Coffee and eggs prices surged while butter cooled

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Coffee, eggs, and bacon saw the steepest year-over-year increases, with coffee up more than 22% compared to August 2024.

• Salted butter and cookies experienced the sharpest annual declines, offering rare relief for shoppers.

• Month-to-month shifts were modest, but bacon and organic eggs posted noticeable gains from July to August 2025.

Consumers are facing a mixed bag at the grocery store as price changes over the past 12 months highlight the volatility of household staples. The latest ConsumerAffairs Datasembly Shopping Cart Index, comparing August 2024 to August 2025 shows that while some items surged in cost, others eased, giving shoppers a patchwork of price pressures.

The biggest climbers: Coffee, eggs and bacon

The cost of breakfast staples rose sharply in August. The standout increase came from whole bean coffee (12 oz), which jumped from $11.86 in August 2024 to $14.50 in August 2025 a 22% spike. Coffees surge reflects ongoing supply chain disruptions and climate-related harvest challenges.

A dozen organic eggs also saw a substantial increase, rising from $5.38 to $6.45, a 20% jump year-over-year. This rise continues a trend tied to higher feed and distribution costs.

Bacon (16 oz) prices climbed from $8.12 to $8.82 in the same period, a nearly 9% increase, likely driven by persistent supply-side pressures in the pork industry.

Relief atcheckout: Butter and cookies slide

On the flip side, salted butter (1 lb) fell sharply, dropping from $6.23 in August 2024 to $5.34 in August 2025, a decline of over 14%. Dairy oversupply and easing production costs contributed to the decline.

Cookies (14.3 oz) showed one of the most dramatic changes, tumbling from $8.99 to $3.78, effectively cutting the cost by more than half. This drop may reflect discounting, reformulated product lines, or pricing corrections after a sharp spike the previous year.

Month-to-month movements

From July to August 2025, shifts were less dramatic overall. Still, bacon rose from $8.46 to $8.82 a 4.3% monthly gain while organic eggs climbed from $6.07 to $6.45, up about 6%.

Meanwhile, smaller declines were seen in pantry staples like pasta (down from $1.92 to $1.91) and potato chips (down from $4.04 to $4.02).

Despite sharp changes in individual products, the overall shopping cart cost dropped slightly from $152.69 in August 2024 to $151.90 in August 2025. That decline, however, may not feel like much relief to shoppers who are still paying significantly more for essentials like coffee, eggs, and bacon.

Excessive consumption may disrupt a key enzyme

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Mayo Clinic researchers have identified how excessive alcohol use can drive the development of fatty liver disease.

• The culprit is a disruption of a protein-recycling enzyme (VCP), which normally prevents fat buildup in liver cells.

• The findings may help predict who is most at risk from alcohol-related liver damage and guide new treatments.

Recent surveys have shown a decline in alcohol consumption, particularly among younger consumers. A new study suggests that to be a very healthy trend.

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has discovered a new biological mechanism that helps explain why excessive alcohol consumption can worsen or contribute to fatty liver disease a condition affecting more than one-third of U.S. adults and a leading cause of liver failure and cancer.

Also known as Metabolic DysfunctionAssociated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), fatty liver occurs when too much fat builds up in liver cells, or hepatocytes. These cells are responsible for filtering blood, processing nutrients, and breaking down damaged proteins.

Under normal conditions, fat from food is stored in small structures called lipid droplets inside hepatocytes, which the body later taps for energy. But when fat accumulates excessively, it can trigger inflammation, scarring, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer.

Alcohols impact on a key enzyme

The Mayo Clinic team zeroed in on a cellular enzyme called valosin-containing protein (VCP). VCP is essential for protein quality control: it works with a partner protein to move damaged proteins into structures called lysosomes, where they are broken down and recycled.

"We were surprised to see VCP removing a specific protein from the surface of the lipid droplet," said Mark McNiven, Ph.D., the studys senior author. "When that particular protein called HSD1713 accumulates, the fat content in liver cells balloons and contributes to fatty liver disease."

The study revealed that heavy alcohol consumption disrupts this process. Alcohol exposure nearly eliminates VCP from the lipid droplet surface, preventing it from removing HSD1713. Without this protective mechanism, HSD1713 builds up, increasing fat accumulation in the liver.

The Trump administration is trying to oust the CPSC's three commissioners

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar leads 25 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to safeguard the CPSCs independence.

• The move follows the Trump administrations attempt to oust three sitting commissioners.

• Consumer advocates warn political interference could cost lives and compromise product safety.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 25 other members of Congress have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, urging the court to preserve the independence and effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after the Trump administration sought to remove three sitting commissioners earlier this year.

At issue are the attempted dismissals of Commissioners Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Richard Trumka, and Mary T. Boyle, which critics say violated the law and threatened the nonpartisan mission of the CPSC.

The National Consumers League applauds Senator Klobuchar and her fellow amici for defending the spirit and letter of the law, decades of Supreme Court precedent, and the CPSCs ability to carry out its lifesaving mission, said Daniel Greene, Senior Director of Consumer Protection & Product Safety at the group.

The National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, and other consumer advocates also submitted a separate amicus brief, stressing that the agencys independence allows it to rely on scientific expertise rather than politics in protecting consumers from dangerous products.

The CPSCs independence ensures that the agency is mission-driven, guided by experts and science, and insulated from changing political tides, the groups wrote. Silencing the voices of subject-matter experts with whom you politically disagree does not improve government efficiency. It just leads to more unnecessary deaths and more unnecessary injuries.

The filing builds on previous advocacy efforts. In July, the National Consumers League organized a letter signed by more than 100 stakeholders urging the administration to stop its efforts to remove the three Democratic commissioners.

The FTC and Utah accused Pornhub of claiming to prohibit child sexual abuse material but failing to do so

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• The FTC and Utah accuse Pornhubs operators of profiting from child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NCM) despite claiming to prohibit it.

• As part of a settlement, Pornhub parent Aylo must pay $5 million to Utah and implement strict safeguards to block harmful content.

• The order requires Aylo to verify performers ages, remove unverified content, and adopt stronger privacy protections.

The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah announced sweeping enforcement action Wednesday against the operators of Pornhub and other pornography-streaming sites, accusing them of deceiving users while profiting from the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NCM).

As part of a proposed settlement, Pornhub parent company Ayloformerly known as MindGeekwill be required to implement a comprehensive program to prevent the publication of such material across its more than 100 pornographic websites, which include Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube. The Montreal-based operator must also pay a $5 million penalty to Utah, part of a $15 million judgment suspended after partial payment.

Pornhubs operators turned a blind eye to the proliferation of videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on its sites so it could profit off this exploitation, said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection.

FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, speaking alongside Utah officials in Salt Lake City, said the company inflicted grave harm on children and nonconsenting adults by promoting and distributing truly horrific material online. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praised the action as an important step in protecting people from some of the most harmful and exploitative material online.

Allegations of systemic failures

According to the FTC and Utahs complaint, Aylo misled consumers by claiming it had a zero tolerance policy for CSAM while in practice failing to:

• Review flagged videos promptly;

• Ban uploaders who shared illegal material;

• Prevent reuploads of previously identified CSAM;

• Verify the ages and consent of individuals in posted videos.

Investigators found that Aylo even promoted channels and playlists explicitly referencing underage and nonconsensual themes. The company allegedly only began limited audits in 2020 after pressure from credit card processors and damaging media reports.

The complaint also accuses Aylo of deceiving performers by failing to safeguard sensitive personal dataincluding Social Security numbers and IDscollected through its model program. The FTC said Aylo falsely claimed such data would remain secure, yet stored it without encryption or basic protections.

Required reforms

Under the proposed order, Aylo must:

• Establish a robust program to block CSAM and NCM;

• Verify that all performers are adults and gave consent;

• Remove all unverified legacy content;

• Post a notice of the FTC and Utah allegations on its websites;

• Implement a comprehensive privacy and security program.

The measures, regulators said, are intended both to hold Aylo accountable and to prevent future exploitation of children and nonconsenting adults.

New national survey shows the benefits men feel when activeand the health warnings they might be missing

• Researchers found that one in three men dont workout regularly despite reporting mental and physical health benefits.

• Most men who skip workouts notice real effects: fatigue or low energy (47%), irritability (33%), or a hit to their mental well-being (37%).

• Awareness is low about how issues like low libido (18%) or erectile problems (15%) may actually signal bigger health concerns like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or depression.

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Think about how often youve heard someone say working out gives them more energy, a better mood, and yesa confidence boost.

The Cleveland Clinics latest MENtion It survey confirms that many men do feel those benefits; however, nearly one in three still dont exercise regularly.

Men sometimes focus on their physical health, but mental and sexual health are just as important, and theyre all connected. When one area is off, it can affect the rest, Petar Bajic, M.D., director of the Mens Health Section at Cleveland Clinics Glickman Urological Institute, said in a news release.

Health challenges rarely happen in isolation and understanding that connection is key.

The study

A team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic reached out online to a panel of 1,000 U.S. men ages 18 and up in early June 2025.

The data, gathered via YouGov and weighted to represent adult American men, was collected between June 3 and 5.

The results

First off, 30% of the men involved in the study didnt work out regularly despite a majority saying they notice real downsides of skipping workouts. Among those who do exercise, 47% felt fatigue or lower energy when they skipped sessions, 33% got more stressed or irritable, and 37% experienced a dip in mental well-being.

Sexual health shows a similar story. A solid 61% say their physical fitness affects their sex drive, yet nearly 18% reported low sexual desire in the past year.

The researchers explained that many men dont realize these can be warning signs of something more serious. Specifically, 72% didnt know these signs can point to heart disease, 74% didnt know about links to diabetes, 65% were unaware of high blood pressure connections, and 59% hadnt heard mental health could play a role.

Stress was also a critical factor in the survey. Over 85% of the men surveyed reported feeling stress, anxiety, or mental exhaustion in a regular week.

The researchers found that two factors that play into that are comparisons to others online and body image concerns.

On the positive, 66% said that they have or would seek out help from a mental health professional.

When men are proactive about their health by exercising, getting regular screenings, exams, and prioritizing their mental health, it can help prevent many health problems and identify some when they are in early, curable stages, said Dr. Bajic.