Business news in brief

By The Associated Press

USDA launches internal investigation into Boar’s Head outbreak

U.S. Agriculture Department officials have launched an internal investigation into how the agency handled reports of serious problems tied to a deadly listeria outbreak at a Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Virginia.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says that the USDA inspector general is looking into whether federal investigators and state inspectors responded appropriately to dozens of reports of problems at the factory. At least 10 people died and nearly 50 were hospitalized since May after eating Boar’s Head products, including liverwurst.

The Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt was inspected under a program that allows state inspectors to act on behalf of the federal agency. The company shut down the plant in September.

Protesters demand Kellogg remove artificial colors from cereals

Dozens of people rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. Tuesday, demanding that the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S.

Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced nearly a decade ago that it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its products by 2018.

The company has done that in other countries. In Canada, for example, Froot Loops are colored with concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice. But in the U.S., the cereal still contains artificial colors and BHT, a chemical preservative.

Agency adopts rule to make canceling subscriptions easier

The Federal Trade Commission adopted a final rule Wednesday that will require businesses to make it easy for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions and memberships.

The “click-to-cancel” rule will prohibit retailers and other businesses from misleading people about subscriptions and require them to obtain consumers’ consent before charging for memberships, auto-renewals and programs linked to free trial offers.

The FTC said businesses must also disclose when free trials or other promotional offers will end and let customers end recurring subscriptions as easily as they started them. Most of the provisions take effect effect 180 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register, the agency said.

—From AP reports