PlanetFeedback's ShopperCast

The Way The Cookie Crumbles

It's taken a while for us to post today.... we've been lying down in a dark room, curled up in the fetal position, over this news:  they are cutting back the quantity of cookies in Girl Scout cookies. 

*SOB*

We love Girl Scout cookies.  Frozen Thin Mints.  Do-Si-Does.  And those lovely lemon sandwich cookies.  We sold them as a kid and love to buy them as an adult. 

Usually we buy 12-15 boxes and freeze them and eat them over the course of the year.  We've endured the rising costs of cookies... but now we learn that there are going to be 2-4 cookies less per box in the Thin Mints, Trefoils, and Do-Si-Does.  (Don't pay too much never mind to the list on the CNN page - Trefoils ARE shortbread cookies and Do-Si-Does ARE peanut butter sandwich cookies.) 

And the Lemon Chalet Cremes are changing their shape.  All to save a little bit of money on a once-a-year sale.  Guess nothing is sacred.

You know, it was bad enough when they reduced the packaging of cereal and peanut butter and ice cream.  But now Girl Scout cookies? That's a crying shame.  We just ordered our first four boxes and now we're thinking we should just stop there.

After all, why should we give our hard earned money for fewer cookies?

--Contributed by Deb

More Peanut Butter Recall

We still love peanut butter.  As we previously made you aware, there's a recall of peanut butter because of a potential outbreak of salmonella.  Yuck.

Today we get this email from Food Lion regarding peanut butter.  It assures us that the peanut butter sold in jars is not at risk, however there may be some items that contained the tainted peanut butter or peanut butter paste which might be subject to the recall. 

Oh boy.

Now we're seeing that Kellogg's has a confirmed case of salmonella from its peanut butter crackers, marketed under the name Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter and Keebler crackers.  Now we're worried ~ as we have these kind of crackers in our desk drawer at work to munch on when hunger pains strike.   Guess where they're going when we get to work tomorrow?  If you guessed the trash can, you'd be right.  

Grocery store Meijer, Inc. is also recalling two items of store brand peanut butter crackers as well as ice cream.  Little Debbie is also pulling some products off the shelf. 

Oh boy x 2.  Now not only are we talking about crackers, but ice cream, cookies (we have a very soft spot for peanut butter cookies), snack cakes.  The list could continue to grow.  Which means the list of things in our pantry which could be included.  Like we said:  we love peanut butter.

So please do us a favor and check out this list and then go look in your pantry just to be sure.  If you see anything on this list, toss it.  Keep yourself safe.

--Contributed by Deb

Recall News - Peanut Butter

What doesn't go well with peanut butter?  Let's see - jelly goes well; so does jam; honey - yep, marshmellows and bananas, yummy.  Salmonella?  Ugh.  Not so much.

King Nut, who makes peanut butter is recalling some of its products after an open container of its product shows traces of salmonella.  Theoretically it could have been introduced to the product and might not be present in the the PB, but King Nut is taking no chances.  400 people have been sickened by salmonella in 42 states. 

It has asked its customers to stop using any and all King Nut or Parnell's Pride peanut butter that has a lot code of 8. 

The peanut butter was distributed only through food service providers in Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Florida.

If you have purchased peanut butter in really large quantities, this recall could effect you.  If not, well it's good information to know... just in case.  

--Contributed by Deb 

A ShopperCast Public Service Announcement

It is only four days until Thanksgiving.  If you purchased a frozen turkey, take it out of the freezer right now.  Stop reading... we'll wait for you to continue while you take the bird out of the freezer.  Our turkey breast is out of the freezer and thawing so we can start the brining process tomorrow night.  (As an aside, brining makes the meat extremely moist.)

One of the safest way to defrost a turkey is in the 'fridge.  It takes about 24 hours of thawing time for every 4-5 pounds of bird.  Or you can thaw it in cold water.  But for the love of the deity of your choice, do NOT take the turkey out of the freezer and bang it onto the countertop or into the sink to thaw at room temperature for 3 or 4 days.  Unless you want a side trip to the emergency room to have your stomach pumped on Thanksgiving. 

And you don't want to be sticking a frozen turkey in the oven on Thursday morning.  Or even worse.... if you're deep frying a turkey, you really really REALLY don't want to be using a frozen (or even partially frozen) turkey.  Case in point:

If you need any turkey tips, check out this website.  Or just give us a call.  We're happy to help.  Bon appetit!

--Contributed by Deb 

Chinese Democracy Rocks?

We're a Pepper; You're a Pepper; He's a Pepper; She's a Pepper.... wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?  And for free too!

Like most of us, and the producers of Dr. Pepper, you were probably thinking Guns 'N Roses were NEVER going to release their new album, Chinese Democracy.  Or maybe you were hoping that Axl Rose was done for good.

Silly you. 

Dr. Pepper banked on it too ~ and promised free soda for all of us if Chinese Democracy was released in 2008.  A fair wager considering it's only been delayed since it was started recording - in 1994.  Time to put your soda where our mouths are!

Keep your eye on their website - coupons for a free 20 ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper will be available 12:01 a.m Sunday for ONLY 24 hours.  The coupons are supposed to be good until February 28.

Drink up!  And thanks Axl!

--Contributed by Deb

Hey, That's Our Lunch!

Excuse our typos.... we just got back inside from the garage.  Not only is it 32 degrees here at ShopperCast East, we were just hanging out in our freezer.  Why, you ask?  Basically because we love chicken - especially for lunch.

Lean Cuisine has announced a recall of a number of it's products - 879,565 pounds of chicken may contain foreign bodies.  Oh gross.  We're adament - there should only be chicken in our chicken entrees.  Which is why we've been in our freezers. 

The following items are part of the recall: 

9.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta" brand frozen meals. Printed on each side of each package is a production code of “8280595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best Before MAY 2010.”

10.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8231595912” or “8241595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2010”; a production code of “8263595912,” “8269595911” or “8274595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2010”; or, a production code of “8291595912” or “8301595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2010.”

12.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Tuscan” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8234595911” and a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2009”; a production code of “8253595911” or “8269595912” as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2009”; or, a production code of “8292595911” or “8296595911” as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2009.”

Each package also bears the USDA mark of inspection, as well as the establishment number “EST P-9018.” The frozen chicken meals were produced on Aug. 18, Aug. 21, Aug. 28, Sept. 9, Sept. 19, Sept. 25, Sept. 30, Oct. 6, Oct. 17-18, Oct. 22 and Oct. 27 and were distributed to grocery stores nationwide.

We're sorry to send you into the freezer on this really cold day, but trust us, it's a good idea to make sure that there's only chicken in your lunches.

--Contributed by Deb

Save The Breasts

Boobs are important dontcha know.  And your friends here at ShopperCast are going to do our part to make sure they're protected - either because we have them or because we appreciate them.  If you own a bra made by Victoria's Secret and you experienced some discomfort (beyond the normal discomfort of carrying these around on your chest, of course), you might not be the only one.

Roberta Ritter is suing Victoria's Secret.  She claims that the bra she purchased from Vicky's caused a rash, hives and some permanent scarring as the result of formaldehyde in or on the material.  Roberta claims she purchased an Angel Secret Embrace and a Very Extreme Push Me Up and these bras caused her injury.  (Yes, of course, we're wondering if expecting your breasts to defy gravity caused any injury as well). 

In the process of investigating her claim, Roberta's law-yahs bought several bras and tested them for a variety of substances.  And they claim several of the bras purchased tested positive for formaldehyde.  Vicky's says no way is there any of that in their product and says they have strict quality controls against this kind of chemicals in its products.

Roberta's doctor, however, says that formaldehyde in or on the fabric could have indeed caused the injury.  Interesting, huh.  Can Roberta's bra be tested for the presence of this chemical at this point?  Nyet.  So it's pretty much academic ~ it COULD have caused an injury, but Roberta's gonna have to work really hard to show that it did.

We think (and science bears us out, btw) any chemical like that should have cleaned up with a couple of washings.  All the more reason to wash your bras (and other clothes) before you wear them.  Duh.  The other thing is that wouldn't you think that if you were having some kind of contact injury, the first thing you would do is remove any clothing that could be causing the problem and wash it again. 

But perhaps that's just us being a little too common sensical.  Darn it.

So take our advice...  wash 'em before you wear them.  After all, no one wants burned breasts.  And if you're one of the ones who has been allegedly injured by your underwear, we are sure Roberta would be happy to talk to you about it. 

--Contributed by Deb

From Cork To Non-Cork: The Changing World of Wine

We've been known to uncork our fair share of bottles of vino (since becoming of age, of course).  Just as we've begun to master the art of the cork screw (not letting it go too far off-center, making sure it goes all the way in before attempting to remove the cork), we find out that natural corks are out, and screw-tops and man-made corks are in.

Apparently, American wines are the among the last to use cork, and almost everyone else is using screw-tops, or using cork only for their exports to America.  While cork recycling can be an issue (cork is like bamboo:  a quickly renewable resource, but the less that ends up in landfills, the better, right?), the main problem is a chemical present in cork that can taint or spoil 1% or 10% of wines.  (Apparently, there is some confusion and mystery regarding the matter.)

There are several reasons a wine can go bad.  But American and some foreign wine producers are indulging Americans' misplaced sense of wine snobbery by continuing to use cork, despite the evidence that man-made corks and screw-tops leave less room for a bottle of wine to end up as a bottle of unsalvageable vinegar.

~Contributed by Angela Nims~

Even box wines are getting more acceptable.  But that's a whole other column.  ::hic::

Try Cooking The Chicken

We usually like to have a warm lunch at work.  Some days cold cuts just don't cut it.  We pick out a variety of entrees from the frozen food section and grab one on the way out the door.  We always read the instructions on how to cook them, as some cook longer than others.

One day we tossed in a box of chicken kiev with the thought that we'd just nuke it for lunch.  Until we read the back of the package that said "Do Not Microwave".  It gave conventional oven directions and since we don't have one of those at work, we stuck it back in the freezer and just had a salad.

Apparently some people didn't.  Thirty-two people have become sick with salmonella after consuming products like this that are breaded or browned, which gives the appearance of being pre-cooked and hence microwavable.  The back of the box says in bold not to microwave, so either we're too fastidious about directions or others just don't read the back.

We can't help but wonder, didn't people notice they were eating raw chicken?  We've never had the displeasure of consuming raw poultry, but guess there should be a textural or flavor difference.  Yuck.  Even the thought of eating undercooked chicken makes out stomachs turn.

Just goes to show you that we need to be diligent about following those directions.  And if the box says not to microwave, don't just assume you can do it.  Take the time to pick something else that's safe.

--Contributed by Deb

Come For a Day, Stay For Three Years

Bally's is at it again.  Yet another letter at PlanetFeedback complaining about Bally's deceptive enrollment practices.  A quick google search brought up countless complaints about Bally's misleading sales practices, confusing and contradictory contracts,the difficulty in getting out of a contract, and the near impossibility of getting a contract to cancel properly at the end of the contract term.

While many complaints are about issues the members could have avoided ("That's what you get for not reading what you signed"), there is evidence that Bally's purposely writes its contracts in a confusing and complex manner designed to (1) dissuade a potential member from actually reading it and (2) to make it next to impossible to cancel a membership, even when following all the steps and meeting the criteria outlined in the paperwork.  There also are stories online of Bally's allowing minors to join the gym by having the sales rep lie about the minor's age on the paperwork.

Years ago, one of our reporters went to join a local gym chain.  When she read the contract, she found clauses that were legally unenforceable (such as, if any employee or agent of the gym were to cause a member serious injury on purpose, the member's signing of the contract relieved the gym and the employee/agent of any financial responsibility or obligation).  Knowing the law, she laughed it off and signed.  When she later learned that the membership agreement had been written by an attorney who had been disbarred, she wasn't surprised.

But the folly here was entering into a business agreement with a company that had immediately proven itself to be unethical.  Granted, our friend did so knowingly.  But what about all the well-meaning folks off the street who, in a burst of self-motivation and a desire to take a hot picture, sign on the dotted line, only to discover later that they made a deal with the devil?

Further, it seems that when a person signs a membership agreement with Bally's, what they're actually signing is a loan agreement that prepays the three-year membership dues, leaving the member on the hook for the loan, with different legal obligations than if they had signed a regular membership agreement.  Refusing to continue to pay can damage one's credit report for years.

A salesperson for a reputable gym (or any business) will go over the contract with a potential member, point by point, stating what the terms are and pointing out those terms in the contract, much like a title/closing agent in a mortgage closing.  Prospective members should do research, both on the internet and via their local BBB chapter, to educate themselves, to make sure the gym they are thinking of joining operates in a fair and ethical manner, and to be prepared with specific questions while meeting with the gym's representative.

There is something inherently wrong with a company that enters into agreements with deception already in place.  And if the company is starting things out that way, you can bet it will continue with those unethical practices all the way down the line, ending in a protracted struggle to properly end the membership agreement and move on with one's life.

~Contributed by Angela~