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The alert covers two Grace varieties, regardless of the product date

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Federal food safety officials have issued a public health alert for Grace chicken Vienna sausages illegally imported from Jamaica.

• The regular and Hot & Spicy varieties were distributed to retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Texas.

• Consumers should not eat the affected products and should discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a public health alert for canned Grace chicken Vienna-style sausages illegally imported from Jamaica.

Jamaica is not eligible to export meat or poultry products to the United States, FSIS said in its October 6 announcement. The agency is investigating how the products entered the country.

The alert covers 140-gram cans of Grace Ready to Eat Chicken Vienna Sausages and Grace Ready to Eat Chicken Vienna Sausages Hot & Spicy. Both bear the establishment number EST. NO G-01 inside the Jamaican inspection mark. All product dates are covered.

The importer distributed the cans to retail locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Texas. Federal inspectors discovered the issue during routine surveillance of imported products already in commerce.

What to do

FSIS reported no confirmed illnesses or injuries associated with eating the sausages. However, officials are concerned that consumers may still have cans in their pantries. Anyone who purchased the affected products should avoid eating them and either throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.

Anyone concerned about an illness or injury should contact a health care provider.

Questions about the alert can be directed to Sandra Campbell at 305-887-9523 or purecaribbeandist@gmail.com. Consumers with general food safety questions can reach the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or MPHotline@usda.gov.

Parents should stop using the swings immediately

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Pacearth Direct is recalling about 110,550 swing seats because the seats or hanging components can break during use.

• The company has received at least 30 reports of falls, including nine injuries.

• Consumers should stop using the swings immediately and request a full refund.

Pacearth Direct is recalling about 110,550 PACEARTH swing seats sold on Amazon because components can break, exposing users to potentially serious fall injuries.

The Oct. 8 recall covers U-type seats sold individually or in two-packs. Reported injuries include fractures, head injuries and bruising, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The swings came in colors including green, blue, pink, red and turquoise, with chains covered in yellow plastic. Included metal carabiners or quick links and yellow webbing straps attached the swings to outdoor swing sets or tree branches.

What to do

They were sold from May 2017 through June 2026 for $27 to $57.

To receive a full refund, owners should write RECALLED on the seat with permanent marker, photograph it with the PACEARTH logo visible, and email the photo to recall@pacearth.com.

The state alleges the insurer inflated costs while squeezing medical providers

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has sued Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, alleging anticompetitive practices increased insurance costs and reduced access to care.

• The state says the insurer controls 65% of Michigans health insurance market and 79% of its preferred provider organization market.

• Blue Cross disputes the states characterization, saying it faces strong competition from local and national insurers. michigan.gov

As healthcare costs continue to rise, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan of maintaining an illegal monopoly that has left consumers paying more for health coverage while receiving diminished access to medical care.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleges violations of federal and state antitrust laws. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Company is the sole named defendant.

Nessel alleges the insurer worked with other Blue Cross Blue Shield entities to divide territories and customers, restrict insurance offerings and suppress competition. According to the complaint, those arrangements also prevented meaningful competition for the contract to administer Michigan state employees medical benefits, allowing Blue Cross to overcharge the state.

For households and employers, the suit alleges the consequences include higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. The complaint cites 2026 annual premium increases filed by Blue Cross of 23.3% to 24% for individual plans and 11.2% for small-group coverage.

The state also alleges Blue Cross used its bargaining power to push payments to medical providers to unsustainable levels, sometimes below the cost of delivering care. Nessels office argues that those pressures contributed to staffing reductions, service cuts and facility closures. These are allegations that have yet to be decided by the court.

Company response

Blue Cross challenged the attorney generals account in a statement reported by the Huron Daily Tribune.

We were blindsided by this announcement by the Attorney General, the company said.

The insurer said it had not yet been served and could not address the cases specific merits. However, it disputed the claim that Michigans insurance market lacks competition, saying strong local and national insurers compete with it daily. It also pointed to nearly 90 years of providing coverage throughout Michigan as a foundation of its success.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent court order stopping the alleged anticompetitive practices, along with damages, repayment of improperly obtained gains and civil penalties. Nessels stated goal is to lower costs and improve access to health services for Michigan residents.

Weight-loss drugs make eating less easier, but experts say it's also a chance to build lasting habits

• Reduced "food noise" may create an opportunity to work on eating and exercise habits without constantly fighting cravings and thoughts about food.

• Protein and resistance training deserve particular attention because weight lost on GLP-1 drugs can include lean mass as well as fat.

• Don't wait until you're stopping the medication to start practicing new behaviors. Research suggests habits can take months to become automatic.

For many people taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, one of the most noticeable changes isn't just eating less, it's thinking about the foods you crave less.

That reduction in so-called "food noise" can make it easier to pass up dessert, eat a smaller portion, or simply stop thinking about what's for dinner three hours before dinner.

But could that quieter period also be an opportunity to change some of the habits that were difficult to change before? Kyra Bobinet, MD, CEO of Fresh Tri, and author of Unstoppable Brain, thinks so.

She calls it a "habit window," which is the period when someone taking a GLP-1 may be able to practice healthier behaviors while food noise isn't fighting them every step of the way.

There's an important caveat worth noting. "A habit window is still a hypothesis; nobody has run the trial proving that less food noise makes habits easier to build," Dr. Bobinet told ConsumerAffairs.

But if you've been handed a period of time when changing how you eat feels easier, she argues it's worth taking advantage of it.

Don't wait until you stop the medication

One of Dr. Bobinet's biggest pieces of advice is to start practicing new behaviors early because habit formation requires repetition, and repetition requires time.

A 2024 analysis from PubMed Central found that health-related behaviors typically took about two months to begin becoming automatic, although there was enormous variation between individuals and behaviors. Some took weeks while others could take many months.

That's why Dr. Bobinet doesn't like the idea of waiting until someone is preparing to discontinue a GLP-1 before thinking seriously about habits.

"If you wait until you are tapering off of the GLP-1 to start practicing new habits, you may run out of time to rewire your brain into your new healthy lifestyle," she said.

The goal isn't perfection. It's repetition. Every time you choose the behavior you're trying to establish, you're essentially getting another practice rep.

Start with habits that actually matter

You've probably heard the advice to make tiny changes when trying to establish a habit. Dr. Bobinet doesn't disagree, but she thinks there's another consideration that's just as important: Is the habit you're working on actually important to your health?

She recommends looking for behaviors that occur every day, or even things that happen several times a day, as those are the behaviors repeatedly influencing your health.

"The universal part is the instruction: identify troubling old habits outdated ones, or ones that grew out of stress, trauma, or coping that are hurting your health, and update each one with a new daily practice," she said.

That could be different for everyone. But Dr. Bobinet points to two behaviors that may deserve particular attention among people taking GLP-1 medications: getting enough protein and doing resistance training.

A body-composition substudy of the SURMOUNT-1 trial found that people taking tirzepatide lost substantially more fat mass than lean mass, but approximately one-quarter of the weight lost was lean mass.

Instead of setting a vague goal like "exercise more," pick something you can repeat and get in the habit of doing regularly. For example, something like two scheduled strength-training sessions every week gives you an actual behavior to practice and track.

How do you know when something has become a habit?

This is where Dr. Bobinet has a wonderfully simple test: Interlace your fingers. Chances are you do it exactly the same way every time, with the same thumb naturally landing on top.

Now reverse them. It probably feels really strange.

That's the difference between something your brain does automatically and something you're consciously forcing yourself to do. Dr. Bobinet says a new eating behavior can eventually begin to feel similarly natural.

The question becomes less, "Am I forcing myself to do this?" And more, "Does this feel like what I normally do?"

"When the new way of eating is part of how you define yourself, the habit is solid," she said.

Think in terms of reps, not streaks

One of Dr. Bobinet's most interesting recommendations is to stop expecting yourself to suddenly become a different person. Practice instead.

"Every time you repeat the new version of a habit, you are making a deposit in that account and telling your brain this is how you want to live," she said.

And when the plan doesn't work? Adjust it rather than abandoning it.

Maybe going to the gym before work fails because mornings are chaotic. That doesn't necessarily mean you've failed at resistance training. It might just mean Tuesday and Thursday evenings work better.

That's a subtle but important shift that changes the method without abandoning the goal altogether.

Don't do it alone

Finally, Dr. Bobinet says one of the most overlooked pieces of successful behavior change is other people. And there's research behind that idea.

A classic weight-loss study found participants who joined the study with friends, and were given social support, were substantially more successful at maintaining their weight loss than participants who did it alone.

That support doesn't necessarily require joining a formal weight-loss program. It could mean lifting weights with a spouse, taking a nightly walk with a neighbor, or simply having someone who knows what you're trying to change.

And that may be the bigger lesson of the so-called GLP-1 habit window: The medication can change your appetite. It can reduce the food noise. It can make weight loss possible for people who've struggled with it for years. But if changing a behavior suddenly feels easier than it used to, don't just take it for granted. Use it to practice where you want to go.