Last night, our reader "w_mworker" said it was an official display campaign called "Family Fun Night":

There is also supposed to be board games and other family games next to the DVDs. (probably not noticed since they actually belong in the toy dept) The idea is one stop shopping for a cheap family night at home. By a board game, kid dvd and some snacks.

And guess what: today on Twitter, Walmart made an official announcement.

Walmart on Twitter (Thanks to m_worker and Travis!)

New Campaign Asks New Yorkers if They're "Pouring On the Pounds" [via Adfreak]
New Salvo in City's War on Sugary Drinks [New York Times]

I had a negative experience flip into a positive one by venting my frustration to an online form I expected to go nowhere.

Yesterday, I ordered online from Dominos. I ordered a pizza, breadsticks and a 2-liter of Sprite. When the delivery guy showed up, the order was missing the Sprite. He apologized and advised me that the store had no more bottles of Sprite, so they substituted a Coca-Cola instead.

Rewind to about a year ago when the same thing happened to me at another location. At that time, someone from my office grabbed the delivery so I had to take the issue up by phone to the store. "I don't drink Coke, so I don't want this. I'd either like you to pick it up or not charge me for it." That location declined both and the charge was taken up with my credit card company, and all was eventually corrected (I wasn't charged for the incorrect order).

Back to the current story — I refused the delivery of the Coca-Cola. Since I paid with credit card, the driver offered to give me cash for the difference. Easily settled, he just kept the cash as tip and I proceeded to enjoy my meal.

When I returned to my computer after lunch, I noticed the online form on the post-order screen for Dominos — If you're not familiar, it has the "tracker" to see your order being made to delivery. At the bottom is a form rating your experience and any feedback. I rated accordingly, noting my issue with not being contacted before the order got here to let me know a part of my order wasn't available.

Thirty minutes later, the delivery guy was back with Sprite in hand. He was advised by the store to buy a bottle from a grocery store and deliver it to me at no charge. Already shocked by that, I then received a call from the store asking about the feedback I submitted online and ensuring my concerns were resolved.

I'm not sure if stores are rated by that feedback that most people, including myself, normally dismiss or if they were legitimately concerned with my feedback submitted. Either way, the minor annoyance that would have left me with some negative feeling about the transaction was flipped over into a really positive one.

Either things were very, very slow at that particular Domino's that day, or maybe some restaurants are now using INSTANT FEEDBACK!

(Photo: KFreon)

Someone in the Digg comments posted a look at the actual subtle evolution of the Coke logo, but, you know, it's funnier without it.
[Via Digg]

The same error showed up on bottles of bottled Starbucks Frappucinos and Diet Orange Crush.

GALLERY


END

Yesterday, Slate reported on the "decline and fall of high fructose corn syrup" and the public's growing distaste for corn-based sweetness. ...or lack of a distaste.

[W]idespread anecdotal reports suggest that people really can tell the difference between sugar-sweetened and HFCS-sweetened colas. (I'm pretty sure I can taste it myself.) What's less clear is whether one is really any better than the other. Despite the enthusiasm for sugar-sweetened Coke and all-natural iced tea, informal taste tests have yielded ambiguous results. In a street survey conducted by the Toronto Star, most passers-by preferred regular Coke to the Passover version; several folks described the latter as tasting like aspartame. A similar confusion beset the Snapple testers at Fast Company: One described the HFCS version as tasting "more natural" while another dismissed the all-natural version for its "chemical taste."

Dark Sugar [Slate] (Thanks, Chris and Dave!)

(Photo: Paxton Holley)

[via Good Morning America]
RELATED: A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains [GMA]

Can't remember the last Coca-Cola ad targeted at children? There's a reason...Parents tell us they prefer to be the ones teaching their children about beverage choices. That's why for over 50 years we've adhered to a company policy that prohibits advertising soft drinks to children.

When he sent a letter to the editor of the medical journal, it got published, along with a response from Coke. Now the CanWest newswire service has picked up the story and Coke remains steadfast, calling their drinks "wholesome.":

But Coca-Cola Canada stands by the position that it does not advertise soft drinks to children. "Absolutely, because it is true," spokeswoman Amy Laski said in a statement.

Coke is "wholesome and suitable" for kids, but "we understand that children are impressionable, and we respect the role of parents and caregivers in making food and beverage choices with their children. Therefore, we are committed not to directly market messages for any of our beverages to children under 12."

Oh, how soon we forget those New Kids On The Block branding partnerships of yesteryear!

Coca-Cola Lies to Doctors? [Weighty Matters]
Vetting journal advertisements [CMAJ]
Coca-Cola Canada responds [CMAJ]
Santa, animated animal ads not aimed at kids, Coke says [CanWest]

Basically, what we learned from the video is that this stuff might be ok if you're drunk which could probably be said for a great number of things. We are anxious to see how Pepsi will torture Japan's taste-buds next year.

Pepsi Blue Hawaii [HikanNinja]

Have you ever accidentally forgot to pay for some heavy item that you stowed under you shopping cart? We have, too! Unlike one Cleveland man, however, we did not go to jail for it.

From WLKY:

Tom Sturgis has a long receipt showing the $157.20 worth of two grocery carts full of groceries that he bought at a Brooklyn supermarket Saturday night. After going through the self checkout, Sturgis said he forgot a $4 case of pop under the cart.

A police officer working security at the store asked to see his receipt.

"I went looking for the receipt, the pop wasn't on it and they decided to have me arrested," he said.

Sturgis was arrested on a petty theft charge.

Sturgis, who said he has never had so much as a parking ticket, found himself being led out of the store in handcuffs. He spent 11:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. in jail that night.

At home, his wife said she couldn't believe what was happening.

"It's over a case of pop," said Wendy Sturgis. "He turned around and offered to go back in and pay for it and the cop told him it's like robbing a bank, you just can't get caught robbing a bank and say, 'I'm sorry, I'll give you your money back.'"

We humbly suggest that this police officer is not very good at his job.

The nutrition standards would allow only plain bottled water and eight-ounce servings of fruit juice or plain or flavored low-fat milk with up to 170 calories to be sold in elementary and middle schools. High school students could also buy diet soda or, in places like school gyms, sports drinks. Other drinks with as many as 66 calories per eight ounces could be sold in high schools, but that threshold would drop to 25 calories per eight-ounce serving in five years.

Food for sale would have to be limited in saturated and trans fat and have less than 35 percent sugar. Sodium would be limited, and snacks must have no more than 180 calories per serving for middle and elementary schools and 200 calories for high schools.

The standards would not affect occasional fund-raising projects, like Girl Scout cookie sales.

Although states would not be able to pass stronger restrictions, individual school districts could.

The rules have the support of food and drink manufacturers, including the American Beverage Association, which worked closely on the amendment with Mr. Harkin's office and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that has been critical of the food industry.

"This whole effort has momentum because of the variety of interests that have come together who do not usually find agreement," said Susan Neely, president of the beverage association.

Some parents and nutritionists are angry that states will not be able to enact even tougher limits.

The amendment's fate - and that of the larger farm bill - is precariously uncertain. Senate Republican's derailed the chamber's last attempt to bring up the farm bill by demanding the right to offer amendments repealing the estate tax and adjusting the alternative minimum tax. Cloture was rejected 55-42. Senate leadership is expected to wedge the Farm Bill back onto the crowded floor schedule for debate early next week.

Effort to Limit Junk Food in Schools Faces Hurdles [NYT]
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(Photo: Scott Ableman)

Concerned that developing countries will start drinking as much soda as we fatties here in the States (a legitimate worry, we must admit,) they're asking governments around the world to require soda companies to change the way they do business. They want more low-sugar alternatives to soda, smaller portion sizes of existing high-sugar sodas, prominent display of calorie information, and warning labels that warn consumers to drink water to quench thirst.

In addition, they're asking that soda companies "stop promoting and selling sweetened beverages, including sports drinks and fruit flavored beverages and teas, in all public and private elementary, middle, and high schools" and to instead sell fruit juice (in container sizes of 250 ml or less.)

These sorts of campaigns always remind us of something we noticed way back when we were in school. When kids were asked how to stop other kids from smoking, the first thing our classmates always said was, "Advertise against it," but when the instructor asked the class if they were influenced by advertising they always said no. Either the kids were lying or they knew that cheesy "don't smoke" ads and warning labels didn't work and wouldn't keep them away from the forbidden pleasure of smoking themselves to death. Probably both.

Personally, we drank too much Coke in high school because they hid the coffee machine in the teacher's lounge. Damning teenagers to high school without caffeine is cruel and unusual punishment, even if the alternative is to be fat with rotten teeth.

In our elementary school, however, soft drinks were not allowed and we didn't consider it much of a hardship at the time. On the other hand, death would surely have come to anyone attempting to pry the "Ecto Cooler" juice box from our tiny fingers.

Do you think soft drinks should be banned from schools?

The Global Dump Soda Campaign
(Photo:chickee510)

Daniel says: Hi guys,

I thought this was an interesting incident that you might want to look into and make your readers aware of.

I had went with a friend to buy a few things at the Super Target in Huntsville, Alabama yesterday. Upon checking out, the cashier looked at a four pack of bottled Jones Soda that my friend was buying for himself and asked to see his license. Having laughed it off a bit realizing her mistake, we informed her that this in fact was not an alcoholic drink and that she would not need his ID. She instead became very stern with us and told us that we would have to provide ID anyways, or else the Target Rent-A-Cop would "deal with us", as she stated it.

Wanting to head home and not really wanting to cause a scene, we went ahead and did what she asked and headed out of the store with our purchases. I've tried to reach a manager by phone afterwards to state my displeasure but have had no luck as of yet. Should this happen again, I'm pretty sure that we'll be standing our ground instead of giving in as we shouldn't have.

-Daniel

(Photo:zac attack)

"Because aspartame is so widely consumed, it is urgent that the FDA evaluate whether aspartame still poses a 'reasonable certainty of no harm,' the standard used for gauging the safety of food additives," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "But consumers, particularly parents, shouldn't wait for the FDA to act. People shouldn't panic, but they should stop buying beverages and foods containing aspartame."

The results of this carcinogenicity bioassay not only confirm, but also reinforce the first experimental demonstration of APM's multipotential carcinogenicity at a dose level close to the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that when lifespan exposure to [aspartame] begins during fetal life, its carcinogenic effects are increased

The FDA responded to the CSPI in an email to Reuters, claiming not to have reviewed the study:

"However, the conclusions from this second European Ramazzini Foundation are not consistent with those from the large number of studies on aspartame that have been evaluated by FDA, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies," Herndon said in an e-mail.

"Therefore, at this time, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."

FDA Should Reconsider Aspartame Cancer Risk, Say Experts [CSPI]
FDA says unmoved by aspartame/cancer report [Reuters]
Lifespan Exposure to Low Doses of Aspartame Beginning During Prenatal Life Increases Cancer Effects in Rats [Environmental Health Perspectives]

[An] expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health [Independent] (Thanks, Tom!)
(Photo: decaf)

RELATED: Coca-Cola Settles Benzene Lawsuit

The tool helps sales people figure out for restaurateurs that cheesecake, with its high fat content, calls for a dark roast, heavy bodied coffee with a high acidity level, she said. A fudge brownie, however, calls for a lower acidity level. And pound cake goes down better with a light roast coffee with high acidity.

More to a drink than you think [Chicago Sun-Times]
(Photo: idontwork)

Benzene can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages.

Coca-Cola will no longer sell the two products in question with both sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid as ingredients.

Coca-Cola settles lawsuits over benzene [MSNBC]
(Photo: nickgreywfu)

"We were all excited when these went in," said Chant, who leads a team of girls who clean the ice between periods at Dallas Stars games. "I was scrounging around for $2 for a Monster. Now I don't have to scrounge."
The machine at the ice rink is one of 750 that Cadbury Schweppes and MasterCard are testing in the Dallas area, New York and Chicago to answer a key question: Will people spend more at vending machines if they can use plastic?
The early answer: yes.

No coins for drink? Use plastic instead [Indy Star]

The details of the plot: a mysterious informant writing from the Bronx and identifying himself only by the name 'Dirk' wrote PepsiCo, claiming to be a high-level employee with Coca-Cola. He asked for $10,000 for the trade secrets and $75,000 for the recipe. PepsiCo called the fuzz, an undercover agent offered Dirk 1.5m for other trade secrets, Dirk fell for it, and now he's in jail. All is right with the world; the secret Coke formula, like the recipe for McDonald's Big Mac sauce, remains sacrosanct.

The leak apparently all came from an executive assistant for a high-level Coke executive, who supplied 'Dirk' with his documents and information after he seduced her. No word on whether she's been fired yet, but all signs point to 'Canned.'

3 charged with stealing Coca-Cola info [Yahoo News]

"According to the suit, the labels on glass bottles of Mexican-made Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light (Diet Coke), Fanta and Sprite are contaminated with high levels of lead and cadmium that can rub off on hands and possibly be ingested. "Lead is so toxic that even minuscule amounts can be hazardous to human health," the suit says.

A joint investigation by Lockyer's and Delgadillo's offices found that painted labels on Mexican soft drinks, which are popular particularly with Southern California Latinos, contained as much as 45% lead."

On April 21st, California similarly sued Pepsi who ended up agreeing to not use lead-based paint on new bottles and to remove all leaded bottles within the generous time-frame of 10 years.

Mmm, now you know why kids love soda pop like dogs love antifreeze.

"CA Cokes Over Lead in Labels" [LAT] [photo]

"Coke Brands Nutritional Information" (Thanks to Ellen!)

The caption for this photo reads: "DDT sprayed... around model Kay Heffernon to supposedly demonstrate it won't contaminate her food."

Squishy eagle eggs go better with Coke!

First and foremost, don't panic. Many sodas are apparently having no problems whatsoever. Also, a sense of perspective is necessary. The 5 parts per billion limitation of benzene for our drinking water has to take into account the fact that we not only drink water, but we use it to cook, wash our clothes, and bathe. Soda, hopefully, is less pervasive in our lives.

Read the label of any soda you wish to purchase. Avoid or limit the consumption of products that contain both ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate.

Finally, hold the soda companies accountable. If companies look to spin the issue or provide less than straightforward information surrounding this issue, look for alternatives to their products.

In other words, practice responsible consumerism. Educate yourself, be informed about the risks, be aware that there's just as much of a tendency for special interest groups to overblow issues as there is a tendency for companies to lie about or shrug off the problem. Don't get political. Ultimately, keep in mind that the real concern is probably not that benzene in sodas is going to give you cancer — it most likely isn't, unless you douche with a bottle of Hawaiian Punch every morning. The issue is the accountability of the soda companies, pressuring them to fix their mistake and comply with safety standards.

The FDA, Soft Drinks, and Benzene [Accidental Hedonist]

Polar Beverages and In Zone Brands have both been named in the lawsuits. The plaintiffs are demanding that the companies start selling products with a "tendency to contain benzene," as well as pay the plaintiffs' court costs and relinquish all profits from the sales.

The companies are claiming their products are safe, but the plaintiff's tests determined that the products had benzene in them. The testing conditions? Twenty four hours exposure under ultraviolet light in 114 degree heat.

Oh, give me a break. The ingredients in soda tend to produce benzene under prolonged exposure to light and heat. That's why you refrigerate soda. If 114 degree Fahrenheit is the condition required to produce benzene in these drinks, maybe you should have filed the class action lawsuit in Abu Dhabi, guys. Except that even there you don't get 24 hours of sunlight. There's the North Pole in summer, but of course, that's pretty well refrigerated.

In other words, you couldn't match their testing conditions at any location on the planet Earth. Just more abject hysteria from anti-soda zealots, pushing forward their busybody cause with bad science in the name of the children.

Soft drink makers sued over possible benzene threat [Mercury News]

Of course, the Coca Cola company isn't quite so stupid to purposely add benzene to their sodas. It's formed by a chemical reaction between ascorbic acid and potassium benzoate. Vitamin C and Preservatives, in other words. If you leave a can of pop out in the light, chances are it's already starting to become laced with traces of benzene.

Benzene exposure is commonly associated with leukemia and a swath of blood disease. The sodas that are most risky to drink include such favorites as Fanta Orange, Hawaiian Punch, Mug Root Beer and Tropicana Lemonade. Luckily, IBC Root Beer and Cherry Coke aren't on the list — we're not sure we could live without those.

Not a big surprise. We've often recommended that the only healthy things to drink in today's modern, health-conscious world is water, coffee and as much booze as your liver can absorb. You might want to think twice about reaching for that next Pepsi Vanilla.

Groups Want Sodas With Benzene Out Of Schools [Consumer Affairs]

We won't get into all the dirty details—Adrants and The Zero Movement Sucks have more than amply documented that the Coke-less site is, in fact, a Coke marketing campaign—but we wanted to point out the layer cake of lame constructed by the world's largest soda pop company. It's a blog with a slacker manifesto using Javascript session IDs! It really is from the '90s!. We are not joking in the least when we say that we're getting a little bit ill to our stomach, and we even enjoy Coke as a product.

Nice color scheme, though.