ICYMI: Harmful Snack Additives, Baby Wipes Recall, Cars to Drive 200,000 Miles
Also last week at CR: What to know about the latest Mazda CX-5, saving money on gas with the right credit card, and smart toilets
Our In Case You Missed It series highlights recent ratings, news, and investigations.
- Product Safety: Baby Wipes
- Home: Smart Toilets
- Cars: Problem-Free Cars Mazda CX-5
- Health: Harmful Snacks With Additives and Contaminants
- Money: Stacking Credit Cards
- Latest Ratings
While food additives are disclosed as ingredients on food packaging, their specific quantities aren’t. That’s why CR worked with Yuka to test 40 popular drinks and snacks for additives and contaminants. After receiving “a number of consumer complaints,” Target recalled Up&Up Wipes following reports on SaferProducts.gov. We highlighted 12 cars with the fewest problems over the last 12 months. We gave five-plus good reasons not to get the latest Mazda CX-5 yet—including that its hybrid powertrain won’t arrive till 2027. To make paying at the pump easier, we recommend pairing a cash-back credit card with a gas station’s rewards program to save even more. We also tested smart toilets for the first time and found that they have more parts that require regular maintenance, but they could still be a good choice if you’re a fan of upscale features.
Photo: Scott Meadows/Consumer Reports Photo: Scott Meadows/Consumer Reports
More than a third of the popular products we tested contained excessive levels of additives, such as Red 40, or contaminants.
The bad news: According to our tests, a single serving of Hostess Donettes Powdered Mini Donuts contained 261 mg of titanium dioxide—over 760 times the combined amount detected in the three other products we tested for that additive.
The donuts also contained nearly 19 times the amount of a carcinogenic contaminant that public health officials have said is safe to consume daily. A serving of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies exceeded that same threshold by more than eight times.
Meanwhile, several other popular children’s snacks (Gushers, anyone?) contained elevated levels of substances linked to neurobehavioral issues or DNA damage.
The good news: The FDA announced a new framework to reevaluate the safety of chemicals in the food supply—starting with additives like ADA and BHT.
Sign our petition to demand safer food today.
Plus, CR has put together a list of recommended limits for children and adults based on our tests—which snacks you can eat every day, and which you should avoid.
Source: FDA Source: FDA
Check your baby wipes stash. Target recalled Up&Up baby wipes due to a contamination that could cause illness.
What to Know Now
- The two types of Up&Up baby wipes recalled by Target were the Fragrance Free Baby Wipes and the Fresh Cucumber Scented Baby Wipes.
- FDA testing found the presence of two forms of bacteria, Burkholderia cepacia complex and Burkholderia gladioli, which may result in life-threatening infections.
- The two wipes were sold in Target stores and on Target.com.
What to Do Next
- Immediately stop using the baby wipes.
- Return them to any Target store for a full refund.
- Contact Target Guest Relations at 800-440-0680 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET daily for more information.
Photo: Toyota Photo: Toyota
We highlighted the 12 most problem-free cars, minivans, pickup trucks, and SUVs.
While many cars can travel 200,000 miles or more, the best can do it with few (if any) problems along the way. In our surveys, Toyota and Honda vehicles achieve this milestone more often than those of other car companies.
In fact, our list of 12 problem-free cars includes eight Toyotas and two Hondas (along with one Ford and one Chevy).
We recently updated our article on maxing out your vehicle’s lifespan and avoiding costly dealership repairs, too.
“The first rule of getting a car to 200,000 miles is to follow a maintenance plan,” Autos managing editor Jeff Barlett writes. “Taking care of the basics can help you address small problems before they become big ones.”
The Mazda CX-5 is popular and reliable—we even recommend it. But here are five reasons to look at Toyota or Honda instead.
Autos editor Jon Linkov calls the Mazda CX-5 an “if you know, you know” vehicle. But Mazda redesigned the CX-5 for 2026, and our team says that’s not a good thing.
Here are a few reasons you might want to opt for a Toyota RAV4 instead of the CX-5.
- The CX-5’s touchscreen-based controls: Where are the easy-to-use physical controls?!
- The CX-5’s fit and finish for the price: “The easiest way to sum this up is ‘acceptable for the class but not for Mazda,’” one of our testers says.
- The CX-5’s seat comfort: Another driver likens the seats in the latest Mazda to a park bench.
We encourage shoppers to read our detailed road test, review reliability and owner satisfaction data, and then look at the best SUV deals. Whether you still decide to buy the redesigned 2026 Mazda CX-5 or another model, the key is to be informed.
Credit cards can help out with rising gas prices—if you know how to stack the right ones.
What is stacking, and how can I do it?
We’re glad you asked! “Stacking” is combining credit cards, rewards apps, and a gas station’s loyalty program to get more discounts.
For example, you could combine 3 percent cash back on your credit card with 5 cents off per gallon through a gas station app for a discount of a little over 6 cents a gallon.
Be sure to read the fine print on privacy, though—rewards programs can build quite sophisticated profiles of your shopping habits.
CR looked at smart toilets for the first time to see if they're worth the investment.
As with many things, whether a smart toilet is right for you depends on your needs and budget. If it feels like a big leap, Katy Havelah, CR’s lead toilet tester, recommends a bidet attachment.
If you want to really upgrade, the smart toilet offers a bidet, warm-air dryer, heated seat, deodorizers, nightlights, and automated functions, including auto-flush and automatic opening and closing of the toilet seat lid.
Smart toilets are costly, though, with the best-rated sitting around $1,000 or more. We do have one top-rated option for $800—but it’s messier and noisier.
Fresh From the Labs
We’re constantly testing the latest products and retesting existing stock. Here are last week’s drops:
- We tested a handful of new hearing aids. See our latest ratings.
- We added new laptops and desktop computers to our ratings. Read more about the best laptops and desktop computers.
- We assessed new range hoods. For more, check our ratings.
