Green Options

This has been the worst year Toyota has ever had for recalls (4.8 million), but so far its reputation for quality seems to be weathering the storm. Even with the sudden acceleration issues, rust problems, deaths, and Toyota’s generally poor handling of it all, consumers so far seem to be willing to forgive. Granted, Toyota’s sales numbers are off by about 24% this year, but I think that largely mirrors the same declines most automakers are seeing, rather than some cognizance of quality problems on the part of the consumer.

Regardless of Toyota’s issues, certainly the Prius has remained a strong competitor in the US, with the 2010 Prius receiving good reviews and stomping the feet of the other hybrid players. The Honda Insight has been universally panned as a bad car—so it’s essentially DOA—and even though the only major competition, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, has received rave reviews—including one from yours truly—the Prius still outsells all the other hybrids combined.

Yet is Toyota’s Prius reputation on track to take a hit in the coming year with reports of brake failures starting to rise? If so, it could mark a major setback for a company apparently on track to use the luster of the Prius name to drive sales of a whole subset of dedicated hybrids as well as another, and potentially more disastrous, blemish on Toyota’s name.

If you feed your little one Plum Organics, here’s a baby food recall you need to know about. The organic baby food company issued a voluntary recall yesterday due to a botulism danger. The only product affected is the Apple and Carrot Portable Pouch, which comes in a 4.22 ounce bag.

The pouches are being pulled from store shelves because of a potential risk of Clostridium botulinum contamination, which can cause botulism, a sometimes life-threatening condition that you clearly don’t want to mess around with.

In a letter on the Plum Organics website, founder Gigi Lee Chang explains that “after a routine test determined the formulation was incorrect. Plum Organics immediately investigated the matter and confirmed that a mixing error was to blame which resulted in an improper blend of carrots and apples.”

After my family and I enjoyed several handfuls of pistachios at a get- together last weekend, I was surprised to hear yesterday about the latest food recall.

Federal food officials are warning Americans to avoid any food containing pistachios because of possible salmonella contamination.  (Just like the recent problems with peanuts.)

All of this food recalling makes a person wonder if anything is really safe to eat anymore?

Faulty fuel tank support straps in new H3T latest setback for GM

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for General Motors, they did. The financially beleaguered automaker announced a recall of 1,738 of its new Hummer H3Ts on Friday, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a weak support strap could cause the H3T’s gas tank to fall off, “Increasing the risk of crash.”

With all the bad news lately about salmonella-tainted peanut butter in processed food products, isn’t it high time we had a peanut butter story we could feel good about?

MaraNatha Nut Butters offers a wide variety of natural and organic nut butters which are super-yummy.  And they are not involved in the current PCA recall.

Every day, the news is just getting worse and worse.  More and more products, including natural and organic ones, are being recalled in the US and Canada.  Our faith in our entire food supply system is being tested.

But there is some good news.  Not all food manufacturers use peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America.  And while we certainly should not become complacent, there is also no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater… or, in this case, with the peanut butter.

Five adults have died with salmonella infection and Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) may be the cause of the outbreak.

Kudos to Kellogs for preemptively pulling their cookies from the shelves. Yeah, I said that, Kellogs, pimpmaster of all things packaged,  high fructose, genetically modified, partially hydrogenated, frankenfood. Yeah, they’re doing the right thing.

Instead of getting coal in their stockings, this year’s naughty (and even nice!) children may get lead. The economic downturn may have some folks buying cheap and possibly dangerous toys.

Tell a friend, tell a neighbor, tell everyone you know.

Johnson and Johnson has issued a recall of their very popular Gas Relief drops. About 12,000 units of Mylicon drops to relieve gas for infants were recalled Monday because some bottles could include pieces of metal. Yes, metal.

As if being a new mother isn’t difficult enough.

The recalled bottles are from lots SMF007 and SMF008. These numbers are printed on the bottom of the box and on the lower-left side of the sticker on each bottle.

If you have a fussy baby and you suspect it’s gas try these old fashioned remedies. All of them might not work for you, but you only need one silver bullet.

This article posted on CNN absolutely infuriates me.

The story is a warning about a nipple cream, Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream (a “natural” cream that is lanolin free and made with shea butter and calendula), which is SUPPOSED to sooth cracked and sore nipples. Instead, it causes respiratory distress, vomiting and diarrhea in infants.

That’s bad enough - but this quote made me crazy.

“FDA is particularly concerned that nursing infants are being unwittingly exposed by their mothers to this product with dangerous side effects,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

I get the point - but as a mother, that reads like these nursing moms are strapping guns to their breasts.