Consumer News: Publix frozen blueberry recall upgraded to FDA’s highest threat level

In some cases, the agency says non-disclosure may be illegal

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The FTC is warning retailers that secretly using consumers personal data to determine the prices they see could violate federal consumer protection law.

• The agency says retailers should clearly disclose when prices are personalized and what types of consumer data are being used.

• The proposal follows an FTC investigation into surveillance pricing, which can draw on information such as location, browsing history, purchases and online shopping behavior.

Congress has yet to act on legislation to outlaw surveillance pricing, but the Federal Trade Commission is warning retailers that quietly use consumers personal information to decide how much they should pay could run afoul of federal consumer protection law.

The FTC released a proposed enforcement policy this week aimed at so-called personalized or surveillance pricing, in which businesses use information about individual shoppers to determine the prices or offers they see.

The agency said companies should clearly tell consumers when a price has been personalized and explain both the basis for the personalization and the types of personal data used. Failing to make those disclosures could constitute an unfair or deceptive practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act, according to the proposal.

The FTC stopped short of seeking an outright prohibition. Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the commission does not have authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances. Instead, the proposal puts retailers on notice that secretly using personal data to alter prices could trigger enforcement action.

The concern is that increasingly sophisticated data collection and pricing technology could let a business estimate how much a particular shopper is willing to pay without the shopper knowing that someone else may be seeing a different price.

When consumers see a listed price, they expect it to be the same price that everyone else sees, not the retailers estimate of how much they are willing to pay based on their personal data, Ferguson said in announcing the proposal.

Browsing history, location and even abandoned carts could matter

The warning follows a multiyear FTC examination of surveillance pricing.

In January 2025, FTC staff reported that pricing intermediaries had access to a wide range of consumer information that could be used to tailor prices and promotions. That information can include a shoppers precise location, demographics, browsing and purchase history and even behavior such as mouse movements or products left behind in an online shopping cart.

The agency offered a hypothetical example in which a consumer identified as a new parent could be shown higher-priced baby thermometers more prominently based on that profile.

The FTC began investigating the industry in 2024, issuing information demands to companies that offered pricing products incorporating artificial intelligence, algorithms and consumer data. The inquiry sought to understand how those systems were being used and their potential effects on privacy, competition and consumers.

The new proposal draws an important distinction between personalized pricing and more familiar forms of changing prices.

A price that rises for everyone because demand increases, for example, isn't necessarily personalized. Nor does the FTC's proposal automatically prohibit loyalty discounts or targeted promotions. The agency is focused on situations in which personal information about an individual influences the price that particular person sees especially when consumers have no reason to expect it.

Retailers defend loyalty programs

Retail industry groups are watching the proposal closely.

The National Retail Federation emphasized the importance of protecting loyalty and rewards programs, which routinely use customer information to provide individualized discounts and offers. The Retail Industry Leaders Association has also argued that retailers have strong competitive incentives not to use personal information to raise prices because doing so could undermine customer loyalty.

That distinction could become important as regulators determine where personalized promotions end and potentially deceptive personalized pricing begins.

For consumers, the FTC's proposal could ultimately mean more disclosure at the point of sale. If a retailer is using information about a customer's behavior or characteristics to determine the price that customer sees, the agency says simply displaying the price may not be enough.

The FDA says there are sterility concerns

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• More than 39,000 bottles of Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief are being recalled nationwide because of concerns that the product may not be sterile.

• The recall covers 0.5-fluid-ounce bottles from lot 2552A with an expiration date of Sept. 30, 2027.

• The Food and Drug Administration has classified the recall as Class II, a designation used when exposure could cause temporary or medically reversible health problems, though the likelihood of serious consequences is considered remote.

Consumers are being warned to check their medicine cabinets after nearly 40,000 bottles of Clear Eyes eye drops were recalled nationwide because of potential contamination concerns.

Prestige Brands Holdings voluntarily recalled 39,060 bottles of Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief after a manufacturing issue led to a lack of assurance that the product is sterile, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's enforcement information. The recall was initiated July 29 and classified by the FDA on Aug. 14. Recent reports have also detailed the nationwide recall.

The recall applies specifically to Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief sold in 0.5-fluid-ounce, or 15-milliliter, dropper bottles. The affected bottles are from lot 2552A and have an expiration date of Sept. 30, 2027. About 39,060 bottles are included in the recall.

The products were distributed nationwide.

Why were the Clear Eyes drops recalled? The issue involves a "lack of assurance of sterility," according to reports citing the FDA enforcement record. That means the sterility of the affected eye drops cannot be assured; it does not necessarily mean that every recalled bottle is contaminated.

Sterility is particularly important for products applied directly to the eyes because contaminated ophthalmic products can potentially cause infections.

The FDA designated the action a Class II recall. The agency uses recall classifications to indicate the relative health hazard posed by a recalled product. FDA guidance says recalls may initially be announced by companies before the agency completes its hazard assessment and assigns a classification.

A Class II recall generally means use of or exposure to a product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or that the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

How to identify the recalled Clear Eyes drops

Consumers who have Clear Eyes products at home should check the bottle and packaging carefully. The recall does not cover all Clear Eyes eye drops.

The affected product is:

Product: Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief
Size: 0.5 fl. oz. (15 mL)
Lot: 2552A
Expiration date: Sept. 30, 2027
Quantity recalled: 39,060 bottles
Distribution: Nationwide

Consumers with an affected bottle should follow the recall instructions associated with the product and avoid assuming other Clear Eyes products are included simply because they carry the same brand name.

Anyone who experiences eye pain, unusual redness, discharge, changes in vision or other concerning symptoms after using eye drops should seek advice from a health care professional.

Eventually, debt erodes the standard of living

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The U.S. national debt is hovering around $40 trillion, according to the latest available Treasury Department data.

• Rising debt doesnt automatically make household borrowing more expensive, but persistently large federal borrowing can put upward pressure on longer-term interest rates and leave the government spending more of its budget on interest.

• For consumers, the longer-term consequences could show up through higher borrowing costs, slower economic growth or difficult choices in Washington over taxes and government spending.

The federal governments debt is approaching another major milestone, and while $40 trillion may be difficult for the average household to put into perspective, the consequences of an increasingly indebted government could eventually become much more tangible.

The U.S. Treasury Departments latest available daily figures put total public debt outstanding at roughly $39.9 trillion in August. Of that, about $32.2 trillion is debt held by the public, with the remainder consisting largely of intragovernmental holdings. Treasury updates its Debt to the Penny figures at the end of each business day.

The national debt represents the accumulation of years in which federal spending, along with other financing needs, has exceeded revenue. When the government runs a budget deficit, it generally borrows to make up the difference by issuing Treasury securities.

And deficits remain large. The Congressional Budget Office projects a federal budget deficit of about $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026. Debt held by the public is projected to equal roughly 101% of the nations gross domestic product this year.

For consumers, however, the most important question isnt simply how large the debt gets. Its what happens as the government has to borrow more money and pay interest on what it has already borrowed.

More debt means a bigger interest bill

Just like a household carrying a large credit card balance, the federal government has to pay interest on its debt.

The scale is already substantial. CBO projects that net federal interest spending will total about $1.04 trillion in 2026. By 2036, it projects annual net interest costs of more than $2.1 trillion, assuming current laws generally remain in place.

That matters because money spent servicing debt is money Congress cannot use for other priorities without raising additional revenue or borrowing even more.

Over time, lawmakers facing higher interest costs could confront tougher decisions involving taxes and federal spending. Those decisions could potentially affect programs, benefits and services that households use, although exactly how Congress would respond is a political choice rather than an automatic consequence of reaching a particular debt level.

How debt affects citizens

Could the national debt make mortgages and other loans more expensive?

Potentially, but the relationship isnt as simple as the national debt rising one day and mortgage rates increasing the next.

The federal government competes with other borrowers for capital. When Treasury needs to issue large amounts of debt, investors may demand higher yields to hold those securities, particularly if they become concerned about inflation, fiscal sustainability or the supply of government bonds.

Higher Treasury yields can ripple through financial markets because Treasury securities serve as benchmarks for many other interest rates.

That means persistently higher government borrowing costs can contribute to higher rates on products such as mortgages, business loans and some other forms of consumer credit.

Federal debt is only one factor influencing borrowing costs. Federal Reserve policy, inflation expectations, economic growth and conditions in financial markets can have much larger effects at any given moment.

CBO currently projects the yield on 10-year Treasury notes will rise from about 4.1% in 2026 to 4.3% in 2027 and gradually increase over the following years as investors demand a larger premium for holding longer-term bonds.

For a homebuyer, even relatively small differences in long-term interest rates can translate into significant changes in monthly payments over a 30-year mortgage.

The bigger concern may be years away

There is no universally agreed-upon level at which the national debt suddenly becomes a crisis. The United States also has significant advantages as a borrower, including a large economy and the dollars central role in the global financial system.

The concern among budget analysts is instead the trajectory.

CBO projects that debt held by the public will climb from roughly 101% of GDP in 2026 to 120% by 2036, exceeding the previous record set following World War II. If current policies broadly continued beyond then, CBO projects the ratio would keep rising.

At the same time, net interest payments are projected to rise from 3.3% of GDP in 2026 to 4.6% in 2036. Rising interest expenses account for much of the projected growth in federal deficits over that period.

A sustained increase in federal borrowing can also reduce the amount of capital available for private investment over the long run. Less investment can mean lower productivity and slower growth in wages and living standards than would otherwise occur.

Those effects tend to develop gradually, making the national debt less like an unexpected bill arriving in consumers mailboxes and more like a growing constraint on the economy.

What consumers should watch

For households, the $40 trillion headline may be less useful than several numbers connected to it.

One is interest rates, particularly yields on longer-term Treasury securities, because they can influence borrowing costs throughout the economy. Another is the annual federal deficit: Continued trillion-dollar deficits mean the government is likely to keep adding substantially to its debt.

Consumers can also watch federal interest expenses. The faster those costs rise, the greater the pressure they can place on the rest of the federal budget.

Finally, future tax and spending proposals may become increasingly important to household finances as lawmakers debate how or whether to slow the growth of the debt.

For now, a national debt approaching $40 trillion does not mean an immediate financial shock for American households. But if debt continues rising faster than the economy for decades, consumers could increasingly feel its effects through borrowing costs, economic growth and the choices Washington makes about where taxpayer dollars go.

What parents can do when AI becomes a homework crutch

• The best AI tutor shouldn't simply hand over answers. Look for tools that break problems into steps, ask questions, and make your child do the thinking.

• Set one simple rule: Try it yourself first. If your child reaches for AI before attempting the problem, it may be becoming a homework crutch.

• Test whether they're actually learning. Take the AI away and ask your child to explain or solve a similar problem on their own.

As students increasingly use artificial intelligence for homework help, parents face a new problem of figuring out whether AI is actually teaching your child or simply doing their homework for them.

ConsumerAffairs interviewed Ashish Bansal, a tech executive and father who created AI-powered math tutor StarSpark.AI, who says parents should pay less attention to whether AI gets the right answer and more attention to how it gets their child there.

Watch what happens when your child asks for the answer, Bansal told ConsumerAffairs. A real teacher doesn't just hand it over. It asks a question back, breaks the problem into steps, and makes the child do the thinking.

So before turning AI into your family's new math tutor, here are some ways to make sure your child is actually learning.

1. Give your child the closed-laptop test

There's an incredibly simple way to determine whether AI taught your child something.

Take the AI away. After your child gets help solving a problem, close the laptop or put down the phone and ask them to explain how they got the answer.

If they can, it's teaching, Bansal said. If they can't, it's copying.

You can take the experiment one step further by giving them a similar problem and see if they can solve it without AI.

This helps expose one of the biggest potential problems with AI homework assistance: It can make tonight's homework look successful without preparing your child for tomorrow's test.

Parents should also look at progress over several weeks. Are they getting faster? Are they asking for less help? Can they solve problems that previously gave them trouble?

Or are they returning to AI every time they encounter the same type of equation?

Pro tip: Once or twice a week, pick one problem similar to something your child completed with AI assistance and have them solve it without AI. Consider it a two-minute reality check.

2. Establish one simple rule: Try it yourself first

You probably don't need a 12-page family AI policy.

Instead, Bansal recommends starting with one straightforward rule: Try the problem yourself first. Then use AI to get unstuck.

That changes AI from an answer machine into something closer to raising your hand and asking a teacher for help.

The line is about who does the thinking, Bansal said. If the AI explains a step and your child does the work, that's help the same as a good tutor or a patient parent.

But if AI generates the completed answer and your child copies it?

They've only cheated themselves out of the learning, he said.

There's another behavior parents should watch closely: When does your child reach for AI?

If they read a difficult problem, struggle with it, and then ask AI to explain something, the technology is serving a useful purpose. If they open AI before even attempting the problem, it may already be becoming a crutch.

3. Look for these AI tutoring red flags

Parents shouldn't assume that something marketed as an AI tutor necessarily behaves like a good tutor.

Specifically, Bansal identified several warning signs worth watching:

• Your child can't solve the same type of problem without AI.

• It gives your child the final answer immediately.

• There's no dashboard, history, or progress report for parents.

• The AI regularly gets the math wrong.

That last one might be especially surprising. General-purpose AI chatbots can produce incorrect answers, according to Bansal, making accuracy something parents should consider when choosing a tool.

And don't be fooled by those overly confident explanations bots toss back to you. Its no secret that an AI response can sound absolutely convincing and still be wrong.

Pro tip: Before letting your child regularly use an AI math tool, give it several problems where you already know the correct answers. Also, ask it to explain why the answer is correct. By framing it this way, you're testing the tutor before letting the tutor test your kid.

4. Don't let AI become invisible

Bansal recommends keeping AI homework use out in the open rather than having kids disappear behind a closed bedroom door with it. That doesn't mean parents need to hover over every equation. Instead, periodically ask what your child is using AI for.

Specifically, have them show you an interaction. Is the AI asking questions and providing hints? Or is your child typing in homework questions and copying whatever appears?

When picking an AI tool to help your child, try to make sure theres a parent dashboard or chat history available. This can be super useful because it lets you see progress without constantly supervising.

StarSpark, for example, is designed around mastery, according to Bansal. Students move forward once they understand a concept, and the system walks them through steps rather than simply providing the final answer, even when they ask for it.

That's an important feature to look for in any AI tutor.

5. Know when your kid needs an actual person

AI has one significant limitation: It's not human.

A good tutor doesn't only understand math, they can also recognize when a child is frustrated, embarrassed, anxious, distracted, or ready to give up.

There's also built-in accountability when dealing with a human tutor. A tutor appointment is a fixed time, Bansal said. Your child has to show up and be ready.

That structure can be particularly important for children who struggle with discipline or motivation.

Bansal says a human may also be a better choice when a child has significant math anxiety, a diagnosed learning difference, or an IEP, or has fallen several years behind academically.

And sometimes the best solution doesn't have to be AI or a human. It can actually be both.

AI might provide everyday practice and quick homework assistance, while a tutor handles more difficult concepts and the motivational side of learning.

Parents can then provide the structure. You don't need to know the math, Bansal said. You just need to set the time, keep it consistent, and show your child it matters.