No, this is not another story about that woman who was burned by hot coffee. This time hedgehogs are in danger from a McDonald McFlurry (icecream) cup. Apparently the little creatures are lured by the sweet residue in discarded McFlurries but then die after they push their head through the lid; their quills prevent them from pulling back out and thus they starve to death. Good to hear that the fast-food giant is going to use a different design, but I could not help but wonder about their claim regarding the significance of their effort to resolve the problem:

McDonald’s said in a statement the design change had resulted from pressure from the society which prompted “significant research and design testing” to develop new packaging.

I heard NASA won the contract. Or maybe it was Halliburton. Either way, I expect the four years of R&D into a safer McFlurry container should result in some impressive changes.

The Hedgehog Welfare Society in the UK led the campaign. Hard to know if the 2003 deal between McDonalds and SEGA to market Sonic The Hedgehog on Happy Meals is in any way related.

Personally, I say forget the fancy lid and cups. What ever happened to the old “cone” concept of an edible/degradable container?

The BBC reports that a man in Mumbai will keep the name of his restaurant “Hitler’s Cross” despite protests from the local Jewish community.

“My customers are not complaining about the name, they are very amused by it,” he said. “Just like Hitler wanted to conquer the world, I want to conquer at least my area through the food served in my restaurant.”

Great. Now you know where to find all the Nazi sympathizers, conveniently collected into a restaurant in India. Clearly this man thinks a genocidal maniac is someone to idolize. Or does he…

Mr Sabhlok also said he was not promoting Hitler in any manner as he did not have any pictures of the German Nazi leader or decor related to him.

When questioned about press photographs of a huge Hitler poster at the front door, Mr Sabhlok said it was put up by one of the 700 invitees who attended the opening. “We pulled it off later,” he said.

I can just imagine him saying “Oh, you mean that picture? That’s someone else’s.” Of course it is, because restaurant guests always bring a giant picture of Hitler with them to dinner and post it on the front door.

So he’s saying he wants to be just like Hitler, but not like Hitler in any way. Hmmm, that sort of double-speak sounds strangely similar to something Hitler would have said. So the big question is whether the officials will have the sense to shut this place down before it becomes a serious saftey issue (please note I have avoided any tasteless “to die for” jokes), and whether/how restaurant laws will be forced change in India as a result.

Edited to add (8/29/2006): Looks like the BBC report may have been a few days stale. NewKerala.com reported that the protests began August 18th when the restaurant opened and by the 24th the restaurant announced it would give up the name:

“We, the owners and operators of the restaurant opened at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, acknowledge that the name adopted by us for our restaurant was most inappropriate.

“We have decided to change the name of our restaurant and remove all signs and articles associated with Hitler and Nazism in and around the restaurant,” the statement said.

It will now be called The Pol Pot. No, not really. But you never know.

It looks like India is still not too happy with the safety controls used by Coke and Pepsi for their products:

Researchers at the Center for Science and Environment, an independent group, say they have conducted various studies that clearly show pesticide residues in Coca Cola and Pepsi products in India were 24 times higher than European Union standards.

Both companies have categorically denied this charge, amid assertions that their products are safe and pose no risk to human health.

However, they have mostly failed to convince local health officials in many parts of the country. The cola companies have been ordered by the Indian Supreme Court to reveal the contents of their products within the next six months.

Hard not to tie that story together with the latest row over tainted rice exports to Europe as explained here and here:

Late last week, the European Commission was notified by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns of trace amounts of unauthorized genetically modified (GMO) rice detected in long grain samples that were targeted for commercial use. It was the first time that unmarketed genetically engineered rice had been found in rice used in the U.S. commercial market. Although U.S. authorities have assured Brussels that there is no environmental or human health risk, either from food or animal feed, Commission experts are urgently seeking more information — with a possible view to import restrictions.

If these things are being caught during export, and by foreign agencies with strict health standards, certainly makes you wonder about domestic controls (and the public’s want of full disclosure)…my guess is that even if the EU demands change, other big importers of US long-grain rice like Iraq will not object.