The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Huge ground beef recall expanded to 12 million pounds

JBS Tolleson Inc. is recalling an additional 5.1 million pounds raw beef products, which were produced and packed from July 26 to Sept. 7, because the meat may be contaminated with Salmonella Newport. This is an expansion of the Oct. 4 recall in which 6.9 million pounds of raw beef products were recalled.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is concerned that some ground beef may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The raw beef items, including ground beef, have the establishment number “EST. 267” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to a retail locations and institutions nationwide. The affected brands include Kroger, Cedar Farms, and Showcase.

President George H.W. Bush: Not a consumer champion

As President George H.W. Bush is being positively eulogized, it’s important to remember that Bush, as often is the case with most Republican, was more interested in helping business interests than consumers.

Here are some examples of how the Bush administration, and the Republican Party, have failed consumers:

But by and large, [George H.W.] Bush was an establishment president. This meant that he did not fundamentally try to fix the inequities wrought by the American model. He escalated, for instance, Reagan’s War on Drugs – leading to the mass incarceration of African-Americans, a blight that still ails the country to this day. The New Statesman

President Bush signed the biggest rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law in a quarter century, making it harder for debt-ridden Americans to wipe out their obligations. NBC News

New non-stick chemical nearly as toxic as the ones it replaced, EPA says

GenX, introduced a decade ago as a “safer” alternative for the non-stick chemicals PFOA and PFOS, is nearly as toxic to people as what it replaced, according a recently released Environmental Protection Agency study. 

The EPA published a draft toxicity review for GenX and a related compound called PFBS, both part of the PFAS family of chemicals. The Environmental Working Group’s analysis of EPA’s assessment shows that very tiny doses of GenX and PFBS could present serious health risks, including harm to prenatal development and the immune system, liver, kidney, or thyroid.

“It is alarming that, 12 years after DuPont, 3M and other companies, under pressure from EPA, began phasing out PFOA and PFOS, we find that replacements like GenX are nearly as hazardous to human health,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., senior scientist at the EWG.

What do the new labels for romaine lettuce mean?

Romaine lettuce growers are beginning to label their lettuce with information on where it was grown and the date it was harvested

The labels are voluntary, so if the romaine lettuce isn’t labeled, don’t buy it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises.

The FDA has indicated that the romaine lettuce involved in the most recent E. coli outbreak was likely harvested from central and northern California growing regions. However, production in that area has now over and most domestic romaine production has moved to Arizona for the winter.

Two more blood pressure medications recalled due to possible cancer risks

Teva Pharmaceuticals is recalling all lots of combination tablets featuring the drugs amlodipine and valsartan and another combination drug featuring amlodipine, valsartan, and hydrochlorothiazide due to an impurity detected.

The impurity is N-nitroso-diethylamine or NDEA, which has been classified as a probable human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The combination tablets are used for treating high blood pressure. Teva hasn’t received any reports of adverse events signaling a potential link or exposure to valsartan, according to a statement from Teva posted by the FDA.

Have the interest rates gone up on your credit cards?

Many consumers sign up for credit cards without paying too much attention to the interest rate. They may not notice that the credit card issued by a retailer has a much higher interest rate than one they’d get from Visa or Master Card.

In the past several years, credit card interest rates and debt have risen substantially, increasing consumer costs by tens of billions of dollars each year. For example, interest rate on credit card accounts rose steadily from 12.95 percent in 2013 to 16.46 percent in August 2018, an increase of 27 percent, according to Federal Reserve Board data. The credit card interest rate is the highest in this century.

These interest rate increases are going to make holiday purchases with credit cards more expensive. Consumers with high credit card debt levels should be cautious about increasing their debt during the holiday season, said Steve Brobeck, a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America.

Scam artists trying to get information from new Medicare cards

The new Medicare cards have now been mailed to recipients in most states.

The cards have a new Medicare number that’s unique to you, instead of a Social Security number. This helps protect your identity. Carrying the old cards around in your pocketbook or purse meant that if either were stolen, the thief would have your Social Security number. I’ve wondered for years why this change wasn’t made. 

You should only give your new Medicare number to doctors, pharmacists, other health care providers, or your insurers.

Scam artists are busy trying to get your Medicare information by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call Medicare at 800-633-4227.

Ultra-Low NOx water heaters being recalled by A.O. Smith due to fire hazard

A.O. Smith is recalling about 616,000 Ultra-Low NOx water heaters.

The water heater’s gas burner screen develops tears. The water heater’s burner can then create excess radiant heat, posing a fire hazard if the water heater is installed directly on a wood or other combustible flooring.

A.O. Smith has received six reports of fires occurring from a water heater installed directly on a combustible surface.  No injuries have been reported.

This recall includes 30-, 40-, and 50-gallon natural or propane gas-fired Ultra-Low NOx emission gas water heaters. They’re designed to comply with regulations in certain air quality districts in California, and were sold primarily in California. They were sold under the American, A. O. Smith, Kenmore, Reliance, State, U.S. Craftsmaster, and Whirlpool brand names and were manufactured from April 8, 2011 through August 1, 2016.

Don’t eat romaine lettuce, CDC warns

It’s no joke, although lots of social media posts are touting how chocolate and other fattening products are now better for you than lettuce.

U.S. consumers shouldn’t eat any romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants shouldn’t serve or sell it due to an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 infections linked to romaine lettuce.

Consumers who have any romaine lettuce in their home shouldn’t eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Tips to help consumers protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

As millions of holiday shoppers head out for Black Friday shopping and take to their computers for Cyber Monday, it’s important to remember that just because items are supposedly on sale, all may not be what it seems.  

“When purchasing gifts for family and friends, we encourage consumers to use our tips to protect themselves against fraudsters and scams,” said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood  

Underwood offers the following tips for consumers shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: