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groceries
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groceries
recalls
More Beef Recalled For E. Coli
After Nebraska Beef, Ltd., recalled 531,707 pounds of beef for a possible E.coli contamination, Kroger is recalling beef from its stores and from stores selling beef under its label. The recall includes nearly all kinds and weights of ground beef with Kroger labels sold between 5/21 and 6/08. The sell-by date on them will fall between 5/21 and 6/05. Not included are ground beef in sealed tubes in 1,3, or 5lb sizes, or Frozen Beef Patties or Ground Beef Patties found in the frozen food aisle. Other caveats apply and there may be more updates, check the Kroger Recall page for the latest information. E.coli can cause food poisoning or even death. If you have any of this meat, you can either throw it away or return it to Kroger for a full refund.
Nebraska Firm Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination [USDA]
Ground Beef Recall [Kroger] (Thanks to Kimberley!)
E. Coli Illnesses Prompt Beef Recall [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)
grocery shrink ray
Ben Popken Talkin' 'Bout Grocery Shrink Ray In Various Media Outlets
Media interest in The Grocery Shrink Ray sweeping across America continues, I was interviewed recently by CNNMoney.com, The Brian Lehrer Show, and Agence France-Press. Everyone knows prices are higher and manufacturers need to pass them on somehow. I don't like the method of shrinking sizes while keeping the prices the same. Or when they combine it with a package redesign, hoping we'll be so distracted by a new spigot that we won't notice we're getting less. My local pizza parlor went about it differently. They raised prices and taped up two articles explaining how rising wheat costs are driving up the cost of making pizza. They didn't, however, cut their pies into 12 slices instead of 8.
The Incredible Shrinking Portion [The Brian Lehrer Show]
US manufacturers beat inflation by selling less for same price [AFP]
Shrinking groceries [CNNMoney]
arizona ice tea
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Arizona Ice Tea?
It looks like the fell Grocery Shrink Ray may have hit cans of Arizona Ice Tea, reducing the size of their 12 oz cans to 11.5 oz cans. We couldn't find any definite pictures of 12oz Arizona Ice Tea cans, but we did find them being sold on this website in 12 oz cans. What happens to a product when the shrink ray hits it? I imagine it goes eek! eek! eek! and the last eek is an octave higher than the first.
(Thanks to Cynicor!)
supermarkets
Massachusetts Supermarkets Want To Remove Price Tags From Items
A bill is advancing through the Massachusetts legislature that will allow supermarkets to leave off item price tags and instead force customers to rely on electronic scanners spaced throughout the store. Although prices will still need to be displayed on store shelves for most items, you'll have to rely on your memory and your faith in the store's scanner system at checkout. John Hurst, the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, "said consumers will benefit in the form of lower prices and shortened lines once stores no longer need to devote resources to item-by-item pricing." But kjd aa- [thump]
—sorry, we just fell out of our chairs laughing at the idea of a supermarket out there that will heroically pass the savings downstream to consumers instead of profiting directly from it.
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Consumerist Editor Ben Popken (hey, that's me!) talks about the grocery shrink ray today at 5:30 PM Eastern on WTVT-TV FOX 13 in Florida.
grocery shrink ray
How To Thank Kellog's For Shrinking Cereals
We thought we'd use The Simple Dollar's guide to writing an effective thank you note to "thank" our friends at Kellogg's for trying to pull the wool over our eyes with the ever-present grocery shrink ray. Here it goes: More »
expired food
Is It Legal To Sell Expired Food?
Is it ok for stores to sell food that's expired? It depends. It is illegal for stores to sell food past its "Use By" date. However, stores are allowed to sell food after it has passed the "Best Until" "Best Before" "Sell By" or "Display Until" dates stamped on the sides of packages. As the name suggests, it just might not be its best, in terms of flavor, consistency, or texture. Still, why get the old stuff when you can get the fresh for the same price? Always check the expiration dates on food packages to make sure you're getting the best value for your dollar.
REFERENCES:
What You Should Know About Outdated Food [KPTV]Expired Items On Store Shelves; FOX 12 Investigates [KPTV]
Labelling rules [Eatwell.gov]
(Photo: whatatravisty)
shrinking packages
These Sun Chips have shrunk from 11.5 oz to 10.5 oz and are still being sold at the same price. "Not even healthy foods that normally are already sold in smaller portions are safe," says tipster MasonTwo who spotted these on the shelves at Walmart. CNN says the products most vulnerable to the Grocery Shrink Ray are paper towels, potato chips, sticks of gum, toilet paper, detergent and candy bars. Hey, look at the bright side, maybe the Grocery Shrink Ray is just what we need to fight the obesity crisis.
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Garden Salsa Sun Chips
These Sun Chips have shrunk from 11.5 oz to 10.5 oz and are still being sold at the same price. "Not even healthy foods that normally are already sold in smaller portions are safe," says tipster MasonTwo who spotted these on the shelves at Walmart. CNN says the products most vulnerable to the Grocery Shrink Ray are paper towels, potato chips, sticks of gum, toilet paper, detergent and candy bars. Hey, look at the bright side, maybe the Grocery Shrink Ray is just what we need to fight the obesity crisis.
Attention Floridian Consumerists! Provided everything goes according to schedule, I will be on Fox Tampa Thursday during the 10pm newscast, talking about the mysterious Grocery Shrink Ray sweeping across America.
deceptive packaging
A reader in Redding, California was shopping at the local Winco and saw this ultra-patriotic bag of frozen tilapia—if it were any prouder to be an American it would have to start singing country music. But when glugory turned the bag over, the phrase "Product of China" was stamped across the bottom. "So now these bastards are lulling you into a false sense of patriotism in order to sell their commie fish," writes glugory. That might be overstating it a bit, but we're fans of overstating things here at Consumerist, so... yeah! Damned commie fish! Remember: never trust packaging. It's just marketing you can hold.
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Winco Frozen Fish: The Big U.S. Flag Tells You It's Made In China!
A reader in Redding, California was shopping at the local Winco and saw this ultra-patriotic bag of frozen tilapia—if it were any prouder to be an American it would have to start singing country music. But when glugory turned the bag over, the phrase "Product of China" was stamped across the bottom. "So now these bastards are lulling you into a false sense of patriotism in order to sell their commie fish," writes glugory. That might be overstating it a bit, but we're fans of overstating things here at Consumerist, so... yeah! Damned commie fish! Remember: never trust packaging. It's just marketing you can hold.
More »
milk
New York City: 86% Of Milk Sellers Are Price-Gouging Customers
Sorry New Yorkers, but according to the City Council, you're overpaying for both rent and milk. Anyone charging more than $3.93 for a gallon—86% of the city's milk sellers, from bodegas to Whole Foods—is violating the state's milk price-gouging law. More »
frugality
Save Money By Being Your Own Butcher
CheapStingyBargains says that rather than relying on a butcher, it can be cheaper just to buy a whole piece of meat and cut it up yourself:
I’ve been in supermarkets where a couple of skinless, boneless chicken breasts cost MORE than a whole chicken. Wouldn’t it make sense to buy the whole bird, trim out the breasts (30 seconds, once you’ve done it a couple of times) and throw the rest away if it will cost less than buying two cutlets?...Does your family like nice boneless centercut porkchops? Buy a whole boneless pork loin and cut into 1″ slices. You can even wrap them in plastic film and freeze them for use later. By being your own butcher, you’ll enjoy great quality meat at probably two-thirds the price of anything you would buy pre-cut.
Makes sense to us, especially after seeing this investigation on how chicken is packed with extra water so they can charge you more. Just get a good set of knives and get slicing and dicing. You can also save by cutting and marinating your own meats, and making your own bacon.
Sharpen Knife, Slash Your Food Costs [Cheap Stingy Bargains] (Thanks to Marilyn!)
(Photo: seventime)
secret door
Unlocking The Secret Of Kroger's Mysterious Trap-Door
Reader Colin was watching his groceries travel along the conveyor belt at the Kroger checkout counter when he noticed some of his fruit snacks suddenly vanish from the line of items. With his interest piqued, Colin looked carefully and discovered a strange hinged door at the end of the belt. Upon making the discovery, the cashier slowly raised the steel flap and discovered Colin's lost fruit snacks along with a bounty of hapless groceries that had that had been arbitrarily swallowed by this clandestine trap. Because the items had already been scanned and purchased, the cashier offered them to Colin as a prize for unlocking the secret of the mysterious trap-door. Colin's letter, inside... More »
supermarkets
Sam's Click 'n' Pull Is Lame 'n' Broken
Will in Georgia thought he'd try to take advantage of the Click 'n' Pull program offered by Sam's Club—you make your shopping list ahead of time (the "click" part) and the store pulls it all for you and calls you when it's ready to pick up. Based on Will's experiences so far, the program isn't quite ready for Georgians. More »
diy
Make Your Own Groceries
Food's getting too expensive, leaving us with two choices: lose our lead on per capita obesity, or find new ways to save money. We're not the type of nation to give up a first place position on anything, so that leaves us with saving money, and one way to do this is to make your own stuff. We know, it's crazy! Apparently early settlers somehow created their own Cheetos and Frappuccinos, but we're not going to get that primitive. Instead, here's a quick rundown of some interesting Do It Yourself tutorials we found that might give you some ideas on how to cut costs the next time you go grocery shopping. More »
investigations
Big 99 Cent Store Fined $13,225 For Cutting Dates Off Boxes Of Expired Toothpaste
Expired items are lurking on store shelves. A Fox5 investigation followed around the Nassau County's Office of Consumer Affairs and found evaporated skim milk and diabetic medicine on the shelf that expired over a year ago. At a dollar store, they found the manager was cutting the expiration dates off boxes of expired toothpaste and still selling them. The Stop and Shop was fined $1450 for selling expired goods, the dollar store, $13,225 for 529 items. Don't forget to check the expiration date, the store, or the Consumer Affairs Office, isn't always going to do it for you.
Expired Items [FOX5]
coupons
