Boy's story exploited to sell device; An alleged 'potato cartel': CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet

Miss something this week?

Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.

Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday.

His son's brain was damaged by E. coli. Now someone is exploiting their story to sell a questionable product

Lucas Parker lost his ability to walk or talk after an E. coli infection

9 days ago

Duration 1:33

As a toddler, Lucas Parker ate salad that had been contaminated with E. coli. He lost the ability to walk, talk and it affected his eyesight. Now eight, the boy's story is being used without his family's permission to market a food sanitizer.

It's lunchtime in the Parker home in Richmond, B.C. But before eight-year-old Lucas can be fed, his dad checks the boy's blood sugar levels. Nathan Parker figures out the dosages for his son's medications and fills a small plastic bag with liquid nutrition that will be delivered through a feeding tube into Lucas's belly.

"One day," Parker says to his son. "Come on, let's get to steak and potatoes, OK? I think you'd be tired of this food by now? I know I would be."

But that day is not coming. Lucas is considered to be one of the most severely injured survivors of a food-borne illness.

CBC Marketplace wrote a story about Lucas in 2021, while investigating a rash of E. coli outbreaks involving romaine lettuce in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Parker was looking to show a friend that piece, but he found something else — Lucas's life story was being used to sell a machine that claims to rid food of bacteria and toxins for $256.

Parker said he knew nothing about it.

"I believe they're exploiting my son — and that's the part that hurts the most." 

The video Parker discovered uses animation to retell Marketplace's original story of how Lucas shared a contaminated romaine salad with his dad while on a family road trip to Disneyland in 2018.

Lucas nearly died when his kidneys shut down from an E. coli infection. And the complications from the illness caused brain damage that left the then-toddler unable to walk or talk, and affected his eyesight so that he can barely see.

A video by the company selling the food sanitizer suggests its device could prevent this from happening to another child by removing "harmful toxins, bacteria, viruses and added hormones in food within minutes."

Parker is appalled.

"My son is so unique. The situation that happened to him was unavoidable." Read more

• For the full investigation, watch "Profiting off Pain" Friday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. (8:30 in N.L.) on CBC TV and CBC Gem. 

Alleged 'potato cartel' accused of conspiring to raise price of frozen fries, tater tots across U.S.

Four companies currently dominating a multibillion-dollar market in the United States are being accused of sharing detailed, sensitive inside information with each other as part of an alleged conspiracy to raise the price of their goods and make more money off consumers.

To be clear, this is a story about potatoes.

Two proposed class actions filed this week in U.S. District Court claim that four leading potato companies — McCain Foods, Cavendish Farms, Lamb Weston and J.R. Simplot — have privately swapped intel to inflate the price of frozen potato goods, like fries, hash browns and tater tots, over the last several years.

"Armed with the same access to each other's data on pricing and other sensitive information, as well as with a direct line of communication to each other, the potato cartel moves prices skyward in lockstep — harming all purchasers of potatoes in the process," one of the claims read.

Companies in Canada and the United States are supposed to settle on a price for their products on their own. When they co-ordinate with each other and set an agreed rate, it's called price-fixing — which generally makes the price higher for the consumer, since the main-player companies are agreeing not to compete by introducing lower prices.

McCain and Cavendish are both based in Canada. In a statement to CBC News, McCain said it "strongly disputes any allegation that the company violated antitrust laws, or any other laws, with respect to the sale of frozen potato products."

"McCain Foods intends to vigorously defend the recently filed lawsuits so that it can focus on what we do best: delivering high quality, affordable food to customers nationwide." 

The lawsuits have not been certified as class actions and the allegations have not been proven in court. None of the four companies have filed defences and the other three did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read more

Insurance group releases list of Ontario's 10 most stolen vehicles in 2023

Which vehicles are most at risk for theft? David Common breaks down the latest data

11 days ago

Duration 3:51

The Toyota Highlander was the most stolen vehicle in Canada last year overall — but CBC’s David Common explains why consumers should look beyond the raw numbers and examine the data around the most frequently stolen vehicles, which include Land Rovers and Lexus SUVs.

How big of a target is your vehicle for theft? If it's a Range Rover, the chances are high — for every 14 in the province, one is stolen, according to a new report.

Équité Association, an organization that works to stop crime on behalf of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, has released a list of the top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles in the province last year.

Topping the list are the 2022 Land Rover Range Rover, the 2022 Land Rover Defender and the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Series.

Brian Gast, vice-president of Équité's investigative services division, says criminals made more than $1 billion just off of cars stolen in Ontario.

"That's the money that is up for grabs for organized crime. That's what it's about," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning in an interview. "It's being used to purchase guns, drugs, whatever the case may be. It's being used to further their criminal operations domestically and internationally. So it's a very big concern and it goes beyond financial." 

Équité released a report in February that said auto theft increased 48 per cent in Ontario from 2021 to 2023. It also said a car is stolen in Canada every five minutes.

Earlier this year, the federal and provincial governments as well as police services across the GTA put forward initiatives to reduce car thefts. But Gast and others say more needs to be done.

One thing his organization hopes to achieve is tighter security vehicles on cars sold in Canada. Read more

• You can watch Marketplace's investigation "Stolen in Seconds: Why aren't car makers doing more?" anytime on YouTube and CBC Gem.

What else is going on?

Winnipegger warns others about elaborate Manitoba Hydro missed payments scam
Woman was told she had to make a deposit at a store with a Bitcoin kiosk or else her power would be cut.

Google must sell Chrome to restore competition in online search, U.S. Justice Department says
Proposals include ending exclusive deals with Apple and forcing Google to share data with rivals.

Is this banana duct-taped to a wall really worth $6.2 million US? Somebody thought so
The conceptual artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan first debuted in 2019.

Marketplace needs your help!

As we approach the holiday season, are you on the look out for sales? Have you noticed any sales that aren't really a good deal? Send us your stories! [email protected].

Mind Your Business is your weekly look at what's happening in the worlds of economics, business and finance. Subscribe now.

Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.