Tylenol has made at least 70 people sick at their stomach with: stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. [Flu-like symptoms; interesting, considering our recent H1N1 epidemic where people who were presumed to be infected only had the virus 1% of the time according to test results.]
The victims took Tylenol manufactured from ingredients contaminated with the broken-down by-products of a chemical used to kill fungus/mold on wooden shipping palettes. [The contaminated Tylenol products reportedly have a moldy/musty odor, ironically, due to the presence of the chemical.]
Rolaids have also been recalled. Some lots of them have the same contamination as the recalled lots of Tylenol. [Kind of bizarre you could: start off with a simple headache, get acute stomach ills from the contaminated Tylenol, take Rollaids to treat that, and get a second dose of contamination - increasing your illness further. And all this was being sold during the peak of the perceived H1N1 crisis which was measured by public health officials by symptoms - not by virus test results - when computing infection rate statistics.]
Neither Johnson and Johnson nor the FDA know how many packages of the medication sold to consumers nor currently in stores are affected by the recall. [More bad news for consumers: voluntary recalls like this one do not get all the product off store shelves (e.g. Bausch & Laum, Pet Food, and Sony malware-laced audio CDs.); and neither FDA nor the manufacturer seems to have one consolidated list of all of the recalled UPC/lot# codes, making it impossible for consumers to catch all the recalled items while shopping or after buying them. I found 3 web pages yesterday and included links to them in one of the first articles I posted about the recall here on current. Good luck; hopefully you can use that to get a head start building a complete list. Or, consider maybe a different brand of product is safer until the affected medications reach their expiration date.]Tylenol has made at least 70 people sick at their stomach with: stomach pains,... more
A well known brand of popular aches & pains medication is making people sick - at their stomachs.
A chemical for killing mold and fungus has accidentally gotten into the ingredients used to make Tylenol and Rolaids. Ironically, the contaminated medications reportedly sometimes contain a moldy, musty smell.
Studies on the effects of the chemical have not been done on humans yet. In this outbreak, people are getting diarrhea, stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, and so forth according to some of the recall information from the manufacturer at the FDA web site. The outbreak has been going on since at least 2008 which is when the complaints about the smell and symptoms were first received. The FDA has criticized the maker of the medication.
The initial recall started late in 2009 and affected products manufactured the previous year. However, it has been expanded. In all at least 27 different products - including those for aches, pains, headaches, children, and arthritis - are involved now.
There is a voluntary recall. Voluntary recalls do not make the recalled products disappear from store shelves as consumers expect.
They should, but they do not. This has been verified by authorities in the past when they did spot checks of retailers. Therefore, you need to get the recall list(s) yourself, before you go to the store.
The original recall did not recall as many products as the total now that are considered "voluntarily recalled" (unenforced/unmonitored recall).
So you might have to consult multiple sources to get the full list. In other words, scattered around the manufacturer's web site and the FDA.A well known brand of popular aches & pains medication is making people sick - at... more
Old habits are hard to break, especially with regard to the typical resources that we use on a daily basis. No one's saying that we shouldn't have comfortable lives, but one way to help all of us make lifestyle changes that will benefit Mother Nature without causing too much inconvenience for us is by embracing the redesign of basic household staples.
It wasn't just long-lost elderly relatives giving unwanted gift this Christmas. German-owned energy company Npower were at it too, cramming the already under-pressure postal service with 12 million low-energy light bulbs that households neither asked for nor required.
The packages are part of the company's legal obligation to cut carbon emissions but were sent out despite government advise that many would never be used.
Failure to meet its target for improving efficiency in homes would have led to a fine of more than £40 million, or 10 per cent of the Npower's turnover.
The Christmas delivery takes the amount of free or subsidised low-energy bulbs to 180 million in the past 18 months, leaving the average home with six unused ones.
A government scheme launched in 2008 grossly miscalculated the value of the energy saving bulbs and made the false assumption that every product received would instantly be used in the households most intensively used light sockets.
In reality, though, the bulbs were either stored or disposed of.
Energy companies can hit their targets in numerous other ways, including the much more effective insulation of solid wall homes. This, however, is seven times more expensive
It is estimated that insulating the external solid walls of a three-bedroom semi-detached house costs £8,760 leading to a saving of 18.08 tonnes of carbon. However, government projections claim the same figure can be reached by delivering 452 low-energy bulbs, at a total cost of just £1,342.
The ultimate loser, though, is the consumer. Companies can pass on all the costs of the scheme, with the expected average household energy bill to increase by more than £100 over the next three years.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change have themselves admitted the scheme is flawed.
'Government is increasingly concerned that the number of lamps already distributed has been so high that it may work out at more than the average number of highest-use light fittings in a house.
'As such, there is an increasing risk to carbon savings under the scheme.'
A spokeswomen for Npower admitted she did not know how many of the bulbs would be used.
'There is nothing under [the carbon emissions reduction target scheme] that means we have to get evidence that bulbs are being used. It's up to the customer,' she said.
Nooo, it's not going to take that much extra time out of your schedule. Just devote a minute or two to review this list of ideas -- chances are pretty strong that you're going to find at least one way to turn your spent tree into a Christmas phoenix!
Particularly during the holiday season, we are all geared toward giving our credit cards a serious work out, but the cost reaches far beyond the sting it leaves in our bank account. The business of advertising generates a vast amount of waste, but one company has cornered the market on capturing our consumer consciousness without harming even one drop of oxygen on Mother Nature's ethereal head. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time to take a look!
They say that everything old is new again, and in our current economy, evidence of yesteryear's frugal trends is as palpable as the leg warmers teenyboppers are wearing to the mall.
From swapping and bartering to offering up entirely free household goods to eager takers, it's all become big business online...which also happens to be "good, green business."
Utilizing current technology, many companies offer the economical a number of fantastic opportunities to earn rebates and access special coupons and deals that reduce the cost of everyday expenses.
Yes, these are real and available just in time to nip our consumer panic in the bud -- now you know exactly what to give to the greenie in your life...or not!It sure is getting chilly outside, and as the temperatures plunge, the majority of us... more
In a few weeks, representatives from around the world will convene in Copenhagen, under the auspices of the United Nations, to focus on a new international agreement on climate change. This is a very important moment for the world. The world needs the US to set an example, something that could be achieved should the bill concerning the reduction of carbon emissions be passed. However, the bill, currently being discussed by the Senate, will probably not be passed in time for Copenhagen. Polls also indicate that ordinary Americans are becoming less engaged with climate change issues. In Europe and many other places in the world, like South America, the concerns are much higher together with the expectations for a good deal but it is also realistic to say that in Copenhagen ‘’we will not be able to conclude a treaty," Angela Merkel said during a meeting with EU leaders. Arguments claiming that the costs are too high are not necessarily true since a strong agreement in Copenhagen is essential for global economic recovery.
Intelligent companies and clever countries like the UK are working to better understand—and cut—those carbon emissions (which Copenhagen aims to reduce) ahead of new regulations and use ‘’Carbon Neutrality’’ or Carbon reduction schemes as a competitive advantage for their investors, customers and society’s environmental expectations. This is mainly achieved through the consistent and appropriate use of Sustainability strategy and reporting. Nowadays corporate management practice undergoes serious transformation due to a well-established trend towards a sustainable development approach, especially amidst the global financial and economic crisis.
We limit the combined total dollar amount of item-labeled produce that any single grower can sell under our two item labels to less than $1 Million US dollars annually. This is our small effort to even the playing field between larger and smaller farms. Research shows that larger farms, particularly those with annual revenues in excess of $1 Million per year have a significant competitive advantage as compared to small family farms. Top 10 Produce LLC will invite socially conscious consumers to play a role by alerting the consumer that our brand provides a strategic advantage in favor of smaller farms, and by reminding buyers that we only license independent growers. 100% of our items have a transparency enabling barcode.
This item level barcode will be scanned by mobile phones to tell the consumer about the farmer, whether the produce is locally grown (including a map showing the location of the farm as compared to their current location based on their cell phone's GPS ), and anything else the consumer is interested to know about that produce item. Consumer reviews of fresh produce will be available to shoppers and chefs alike.
Suggestions are encouraged and welcome, so please share thoughts, concerns, criticisms and questions. We are listening carefully.We limit the combined total dollar amount of item-labeled produce that any single... more
Check these free consumer review websites before making big purchases like appliances, automobiles or electronics. Also try our number two pick, Angie’s List, to find reviews on service providers in your area.Check these free consumer review websites before making big purchases like appliances,... more
China has been looked down as the land of pirated products for a while. Now, that's a bad image about to be turned into something good.
Chinese fakes might rescue the interests behind technology: from corporations back to consumers.China has been looked down as the land of pirated products for a while. Now,... more
Since taking office as the President of the United States, President Obama has encountered crisis after crisis. His next major crisis will be oil prices.Since taking office as the President of the United States, President Obama has... more
Who loves their toys -- yaayyyy, we all do!! We weren't magically born with the need to consume, though...it was slowly bred inside of each and everyone of us over time. It didn't take long, mind you -- just a few strategic advertising campaigns and we soon realized that STUFF was our new bestest, most awesomestttt friend.
The problem is that once our shiny plastic toys lose their luster, they end up clogging landfills and bodies of water. Surely there's got to be a more sustainable way to entertain shiny happy people without making Mother Nature choke on our discards? Why yes.....take a look and offer your feedback!Who loves their toys -- yaayyyy, we all do!! We weren't magically born with the... more
What motivates a green consumer? This independent film encompasses what it means to consumers to buy green and sustainable products. See the trends associated with buying green and find out why you yourself may want to change your own consumption habits.
Film interviews consumers, college students, and college professors to analyze what it means to be a green consumer, and what it means to the consumer themselves.What motivates a green consumer? This independent film encompasses what it means to... more
The economy is still spooking shoppers. U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween this year, down from $66.54 in 2008, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
(Reuters, 2009, September 29, par.1)
Moreover, only 62.1 percent of those surveyed said they expected to celebrate the holiday this year, compared with 64.5 percent last year. Economic hurdles and the turmoil in financial markets has made consumers mindful of spending. Last year's holiday season was the worst in nearly 40 years by some measures and early forecasts for the 2009 holiday season call for sales to be anywhere from up 2 percent to down 1 percent.
(Reuters, 2009, September 29, par.2-3)
An International Council of Shopping Centers forecast appears to be the most optimistic so far, calling for a rise in holiday sales of 1 percent to 2 percent. Halloween usually lands about a month before the Thanksgiving holiday. The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional start of the winter holiday shopping season in the United States. Eighty-eight percent of consumers who said the economy hurt their Halloween spending plans also planned to spend less, the survey showed.
(Reuters, 2009, September 29, par.4-6)
Among other things, consumers planned to cut down on candy purchases, to reuse old decorations or make their own costumes. That could mean more pressure on retailers to stock up on attractive, yet affordable Halloween items. The survey, conducted for NRF by market research firm BIGresearch, polled 8,526 consumers from Sept. 1 to Sept. 9 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percent.
(Reuters, 2009, September 29, par.7-8)
[IMAGE: farm4.static.flickr.com]The economy is still spooking shoppers. U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of... more
