highest level in Campbell's Disney Prin ... More >>

Is the War on Food Terror Useless?

Associated PressThis California farmer was given money from the Department of Homeland Security to buy a lock for his dairy barn.​ A report released by the Associated Press yesterday, September 13th, found that the post-9/11 plan to protect the American food supply is mostly ineffective and u ... More >>

Crying Over Spilt Milk: Rawesome Volunteer Speaks Out on Yesterday's Raid Protest Rally

Tambako/Flickr​More details are emerging about yesterday morning's raid on Rawesome, a members-only raw food collective whose owner was arrested and jailed for the heinous crime of peddling raw milk. Most absurd and appalling is the fact that the raid was the result of a year-long undercover o ... More >>

Cops Raid Rawesome Foods; Owner James Stewart Arrested

Amy ScattergoodAuthorities raid Rawesome Foods in Venice, Calif.​[Update, 2:36 p.m.: The official word from the DA's office is that Stewart, Palmer & Bloch were arrested on criminal conspiracy charges stemming from the alleged illegal production and sale of unpasteurized goat milk, goat cheese ... More >>

The Five Most Hilariously Offensive Misuses of Classic Songs For Commercial Purposes

​ We were so excited when we saw the wooden box on our desk with the words "Bob Marley" branded into the top. A CD box set? Possibly--if we are very very lucky--a box set of 7"s? With little booklets that have liner notes full of interesting and amazing facts about one of the word's seminal p ... More >>

Is This Salad Illegal? The (Semi-)Illicit Thrill of Laphet Tote

Yoma Myanar's tea leaf salad​Up in San Francisco, the signature dish at the popular network of restaurants called Burma Superstar is a tangy, nutty salad so uniquely delicious, it should be illegal. In some Asian countries, it is.

Japan's Sake Brewers Want You To Drink Up

True Sake/Sven WiederholtA selection of premium sake from Tohoku at True Sake​Need a reason to feel good about drinking? Japanese sake makers could use your help. Hit hard by the twin natural disasters of earthquake and tsunami, what's really impacting these often small, family-run enterprise ... More >>

Marijuana Research Involving War Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Approved by Feds, Sort Of

'Born on the 4th of July'Tom Cruise as vet Ron Kovich.​Strange days for the pro-pot crowd. While medical marijuana is increasingly legal across the land (in 15 states and counting), and the administration of President Obama has had a strangely adversarial relationship to medicinal pot (after ... More >>

Phusion Projects Interview: Four Loko Creators Admit It Tastes Like Crap, Deny All Else

No amount of ice can freeze out the taste of fermented Windex​Finally, the wise men speak! Jeff Wright, Jaisen Freeman and Chris Hunter -- that notorious trio behind the cultural phenomenon turned public enemy that was caffeinated alcopop "killer" Four Loko -- defend their product in a March ... More >>

Orgasm Inc.

Food News Roundup: The Cheese Police, 1 Billion Anchovies Paula Deen Riding Things

-- The 15 best meatballs in New York City. [Marcus Samuelsson] -- Billions of dead fish invade Redondo's King Harbor Marina. [Daily Breeze] -- Bring Back the Poison Squad (that would be old school food-safety regulators). [Slate] -- Three Drinks Ahead, with Humphrey Bogart. [Modern Drunkard] ... More >>

LA Weekly Flickr Pool Reader Photo of the Day: Water, Water Everywhere

LA Weekly Flickr pool/SterlingDavisPhoto​ This LA Weekly Flickr pool photo comes to you from SterlingDavisPhoto. Because water is the recurrent motif of the last few days (weeks, really). And because water, bottled water at least, is considered food -- according to the FDA. Go figure. If you ... More >>

Top 10 Food Fights of 2010: Jonathan Gold, Rick Bayless, Whales More

Finger Food/L.A. Weekly Flickr Pool​Whether it involved whales vs. sushi chefs, critics vs. chefs or Jonathan Gold vs. "fill in the blank", 2010 was huge for food fights in Los Angeles. Here are the 10 most memorable tiffs of the year, the ones that set the Twitterverse afire. 1) The Cove Tea ... More >>

Top 10 Los Angeles Bans Of 2010: They Left Us Bagless, Smokeless And Puppyless, With Nary A Loko In Sight

​Updated after the jump: What kind of awards show would this be without a guest star? Nothing like a good hard ban to make life in this concrete jungle a little more oppressive. Between the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and most other governing bodies within county limits, politicians on ... More >>

LAX Food Prep Workers Cite Sanitation Problems, Labor Strife

Unite HereWorkers warn of unsanitary conditions at LAX facilities​ As if we need another reason to avoid airport food... Now, LAX workers warn that poor conditions at local food prep facilities may pose safety hazards to travelers. Workers responsible for in-flight food at 12 airlines held ... More >>

Countdown To The End, Day Two: Make It A Four Loko Christmas

All I want for Christmas is red and green drank​We know you were waiting for it: your official Four Loko gift guide. Warning: Buying everyone in your family Four Loko-related items this Christmas would be an extremely strange and disturbing thing to do. But if you don't mind playing the freak ... More >>

Countdown To The End, Day Four: 'Yale Health Chief' Sends Students FDA-Approved Loko E-Mail

YaleHe kind of does look like a Chief Loko, doesn't he?​It's an especially crazy day in the countdown to the end of the Four Loko era: It's Day Four, which calls for something really special. How about this awesome prank e-mail sent out a couple days ago by an anonymous Zuckerberg type who so ... More >>

Countdown To The End, Day Six: Disguise Your Pussy Iced-Tea Can With Four Loko Slip Cover

eBayTa-dah! Instant crazy​Though the weeklong countdown to the Four Loko funeral began just yesterday, scavengers have already raided L.A. liquor stores for every last Loke. (The little devil committed suicide in November under FDA intimidation.) And by scavengers, we may or may not mean us. ... More >>

Shock the Junkie

A hallucinogen called ibogaine has helped addicts kick heroin, meth and everything in between. Is it the trip that does the trick?

Jimmy Kimmel's 'National Unfriend Day' Is Almost Over -- But You've Still Got Time!

NNDBOnce mere "friends," Beer and Jimmy are now close without quotation marks​If you don't watch "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", and you wouldn't be the only one, you probably had no clue that today was the unofficial (or official, if you ask him) house-cleaning day for Facebook hoarders everywhere. Ki ... More >>

'The Pill' For Men Being Tested In L.A.

​The 50th anniversary of the female contraceptive pill occurred over the weekend, and now a "pill" for men is closer to reality as the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center recently announced its going to start testing a male contraceptive on patients. The in ... More >>

More Drinking From the Tap: Nestlé Bottled Water Sales Down

Nestle-waters.comNestle bottled water​A few weeks ago, we wrote about two new government reports that raised concerns about the safety of bottled water ("New Reports on Plastic Water Bottles: Question Your (Water) Sources & Just Drink From the Tap"), as well as the environmental impact of the ... More >>

Fresno-based Beef Packers, Inc. Issues Beef Recall Due to Salmonella Outbreak

Photo credit: KSEE24Beef Packers, Inc.​Beef Packers, Inc., a Fresno meat-packing plant, is recalling almost 900,000 pounds of ground beef products due possible salmonella contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall today. ... More >>

Nestle Recalling Cookie Dough: Make Your Own Damn Cookies

Nestle USA Nestle's cookie baking instructionsNestle is issuing a voluntary recall of raw Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough, after the FDA and the CDC began investigating E. coli illnesses possibly relating to the product. A number of consumers reportedly became sick after consuming raw Toll H ... More >>

LA People 2009: Krazy Ketchup Ladies — Erin Rosen and Laila Bowden

Movie Reviews: Secret Sunshine, Awake, The Amateurs

Also Paul Schrader’s The Walker, Timber Falls, Oswald's Ghost and more

Drug Race

The dulling of the American mind

Sympathy for the Devil

Everything you thought you knew about steroids is wrong

Turn On, Meet God, Get Straight

An African root bark may offer clues to addiction — if only it were legal to study

Tough Roe to Hoe

Who will fight the next battle for choice?

Set Em' up, Buddy

Acting Up

Dissident gays anger veteran activists by calling for end to AIDS funding

How Good is Olestra?

Depends