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Soylent Halts Sale of Bars; Investigation Into Illnesses Continues (arstechnica.com)

Beth Mole, reporting for ArsTechnica:Following online reports of customers becoming ill after eating Soylent's new snack bars, the company announced this afternoon that it has decided to halt all sales and shipments of the bars as a precautionary measure . The company is urging customers to discard remaining bars and will begin e-mailing customers individually regarding refunds. In a blog announcing the decision, the company said it is still investigating the cause of bouts of illnesses of customers linked to the bars, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. "After hearing from our customers, we immediately began investigating the cause of the issue and whether it was linked to a problem with the Bars," the company said. "So far we have not yet identified one and this issue does not appear to affect our other drinks and powder. Though our investigation into this matter continues, we have decided to err on the side of caution and take this preventative step."

207 comments

  1. oops by Cederic · · Score: 4, Funny

    Clever company name can only backfire in cases like this.

    1. Re:oops by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      For an instant I thought Slashdot was talking about Soylent news... (the competition!)

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:oops by imatter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly!!! who the F@#$ is going to eat something from a company called Soylent.

    3. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically the product is soylent, and the company is rosa labs.

    4. Re:oops by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Sorry, yeah - brand/product vs company. I cocked that one up :(

    5. Re:oops by tripleevenfall · · Score: 2

      Rosa Labs is... Soylent!

    6. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Greens with eat Soylent. :P

    7. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Clever company name can only backfire in cases like this.

      Yes, but how does it taste?

      "It varies from person to person"

    8. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Me? It's pretty good.

      Also, the company is named from the book, not the movie. In the book, soylent is just a combination of soy and lentils.

    9. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clever company name can only backfire in cases like this.

      "It's made of poophole!"

      Backfire, indeed.

    10. Re:oops by cayenne8 · · Score: 2

      Exactly!!! who the F@#$ is going to eat something from a company called Soylent.

      Hmm...perhaps this is a case of Mad Human Disease....

      ;)

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    11. Re:oops by k6mfw · · Score: 1

      who the F@#$ is going to eat something from a company called Soylent.

      someone who didn't see the movie that was made decades before most of you were born.

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
    12. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why not? Soylent GREEN was made out of people. The other types of soylent weren't.

    13. Re:oops by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why not? Soylent GREEN was made out of people. The other types of soylent weren't.

      So, what was soylent brown made from?

      On second thought, I don't want to know.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    14. Re:oops by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Technically the product is soylent, and the company is rosa labs.

      Technically, yes, but that's kept somewhat sub rosa.

    15. Re:oops by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      Kuru is the term you're looking for.

    16. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Greens with eat Soylent. :P

      Make room! Make room!!

    17. Re:oops by Khashishi · · Score: 1

      The Japanese are working on it.
      http://www.digitaltrends.com/c...

    18. Re:oops by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      You don't have to completely avoid cannibalism, you just have to avoid eating the brain and spinal cord.

    19. Re:oops by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      It's half Soylent Green, half Soylent Red

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    20. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but Soylent is people!

    21. Re:oops by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Mine tastes funny.
      Oh look, the box says "May contain clowns".

    22. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stellar reference!

    23. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I couldn't stop giggling when I read that.

    24. Re:oops by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

      I only watched the 1973 movie. But taking place in a future 2022, I assuming it's predicting a world after Trump.

    25. Re:oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (wink) the best part's in the rump!

    26. Re: oops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The kind of person who knows about the film and the product will also know about Harry Harrison's book.

    27. Re: oops by oobayly · · Score: 1

      Soylent Green is my kind of people...

    28. Re:oops by doccus · · Score: 1

      Me? It's pretty good.

      Also, the company is named from the book, not the movie. In the book, soylent is just a combination of soy and lentils.

      In the movie it wasn't originally made from people either.. It's only after ,as a corporate reaction/solution to overcrowding that became true.

  2. Interesting... by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they are being honest in their statement, then I'm impressed to see a company in this day and age take such steps. However the cynical side of me wonders if they knew/know what's happening and they're attempting damage control until they figure out what to do next.

    1. Re:Interesting... by HideyoshiJP · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every food company does this now. In fact, most companies that make things you ingest follow the example of Tylenol when dealing with product issues. Nobody wants that bad juju when their business is selling things you put inside your body.

    2. Re: Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although I doubt that Soylent bars need seals.

    3. Re:Interesting... by Joce640k · · Score: 2

      they're attempting damage control until they figure out what to do next.

      It's not as if they can change the recipe. There's only one source of the main ingredient.

      --
      No sig today...
    4. Re:Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're pretty good about product safety. They had a mold problem a while back where some of the drink dribbled on the bottle during production, and they stopped production till they fixed it, even though it wasn't a safety issue and was extremely rare.

    5. Re:Interesting... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 1

      They applied the formula? A plus B plus C equals X...

    6. Re:Interesting... by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Every food company does this now.

      Except they don't. Just look at the Peanut Corporation of America from a few years ago.

    7. Re:Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      If they are being honest in their statement, then I'm impressed to see a company in this day and age take such steps. However the cynical side of me wonders if they knew/know what's happening and they're attempting damage control until they figure out what to do next.

      Your cynicism is misplaced. Having worked in the packaged food industry before, voluntary recalls happen quite a bit and never make headlines as food is tested all the way down the supply chain. The tests include both on the spot testing and a sample taken, stored, and tested later to replicate the entire life cycle of the product and see what's happening. If the follow up sample test fails, the batch is recalled even if it's taken off the shelf at the grocery store.

      Food scares still happen and occasionally they slip through the system. But it happens 20 times for every one time you hear about it in the news, but the company catches it before it's ready to be sold and distributed. Many companies are quite good at this, but that's not going to make the news so you'll never hear about it.

    8. Re:Interesting... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      They're pretty good about product safety. They had a mold problem a while back.

      Was the mold green?

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    9. Re:Interesting... by HideyoshiJP · · Score: 1

      In all fairness, I probably should have said "nearly every." Especially consumer-facing brands.

    10. Re:Interesting... by bahwi · · Score: 1

      I've had almost 2 boxes of the bars (with several in back-up, unfortunately, that I should probably now dump to be safe). I've had zero issues. I really do wonder what the issue was/is.

    11. Re: Interesting... by Pseudonym · · Score: 1

      Although I doubt that Soylent bars need seals.

      How else will they get that delicious blubbery taste?

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    12. Re:Interesting... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Do I need to put out dozens of examples proving you wrong? I'd wager most companies don't act anywhere near as responsibly as int he Tylenol case.

      Maybe I'll do it with just one recent example. Chipotle. Huge chain. Nationwide. Drummed up to be the next Subway. People kept getting sick and they didn't do shit until it was an old joke.

    13. Re:Interesting... by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

      If they are being honest in their statement, then I'm impressed to see a company in this day and age take such steps. However the cynical side of me wonders if they knew/know what's happening and they're attempting damage control until they figure out what to do next.

      I followed the links (reddit.com) they have a good thing going, and I can see major damage control coming into play. Many people really like the bars and I'm sure they'd hate to see that change.

      It appears to of only been one bad batch 7july(something), I'm still not sure if it's just a vit bar or an energy bar of some sort. An energy bar is in the lead so far.

      Yet if you've ever had food poisoning, you do go out of your way to prevent it from happening again. I've had it - once.

    14. Re: Interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Worked for a bit at a food packaging plant. There were several "re-works" where whole lots where pulled back and repackaged. Every time it had to do with peanuts and improper package labeling.

  3. Broken promises by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Soylent Green is still made out of people! They didn't change the recipe like they said they were going to! It's still people!!

    1. Re:Broken promises by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Given the carbon cycle, it's obvious that it has to be people to some extent.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Broken promises by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://what-if.xkcd.com/101/

  4. It's made of PEOPLE! by pecosdave · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's what makes them sick!

    --
    The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    1. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obvious joke is obvious...

    2. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next up, Soylant Girl Scout Cookies!*

      “Our products are prepared with peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, eggs, girl scouts and wheat. While we take steps to minimize the risk of cross contamination, we cannot guarantee that any of our products are safe to consumer for people with peanut, tree nut, soy, milk, egg, girl scouts or wheat allergies.”

    3. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      obvious asshole is obvious

    4. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next up, Soylant Girl Scout Cookies!*

      Girl Scout: "Is this made from real lemons?"
      Wednesday Addams: "Yes."
      Girl Scout: "I only like all-natural foods and beverages, organically grown, with no preservatives. Are you sure they're real lemons?"
      Pugsley Addams: "Yes."
      Girl Scout: "Well, I'll tell you what. I'll buy a cup if you buy a box of my delicious Girl Scout cookies. Do we have a deal?"
      Wednesday Addams: "Are they made from real Girl Scouts?"

    5. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by hAckz0r · · Score: 1

      They probably just recycled a zombie. Nothing to worry about.

    6. Re:It's made of PEOPLE! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      That's just a rumor spread by a loud gun-hoarding ape-kissing maniac. Ignore it.

  5. Water? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Need to drink water with soylent, maybe they weren't drinking enough?

  6. Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 2, Informative

    Rebrand the bars as laxatives!

    I actually ate through a box of these bars not long ago - finished the last one about two weeks ago. I kept blaming my daughter for not washing the dishes correctly and giving me dysentery via food debris (this actually happens, at least the food debris part). But maybe it was the bars? Who knows - I never will, now.

    The bars are too caramel tasting anyway. I was really hoping for a bar that tasted like Soylent - like almost nothing at all.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    1. Re:Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      Yes, when we finally eliminate all flavor from food it will be humanity's finest hour.

    2. Re:Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      missed opportunity. cross-promotion with samsung to turn those bombs the bars make you drop into exploding mines.

    3. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If I want flavored food, i'll choose to eat something actually good - like cooked by a human who cares about the taste - rather than some prepackaged thing that is optimized for long term storage.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    4. Re:Marketing opportunity by Maritz · · Score: 1

      If food contains stuff that your body wants/craves, it'll have a tendency to taste of something. Not that easy to get around that tbh.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    5. Re:Marketing opportunity by ausekilis · · Score: 1

      If I want flavored food, i'll choose to eat something actually good - like cooked by a human who cares about the taste - rather than some prepackaged thing that is optimized for long term storage.

      So you do a lot of eating at home, then?

      Pretty much *every* chain loads things down with butter to make things taste good. Often masking other nonsense they try to pull. You might also be aware that there is often only a handful of food distributors in any metro area, so your choice at a restaurant is the same base products, dressed up a little differently. That chicken fried steak at Chili's is the same as Applebees, plus or minus a couple spices.

    6. Re:Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I want flavored food, i'll choose to eat something actually good - like cooked by a human who cares about the taste - rather than some prepackaged thing that is optimized for long term storage.

      Soylent isn't even optimized for long term storage. Even the powder goes bad sooner than many other foods which can fill the same role.

    7. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      The liquid is good for a year. The powder probably goes bad because the oil goes rancid. They used to have a separate oil and powder combo, which you'd assume had better keeping properties, but that was sacrificed to convenience.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    8. Re: Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't understand this. Can anyone explain this mindset? Under what normal circumstances do you want to eat but not have any flavour? Are you a fat bastard by any chance? Or a stick thin freaky eater?

    9. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      The deal with my wife is that I eat (drink?) the Soylent at work and eat real food at home. Saves money (surprisingly) and avoids eating junk.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    10. Re:Marketing opportunity by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      If I want flavored food, i'll choose to eat something actually good - like cooked by a human who cares about the taste - rather than some prepackaged thing that is optimized for long term storage.

      So you do a lot of eating at home, then?

      Yes, yes I do.

      Pretty much *every* chain loads things down with butter to make things taste good. Often masking other nonsense they try to pull.

      Umm, I'm really confused by the way you went with this. The GP says he wants (1) "something actually good," (2) "cooked by a human", and (3) "who cares about the taste."

      Chain restaurants almost by definition tend to use pre-packaged, pre-cooked, and pre-processed products to maintain product stability across large numbers of restaurants. I don't think this is a secret, and most people should be aware of it. Thus, there would be an automatically fail at GP's criterion (2) for choosing a chain restaurant 97% of the time -- sure, a human might be doing the final steps of cooking or reheating, but the whole dish wasn't likely to be really "cooked" (i.e., prepared beyond throwing together prepackaged bits) by a human. Also, the vast majority of folks who work at chain restaurants don't care about the taste -- they have to make stuff the way the chain says, so they don't really have any say in "the taste," hence (3) is also disqualified.

      This leaves only the possibility of (1), and I'll leave it up as a matter of opinion whether most chain restaurants produce food that is "actually good." Regardless, your discussion of chain restaurants automatically fails GP's qualifiers overall.

      Anyhow, beyond this, I'd just note that there are loads of dining options in the world beyond chain restaurants. Even the very idea of imagining them as "something actually good -- like cooked by a human who cares about the taste" is bizarre to me.

      I suppose you're thinking of the kind of American who eats at the Hard Rock Cafe in Paris. I did that once, just because I was with a group of folks who were all going there. But I ordered a light salad, and went somewhere else by myself for a real meal afterward (just a cheap small place down the street that I happened upon, but so much better)... I'm not wasting the calories on some nonsense like that. But even if you're not in Paris, there are usually lots of local restaurants which can serve up a reasonable meal that's might actually be cooked by someone with some choice in how his/her food comes out and not just heating stuff up TV dinner style.

    11. Re:Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd be happy if it was actually butter, but fast food chains still tend to use trans fat. Butter is actually something your body recognizes and has experienced for millions of years, but trans fat is this weird mutated thing that our body hasn't had much experience with (other than the natural trans fat in beef, which has a different structure).

    12. Re: Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I want macronutrients and micronutrients so I remain healthy and alive, but I don't actually care how I get them. If I could magically stay fit and healthy without eating except in social situations, I would take that opportunitiy.

      That being said, I don't use Soylent, I don't trust them as an organization.

    13. Re: Marketing opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Humans have been making butter for millions of years?

    14. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      You should try having to rewash half the dishes you pull out of the cabinet because of visible debris. Who knows what's on the ones I can't see. If you think illness from rotting food left on plates and silverware is a crackpot notion, I'll gladly excuse myself from eating off your utensils.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    15. Re: Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I see why you posted this AC.

      6'7" (200cm) and 260 lbs (118kg/18.5 stone). I could stand to lose 20 pounds or so. I'm an insulin dependent diabetic and have been for over 25 years. I care about what I eat a lot. Proteins and fats work better than carbs. I do not have time for food preparation most of the time. I travel a lot. I've long ago weaned myself off of 'taste' as a requirement for food - if nothing else, the diabetes enforces that with requirements that I would prefer not to eat. I just have to feed the body. Soylent is a least evil option considering my constraints, allowing precise calorie control to match my insulin dosing without crappy artificial flavors, like just about every other similar product out there. I'd just eat it if I had my way. Keeping things under control is hard with normal food.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    16. Re:Marketing opportunity by lgw · · Score: 1

      Are you not in the US? This isn't generally a problem with (mechanical) dishwashers, unless she's heroically lazy.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    17. Re: Marketing opportunity by lgw · · Score: 1

      Sadly, the bars are 10% sugar by weight (and half carbs). Energy bards, not actual food.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    18. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      If you don't clean the debris off the dishes, the dishwasher doesn't get it off either. It's mostly a disinfectant.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    19. Re:Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      Oh and yes, she is heroically lazy. In addition to a personality disorder which has required inpatient treatment. Just can't motivate herself.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    20. Re: Marketing opportunity by HBI · · Score: 1

      The kind of sugar is important. Things like maltose and sucrose are very bad - have a high glycemic index. Others are really no worse than starches for me. Anyway, the 400kcal bottles of Soylent have an inconsequential spike associated with them.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    21. Re:Marketing opportunity by lgw · · Score: 1

      Yeah, then that make sense - it takes very minimal effort to hand-clean stuff well enough for a vaguely modern dishwasher to work - but that's more than no effort.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    22. Re: Marketing opportunity by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

      I don't understand this. Can anyone explain this mindset? Under what normal circumstances do you want to eat but not have any flavour?

      That would an indication of our entry into 1984,

    23. Re: Marketing opportunity by lgw · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the bottles are way better (but I find them unpalatable - fortunately, I'm not so constrained). I'd love a good 250-calorie tasty food bar that wasn't just a different kind of candy bar, though.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  7. Reverse placebo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since they can't identify standard causes, anyone considering "Soylent" has a "reverse placebo" effect?

    Suggest people are eating medicine, they often feel better. Suggest people are eating people...

    1. Re:Reverse placebo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nocebo is the word you are looking for.

  8. nausea, vomiting, etc. by davidwr · · Score: 1

    Simple explaination:

    Affected customers read the ingredient list.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by mysidia · · Score: 2

      Affected customers read the ingredient list.

      What would they put in it that would make a significant amount of customer sick,
      other than an adulterated, infected, contaminated or otherwise non-food-quality substance unfit for human consumption?

    2. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Lennie · · Score: 1

      People

      Look up soylent green

      --
      New things are always on the horizon
    3. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ingredient list:
        97% Formerly affected customers, 3% corn syrup.

    4. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If this is accurate, nothing immediately alarming.
      Some of the metal compounds at the end look like odd choices, but I haven't compared it to a box of Total or anything else that proclaims such a wide range of dietary minerals.

      The only indigestible ingredient I quickly recognized was sucralose, but it takes a lot of sucralose for most people to have disruptions in their digestive system.

    5. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Informative
      http://files.soylent.com/pdf/b...

      NGREDIENTS: Soy Protein Isolate, Corn Syrup, Rolled Oat, Canola Oil, Glycerine, Whole Algal Flour, Isomaltooligosaccharide, Isomaltulose, Maltodextrin, Water, Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Soy Lecithin, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Salt, Tapioca Starch, Sunflower Oil, Dipo- tassium Phosphate, Modified Food Starch, Po- tassium Chloride, Choline Bitartrate, Mixed Tocopherol, Sucralose, Mono & Diglycerides, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, dl-alpha-To- copheryl Acetate, Tricalcium Phosphate Anhy- drous, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Nia- cinamide, Zinc Oxide, Copper Gluconate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Potassium Iodide, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D2, Chromium Chloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Sodium Molybdate, Phytonadione, Vitamin B12. Contains: Soy

      hmmm... exactly how much glycerin are they using?

      Ingredients ... are obtained from genetically engineered sources

      OH GOD NOES! RUN FOR THE HILLS! SCIENCE!

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    6. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dammit, they put corn syrup in everything these days!

    7. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Soy Protein Isolate, Corn Syrup, Rolled Oat, Canola Oil, Glycerine, Whole Algal Flour

      hmmm... exactly how much glycerin are they using?

      That's a fascinating question. Since it's between Canola Oil (of which there is potentially quite a fair bit) and algal flour (of which there cannot be very much or the mere taste would induce vomiting) it could really be any amount from a fairly wide range.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by kamitchell · · Score: 2

      Sucralose can cause bloating and diarrhea. In my experience it's fine in beverage-sweetener quantities, but in foods, especially snack foods, I might consume more than I really want to contend with.

      If the users are trying to replace their whole diet with these bars, they certainly could consume enough to have some sucralose-related difficulties.

      http://goaskalice.columbia.edu...

    9. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      "My guess would be... a lot." -Cameron Poe

      So four of the top six ingredients by weight all will nauseate the average human in sufficiently high concentrations. I think we've found the culprit.

      Hell, they might as well have named the damn things Vomit Bars...

    10. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Maritz · · Score: 1

      Probably the one foodstuff that doesn't have to worry about FUD from anti-GMO whackjobs (because their customers are somewhat scientifically literate)

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    11. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by avandesande · · Score: 1

      MMMMM, just like Grandma used to make.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    12. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by avandesande · · Score: 1

      When I was a youngster some joker brought a couple pounds of sucralose sweetened chocolate to work... hilarity ensued.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    13. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by almitydave · · Score: 1

      Ingredient list:

        97% Formerly affected customers, 3% corn syrup.

      That's what I think of every time I see "made from 35% post consumer content".

      --
      my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
      I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
    14. Re: nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What do you mean nothing alarming? Everything before "salt", and after "sunflower oil", as well as anything between them should not appear in a food ingredients list. Especially the first 3 ingredients - they should actually be read as "gmo poison poison"

    15. Re: nausea, vomiting, etc. by pla · · Score: 1

      You consider "rolled oats" poisonous?

    16. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mmm... Sugar Free HellBears. Haribo Sugar Free gummis are the stuff of legend!

    17. Re: nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? "Water" is a gmo? You paranoid fruitcake.

    18. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I don't even know what half of that shit is, but I wouldn't rub it on my hair let alone eat it.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    19. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by bahwi · · Score: 1

      Well, as long as it doesn't have any DNA in it. :P

    20. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by omnichad · · Score: 2

      Those use malitol. A sugar alcohol that has far worse symptoms than sucralose in larger doses.

    21. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More glycerin than water... bad sign! Also there's even more oil. I can see why these might try to escape your intestines at high velocity.

    22. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      You should educate yourself. A lot of the minor ingredients are vitamins, minerals, and other supplements that you might buy in pill form to improve your health or correct a deficiency.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    23. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      I've had the same sort of reaction to erythritol, which I suppose is pretty similar.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    24. Re: nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't ever look at the ingredients list for baby formula. You know what's amazing about chemicals? Human beings need them to survive. Lots of them. Sometimes the 'natural way' doesn't work for everyone.

    25. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by edxwelch · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like a chemistry experiment rather than food.

    26. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin, and Sucralose? I thought Soylent was supposed to be a healthy alternative to industrial food-like products.

    27. Re:nausea, vomiting, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "My guess would be... a lot." -Cameron Poe

      So four of the top six ingredients by weight all will nauseate the average human in sufficiently high concentrations. I think we've found the culprit.

      Hell, they might as well have named the damn things Vomit Bars...

      Anything, including water, will nauseate the average human in "sufficiently high" quantities.

  9. In Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In Russia, Soylent Bars are made of YOU!

    1. Re:In Russia... by number6x · · Score: 2

      In Russia, Soylent Bars are made of YOU!

      No, soylent red really was made from vegetable concentrates. It was the soylent green that was made from you. Even in Soviet Russia.

    2. Re:In Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Soylent Orange is made from Donald Trump.

  10. Well, I guess Soylent's better than by Lucas123 · · Score: 1

    Get-your-hands-off-me-you-damn-dirty-ape snack bar

    1. Re:Well, I guess Soylent's better than by number6x · · Score: 1

      Soylent grey is made of apes, soylent pink is made from unicorns and soylent green, well you know.

    2. Re:Well, I guess Soylent's better than by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      "Moses Bar" would have been even better!

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    3. Re:Well, I guess Soylent's better than by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      "Moses Bar" would have been even better!

      "Let my people go! What, you turned them all into bars?"

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    4. Re:Well, I guess Soylent's better than by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and soylent green, well you know.

      ...is also made of apes?

    5. Re:Well, I guess Soylent's better than by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Soylent grey is made of apes, soylent pink is made from unicorns and soylent green, well you know.

      What is Soylent Orange made from ?

  11. Investigation? by mysidia · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The company is urging customers to discard remaining bars and will begin e-mailing customers individually regarding refunds.

    Why would they be asking customers to discard, instead of send them back?
    I mean.... if they're really investigating, then they should take the returns, and then
    do some analysis of what was winding up in customer hands, right?
    Assuming they don't already have an explanation for people getting sick that they're uncomfortable sharing.......

    1. Re:Investigation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFA, they did.

    2. Re:Investigation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except that 1) they already have a huge amount of bars in stock, presumably, since you can buy directly from them and 2) they'd rather, I'd imagine, allow their customers to simply destroy the offending product than inconvenience them by asking them to send them back to Rosa Labs.

      Plus, if they find nothing in their own stock, they can just blame it on a "bad batch," which, if the customers were instructed to toss out the bars, has now been conveniently destroyed.

    3. Re:Investigation? by HBI · · Score: 1

      They were actually out of stock of the bars when I re-ordered a few weeks ago. I suspect this has been building for a while.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    4. Re:Investigation? by eriks · · Score: 0

      Why would they be asking customers to discard, instead of send them back?

      Because Soylent is people?

      Sorry, couldn't resist.

    5. Re:Investigation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their blog doesn't say that. It simply says they will be offering full refunds:

      http://blog.soylent.com/post/151720602057/update-on-soylent-bar

    6. Re:Investigation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You think they really need 10,000,000 bars to investigate?

    7. Re:Investigation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They probably already have enough Soylent bars for the investigation. Increasing the sample size would be of no benefit.

  12. Hope they fix it better than the Note 7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    'Cause this could be a brand killer and the whole company could be DOA if they don't fix it by tomorrow.

    1. Re:Hope they fix it better than the Note 7 by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

      I just had a Soylent Note 7 bar. It was delicious! ... burrrrp ~#^ [NO CARRIER]

  13. Shocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm shocked that a company founded by a man who intentionally tried killing off his entire gut flora and puts his clothing in the freezer instead of washing them would release a biologically questionable product.

    1. Re:Shocking by Maritz · · Score: 1

      Haha, if he did/does that stuff then yeah that's pretty funny. It doesn't mean that people are really getting sick from the bars though.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  14. Soylent joins the pantheon of the greats by Thud457 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Right up there with Lay's WOW chips and Haribo sugar free gummy bears (read the reviews, they're hilarious and disgusting)

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    1. Re:Soylent joins the pantheon of the greats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All the best foods cause anal leakage.

    2. Re:Soylent joins the pantheon of the greats by blind+biker · · Score: 1

      To be honest, the WOW chips, as the only available source of Olestra, are (or should be) missed by some people - Olestra is one of the best tolerated and most efficient ways to remove dioxines from the body of people poisoned by them.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    3. Re:Soylent joins the pantheon of the greats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for the gummy bears link... that was comedy gold....

    4. Re:Soylent joins the pantheon of the greats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're supposed to put the food in the other end !

  15. that's what you get... by swschrad · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... when you make your stuff with Zika victims...

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
    1. Re:that's what you get... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      ... when you make your stuff with Zika victims...

      Look, the sick and the morbidly obese are easier to catch, OK?
      If you start trying to catch healthy people the process gets WAY more expensive!

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    2. Re:that's what you get... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      It's okay, us Slashdotters rarely mate.

  16. YOU HAD ONE JOB FRANK! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anymore close calls like this one and they'll start to suspect there really is Soy in our product!

  17. Bond to happen... by DumbSwede · · Score: 2

    Because you know some people just make you sick.

  18. Only a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amateur food maker tries to make "the food to end all foods", and, predictably, it causes problems. It was only a matter of time until this happened.

    The first versions were already causing problems with excessive flatulence and other digestive anomalies. Now this.

    And I still don't exactly know what problem soylent is supposed to solve. It's more expensive than a regular meal (if you factor in that you need to supplement soylent with other stuff to get good nutritional balance) and it isn't particularly tasty or good to look at. It's... quite disgusting, really.

    The supposed health benefits have not been realized either. SOME people claim that they've lost weight, but this could be due to being "malnourished" by eating soylent all the time.

    Makes one wonder what exactly the point is.

    1. Re:Only a matter of time by Maritz · · Score: 1

      I agree that the whole enterprise is misguided. But I don't think it's proven yet that people are getting sick from these bars.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    2. Re:Only a matter of time by Overzeetop · · Score: 2

      I thought his sole goal was to reduce the time he spent on making/planning meals. Kind of like having a single color and style of suit, shirt, shoes - no decisions, just efficiency.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    3. Re:Only a matter of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The powder comes to $2 for a 500 calorie meal full of vitamins and minerals. I can't imagine how you could prepare a meal with the same nutritional value for less than that. Even without factoring in the value of your time for preparing a meal, the savings become rather profound.

      From a societal perspective, producing food like soylent has a substantially lower energy footprint than the inefficiency of farms. It takes less land and emits far fewer greenhouse gasses. It's also more palatable to western audiences than food created from insects (bug burgers, anyone?).

      Finally, when it comes to weight loss, I've personally found soylent very filling, stopping me from extraenous snacking.

    4. Re:Only a matter of time by bitingduck · · Score: 1

      The powder comes to $2 for a 500 calorie meal full of vitamins and minerals. I can't imagine how you could prepare a meal with the same nutritional value for less than that.

      Noodles (ramen or otherwise) with chopped mixed vegetables. Cheap, tastes good, and nutritious. All it takes is some boiling water and a minute or two of chopping. Soylent gets about half its calories from fat, which is way too much.

      fresh bread is extremely easy to make and doesn't have to be labor intensive (18 hour, no-knead). Also very tasty.

    5. Re:Only a matter of time by Powercntrl · · Score: 1

      And I still don't exactly know what problem soylent is supposed to solve.

      The inventor needed more money in his bank account.

      Seriously. For emergency rations, even military MREs are more palatable than this crap. If some hipsters want to eat post-apocalyptic instant-bowl-of-snot-powder, manufactured in a rat-infested warehouse, more power to them. There's a reason this type of food is such a frequent trope of dystopian sci-fi: there are few things as morale-crushing as a bland, thoroughly joyless meal.

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    6. Re:Only a matter of time by hambone142 · · Score: 1

      Most of today's "youth" can't cook, make or repair anything.

      Most of the time is spent poking a phone and microwaving prepackaged artificial "food".

      Soylent is right down their alley.

  19. The comments are a cesspool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Turn back.

  20. Welcome to basic biology by Khyber · · Score: 2

    Different people react differently to different inputs.

    You thought your product would be a perfect fit for everyone on the planet?

    You morons.

    This is why you shouldn't trust anyone claiming any panacea. You fall for the marketing, you deserve that intestinal upset.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Welcome to basic biology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That assumes the problem is with the known and expected ingredients. The fact that this only began happening recently tells us that the problem is with something recently introduced - possibly an incorrect ratio or unexpected ingredient state.

      This is why you shouldn't make sweeping generalizations when there are too many unknown variables. You moron.

    2. Re:Welcome to basic biology by Maritz · · Score: 2

      Different people react differently to different inputs.

      I don't.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    3. Re:Welcome to basic biology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem with soylent products is they don't know everything that makes up their own products. They have levels of toxins they can't even seem to figure out how to control. Every single soylent customer is a walking experiment. Why would you want to replace real food with something completely fabricated?

    4. Re:Welcome to basic biology by Khyber · · Score: 1

      I bet I can take one strain of cannabis and simply cure it in a different manner and you'd notice a drastic difference in even the raw extracts made directly after the curing process.

      If you think you can do otherwise, I know of many doctors and medical associations that would like to put you under medical study.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    5. Re:Welcome to basic biology by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      You thought your product would be a perfect fit for everyone on the planet?

      And why wouldn't it be? Human beings are shown to be the single most adaptable species on the planet. You can eat all sorts of meals in all corners of the earth and while it may make digestion difficult initially the body quickly adapts.

      Most intolerances to generic food are medical disorders, that doesn't make it any less of a general fit for everyone on a planet.

    6. Re:Welcome to basic biology by afgam28 · · Score: 1

      What do you mean by this, are you saying that people "fell for the marketing" because they didn't expect to get ill from it? How is this different from any other food poisoning outbreak?

    7. Re:Welcome to basic biology by Maritz · · Score: 1

      I think you misunderstood. GP was saying that different people react differently.

      I was merely pointing out that, while other people may, I don't.

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  21. VICE episode by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There was an episode about Soylent on VICE a little bit back. Their facility was just an empty concrete building with plastic tubs of ingredients and the closest thing to health precautions being plastic sheeting thrown up in one area. They also saw rats in the building there, so I really wouldn't be surprised if they got contaminated.

    1. Re: VICE episode by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reminds me of where my extacy is made.

    2. Re:VICE episode by arth1 · · Score: 1

      While the rat you can see in the video is cute, I'd rather not eat its fleas or droppings.

      If I understand it correctly, for legal purposes they call the bars a nutritional supplement, not food, so they won't have to go through the costly requirements for sanitary food production.
      If that's the case, I don't see how they can get away with it and still label their product as a "FOOD BAR".

    3. Re:VICE episode by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for the heads up. I was tempted to import some Coffiest, just for the sci-fi reference. I'll rethink it.

    4. Re:VICE episode by omnichad · · Score: 1

      don't see how they can get away with it and still label their product as a "FOOD BAR".

      Depends - did they put "FOOD BAR" in quotes like you did? If not, they should.

    5. Re:VICE episode by pontoffel · · Score: 2

      They stopped doing that around the time VICE's video was finished shooting. Soylent manufacturing is contracted out to other facilities:
      https://faq.soylent.com/hc/en-...

  22. What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What happened? Ran out of plump white geezers for the Green flavour and had to make do with overripe drowned Haitians? Shame on you...

  23. why on slashdot? by avandesande · · Score: 1

    Seriously, does anyone here eat these things?

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
    1. Re:why on slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a six week cyclic stack and I use the soylent bars on weeks 3 and 4, and then I switch to a week of only fruit before returning to a mitochondrial repair diet.

      CAPCHA: emptily, like my stomach.

    2. Re:why on slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I drink Soylent 2.0 every morning for breakfast and love it.

    3. Re:why on slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what you are saying is that you are a sucker for quacks? Tell Dr. Wahls "hi."

    4. Re:why on slashdot? by slashdice · · Score: 1

      Do you love horse-killing farts too?

      --
      Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
    5. Re:why on slashdot? by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Not to eat!

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    6. Re:why on slashdot? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I have a six week cyclic stack and I use the soylent bars on weeks 3 and 4, and then I switch to a week of only fruit before returning to a mitochondrial repair diet.

      I have absolutely no idea whether or not this is a joke.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  24. They have no choice but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to issue a full recall of the product, and retire the brand name. This is far more serious than Samsung's 40-50 smoking batteries, after all.

    1. Re:They have no choice but by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      There are still bottles of Odwalla products spread far and wide - or are you too young to remember that disaster?

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  25. Eat real food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously, just eat real food, you know vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat(if you are into that). You know, food you prepare yourself, not some mystery food garbage that you have no idea what's in it.

    Hopefully nobody is wondering why they got poisoned from this garbage.

    Hell if you are too lazy to cook, even MREs or something would be better than this shit, at least an MRE you can identify as a food item.

    1. Re:Eat real food by almitydave · · Score: 1

      I think in this case, the nature of the food is part of the appeal. It's a niche product, sure, but if people are buying SOYLENT then they expect a certain unidentifiable blandness to it. That's kind of the point.

      --
      my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
      I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
    2. Re:Eat real food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess there is no accounting for taste(or lack of taste buds entirely).

      FWIW it's very possible to make VERY bland food at home if that is what you are into.

  26. Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just reading the ingredients makes me sick.

  27. Bad grammar by burning_plastic · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't this be: "The ingredient list read: affected customers...".

  28. Soylent makes you green. by Qbertino · · Score: 1

    EOM

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  29. Soylent idiots at it again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First, Soylent tried to reinvent the wheel with a liquid full-nutrition replacement, not realizing that such products already existed for tube feeding patients (Nutera Replete, etc.), while also making their customers nauseated or severely flatulent

    Now they are at it with a dangerously indigestible nutrition bar, I see.

  30. Nothing to see here. Move along. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Consumers are just getting a bit of Kuru. Nothing to worry about. Totally normal. The whole issue is being blown out of proportion.

  31. that's not what happened by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As I remember it, they immediately began denying it was a problem and immediately began blaming anyone who ate a soylent bar.

    Source: I ate a soylent bar for lunch and spent the rest of the day in the bathroom with vomit coming out one end and diarrhea coming out the other.

    1. Re:that's not what happened by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      This is why bathrooms should be designed with either a sink or a bathtub next to the toilet.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  32. So, what's Soylent really about? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have some customers in San Jose, and live in Berkeley. Given the horrid traffic and the lack of good trains with little hope that BART's Silicon Valley extension will be done within a decade, I get up at 5AM when it's necessary to work at these customer sites, hit the road by 5:30, and head home around 1 PM.

    Obviously, that doesn't leave time for a leisurely breakfast. So, a cold bottle of Soylent 2.0 just out of the 'fridge is about my best option while driving. Warm Soylent doesn't actually seem that much worse, and I've used that during long drives when the alternative would have been fast food.

    Yes, I get paid enough to compensate for all of this.

    Soylent 2.0 tastes OK, but not so good that you'd eat it just for the taste. It takes care of physical needs and doesn't do anything nasty to my gastrointestinal system. I do not attempt to use it as a total food replacement.

    Consuming Soylent, though, leads one to think about how food flavors and other characteristics of food are evolved or engineered to manipulate us, and how this is a dependence or addiction and perhaps the largest cause of health issues in our lives.

    1. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Talahamut · · Score: 1

      It's definitely inoffensively neutral-flavored! I also have one in the morning in place of a food breakfast, but I can't imagine that a having a second one for lunch would ever fill me up enough to get through to dinner without some real food.

    2. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      It's only specified to provide 20% of your daily nutritional requirements, at 400 kcal. And I always wonder what size the person is whom is use to measure portion counts on food packages. Surely smaller than me.

    3. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      why not just use already available products like boost, ensure or even carnation instant breakfast for those times you "don't have time" to eat breakfast? heck, you could even go cheaper (and full control over portion size) and mix up some ovaltine & milk into your travel mug (which is also fortified but not to the extent of the others) it works either warm (it's our go-to for hot cocoa) or cold, too.

      they're significantly less expensive and taste much, much better (and the ones sold in the medicine isle are actual, tested and fda approved, supplements) than some hipster-made soy and chemical sludge.

      OR, since your early morning starts are also finished early.. like right after lunch; it's not like you couldn't get your fucking ass out of bed a half hour earlier to eat a proper morning meal. 5a-1p is an awesome shift, you fail it by not planning appropriately.

    4. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here in the EU too the standard daily recommendation is 2000 kcal, which was chosen since it is suitable for adult women and older children. That is, the largest cross-section of the population they could come up with.

      If you're a non-diminutive male, scaling that up to 2500-3000 kcal is probably the right course of action.

    5. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why not just grab an Ensure? This stuff has been around for years - I get that Soylent is super hipster-dude bro silicon valley-fied but Jesus Christ, just go to Walgreens and grab a six pack of butter almond Ensure. Same result, less projectile vomiting.

    6. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The 1.0 version was designed for 750 cal meals (1/3rd of daily intake per meal, and 1/3rd of a bag).
       
        The v1.5 is for 500 cal meals.... but they didnt change the weight of the bag, it just has 4 servings per bag now.
       
        My measuring cup still says 1/2rd meal, however, and 2 scoops gives me 1/3 of the bag....

    7. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by ffkom · · Score: 1

      When having a meal/eating is not such a joyful part of your life that you would never want to substitute it with drinking some artificial paste, you are either suffering from a terrible disease, or you should definitely change what/when/how you eat.

      Substituting real food with Soylent is like substituting sex with semen extraction under narcosis.

      And "working more for more money" is certainly not a good reason to keep yourself away from the most basic pleasures in life - unless your only alternative to that particular work would mean dying from starvation, which I don't believe is your only alternative.

    8. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      First, you're not realizing what I bill those customers. I don't want to wave money around on Slashdot but I assure you, you too would drink an unoffensive bottle of Soylent for that much. The main thing it buys me is freedom, and there is no shortage of pleasure coming from that. I can work on what I want most of the time, or not work, if I just keep a few of those customers.

      Second, you can't have any of the real pleasures in life without your health. You are evolved to be attracted to foods that would have been infrequent windfalls throughout most of the evolution of human beings. Now, you can have them for every meal, and your body is sending you the signals to do so despite the fact that those foods will ultimately be detrimental to you. If you are still compelled to eat them, there's a pretty good chance that's the addiction talking.

    9. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      The closest would be Boost Plus, which still comes in short on calories and way too much simple sugar. Look at the ingredients!

      Water, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Canola, High Oleic Sunflower, Corn), Milk, Protein Concentrate, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, and Less than 1% of: Calcium Caseinate, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Caseinate, Gum Acacia, Fructooligosaccharides, Potassium Citrate, Inulin (from Chicory), Soy Lecithin, ...

    10. Re:So, what's Soylent really about? by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      Like Boost, too much simple sugar.

      Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Blend of Vegetable Oils (Canola, Corn), Milk Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali). Less than 0.5% of: Nonfat Milk, Magnesium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Soy Lecithin, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Cellulose Gum, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Cellulose Gel, Carrageenan, Salt, Ferric Phosphate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Chromium Chloride, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin B12, Phylloquinone, and Vitamin D3.

  33. EAT REAL FOOD, LOSERS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What kind of complete loser would eat something like this in the first place, let alone PAY for it? Utterly disgusting. No wonder people got sick. EAT REAL FOOD.

  34. Irresponsible company. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The company is urging customers to discard remaining bars ... "After hearing from our customers, we immediately began investigating the cause of the issue and whether it was linked to a problem with the Bars," the company said. "So far we have not yet identified one"

    The company is urging everyone to destroy all evidence, even though they can find nothing wrong. Sounds legit.

  35. Yuck. by Powercntrl · · Score: 1
    --

    ---
    DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
  36. Wow. I would expect gastric upset... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    as there's more than a few things in there that individually can be found to run through you like shit through a goose...

  37. It's made of clowns! by clickety6 · · Score: 2

    It's made of clowns! That's why it makes you feel funny!

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
  38. "human resources" by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Funny

    no no no No NO...
    "Rosa Labs -- our people are our greatest asset"

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    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  39. Meal replacement by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

    Why do people act like this stuff is new? I have been using Lean 1 protein shakes, which is a meal replacement, for three months. I by no means use it to lose weight, I'm actually bulking right now, but it has more than enough to replace a meal, and I have more confidence in it than the Soylent shakes. It has a longer ingredient list, but each two pound container is a shake a day for half a month, so pricing isn't too dissimilar, maybe even better.

    1. Re:Meal replacement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right. "Bulking". ;)

  40. Go figure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...a food product developed like software by a jackass software engineer is making people sick?

    1. Re: Go figure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bug Report:

      Severity: HIGH
      Priority: URGENT
      Reason: Defect
      Status: New
      Environment: Production

      Description:
      "illnesses involving gastrointestinal distress within a few hours of eating a bar"

      Steps To Reproduce:
      1) Consume product
      2) Wait
      3) Shit myself
      4) See attached photos

      Expected result: Consuming the product the *NOT* shitting myself.