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."

Comments

Investigation?

[mysidia]

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.......

Re: Marketing opportunity

[HBI]

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.