Tracy Davidson

As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.
With permission from the patients, [...]

As Toyota sought to contain the fallout from a California sudden-acceleration case involving a Prius, another driver’s out-of-control Prius slammed into a stone wall in New York on Tuesday.
A 56-year-old woman was pulling out of a driveway when her 2005 Prius “shot” across the road, Harrison, N.Y., police said. The driver, who was not immediately [...]

Toyota said on Tuesday it would fix all Tundra pickups sold in the United States for the 2000 to 2003 model years to address a risk that part of the truck’s frame could corrode, causing spare tires or even the gas tank to drop to the road.
In November, Toyota Motor Corp recalled 110,000 Tundras sold [...]

A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car’s accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.
Prius driver James Sikes said that the incident Monday occurred just two weeks after he had taken the vehicle in to [...]

Toyota, using results of testing it commissioned, will seek to rebut allegations that its cars’ electronics are at fault for unwanted acceleration.
A professor’s experiment, demonstrated in an ABC News report and described in congressional testimony, alleged that Toyota Avalon’s electronic controls were vulnerable to short circuits. Toyota’s report today says the experiment’s “highly artificial conditions” [...]

An unfolding recall of a commonly used flavoring ingredient found in a wide variety of foods could ripple through the entire food industry, experts say.
Four companies have recalled products linked to possible salmonella contamination since Feb. 26. Two were announced Wednesday and one Thursday. Given the broad use of ingredient, more are likely to come.
The [...]

Ten Toyota owners have told federal safety officials that the recall repairs didn’t work and that their cars still accelerate when they’re not supposed to.
That’s enough to trigger a robust response from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which was bashed in congressional hearings for not moving faster on years of Toyota unintended acceleration complaints.
“NHTSA [...]

After years of virtual silence about the labeling tricks food companies play on consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came out with a loud and clear statement that it will start cracking down on misleading, or flat out wrong, labels.
FDA officials sent warning letters to 17 food manufacturers, telling them that 22 different products [...]

Nissan is recalling 540,000 vehicles worldwide to fix faulty brake pedal pins and inaccurate fuel gauges.
The Japanese automaker’s North American division said no accidents or injuries have been reported, but the company is initiating the recalls based on three reports of brake pedal pins partially disengaging, hindering braking ability.
A separate, unrelated fuel-gauge issue can lead [...]

Toyota will roll out an aggressive incentive program for U.S. consumers in March, including zero-percent financing for five years and two-year free maintenance, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.
The new incentives, which will start Tuesday and run through March, come as the world’s biggest automaker attempts to connect with U.S. consumers after [...]