Defective Products

A story in the politics section of the Huffington Post reveals that the Inspector General (IG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking into possible collusion between an EPA staffer and Monsanto. Documents and emails that have been released because of a lawsuit against Monsanto, manufacturer of the herbicide glyphosate, mention Jess Rowland, who…

The Ethicon Physiomesh hernia mesh is yet another implanted medical device that was pulled off the market because of higher than normal rates of revision surgeries and adverse effects. You would think that with all the rigorous research and testing that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires, these kinds of issues would not…

On April 10, 2017, two nonprofit organizations, Beyond Pesticides and Organic Consumers Association (OCA), filed a lawsuit on behalf of the general public in Washington, D.C. under the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. They are suing Monsanto for misleading the public by improperly labeling its popular weed killing herbicide, Roundup, which says that it is…

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and its cousin, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), are both common food and cosmetic ingredients that you’ve likely never heard of. Though they differ in origin (BHT is made from phenols, while BHA is made from butanol), they share a common origin in that they are refined from coal tar and other fossil fuel…

We talk about specific defective products all the time; usually, we’re writing about who might be affected or who has already been affected. However, we rarely stop to talk about just what defective means, and how medications, devices and products already on the market may be affecting millions of people right now. Despite stringent requirements…

By now, the dangers of fast food should carry little surprise. Pink slime, mechanically separated meat, meals that pack in twice the daily recommended value of calories or salt, high levels of MSG and enough cholesterol to kill three horses have all made headlines in the last decade. While education goes a long way, sometimes…

A 2013 Change.org petition that garnered more than 200,000 signatures challenged Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to remove the stabilizing agent known as brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from their beverages in the interest of public safety. In due time, the companies responded to the challenge and promised to remove the controversial chemical from their beverages. As of…

Earlier this year, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos swept the nation. The cheesy dissolving snack food got a boost from the addition of a host of ingredients, almost none of which had anything to do with heat and everything to do with creating the chemical version of a laboratory approved flavor. Almost every one of the ingredients…

You know that unnatural orange dust that clings to your fingers from a bag of cheesy crunchy snack food? That delicious sticky film is the result of making water-based dyes play well with oil-based flavors, and the main ingredient that helps it stick is the same one that helps your deodorant adhere to your skin:…