Four major potato chip makers have agreed to use less of the carcinogen Acrylamide under a settlement with the California Attorney General’s office. Frito-Lay, Heinz, Kettle Foods, and Lance Inc. also agreed to pay a $3 million fine for flouting state laws that require companies to place warning labels on products with carcinogens.
snacks
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits UK
By 7.31.08
The Grocery Shrink Ray has expanded its range and is no longer just hitting the US. Pint-sized woe has befallen the the UK snack section. For one, the Dairylea triangle is shrinking from 180 to 160g per cheese wheel. Other shrunken products include Rolo, Palmolive, Olvatine, Dairy Milk, Mars bars, Yorkie chocolate bars, and Pringles.Check out the company double-talk as they tried to explain away the changes, sometimes with verbal softshoe, others with oddly pugilistic rebuttals:
Mystery Popcorn: AMC Theaters Turns Off Screens With Concession Stand Pricing
By 7.25.08
Care to guess how much your popcorn will cost? That’s what reader Gabriel had to do when he saw The Dark Knight the other day.
These Doritos Are Going To Last A While
By 7.18.08
Hey guys — Just wanted to let you know that with all of this grocery shrink ray action that is going on, it is nice to see some companies doing something to make their product last a little longer. The only question is…what kind of preservatives are in these Doritos so they will last until August 39th???
US Airways Dumps In-Flight Movies, Not Enough Passengers Buying $5 Headsets
By 7.9.08
Too many passengers were bringing their own headsets, so US Airways has discontinued in-flight movies. US Airways had been hoping to switch from their heavy 500lb movie system to lightweight fiber optic personal systems, but that plan has also been axed. New US Airways planes will be delivered with no entertainment system.
100 Calorie Packs Makes You Fat
By 6.30.08
Smaller-sized 100-calorie snack packs are supposed to help with weight loss, but the problem is they don’t work. In an experiment published in the Journal of Consumer Research, subjects were primed to think about their body shape and then given bags of potato chips and placed in front of a TV. The group that was given nine small bags ate much more than those given two large bags, 46.1 grams vs 23.5. What’s going on? It appears that the smaller size tricks people into thinking they’re eating less, so they feel fine about chowing down more. Consumers may merrily consume the innocently small packages of Little Pleasures at an even higher pace,” wrote the study’s authors, “leading to over-consumption.”
US Airways Officially Ends Snacks
By 5.28.08
US Airways has decided that the $.03 per package that they were spending on your snack is just too much money! They’re officially discontinuing free snacks for coach passengers as of June 1st.
Move To Japan So You Can Eat Strawberry Cheetos
By 1.28.08
Yes, you read that correctly. Strawberry Cheetos. They’re really Cheetos, and they’re really from Frito Lay, but they are only available in Japan.
Employees May Hate US Airways More Than Their Customers Do
By 12.26.07
A rich record of the employee discontent emerges from regular question-and-answer sessions held at US Airways, which is both the worst-performing big airline in the country and a company that encourages its 36,000 workers to direct tough questions at its chief executive, W. Douglas Parker.
American Airlines Testing "For Sale Food Options"
By 10.30.07
In an attempt to turn their planes into flying concession stands, American Airlines will be testing several new “for sale food options” this holiday travel season (on select flights only.)
100 Calorie Packs Are Still A Scam, Cost More For Less Food
By 8.27.07
ABC News took a look at the issue, grabbing soundbites from Michael Jacobson from the CSPI as well as collecting rebuttals from the various snack-mongers.
Like Those 100 Calorie Packs? You're Paying Twice As Much.
By 8.15.07
Portion control is going to cost you, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. They took a look at the new “100 calorie” portion control fad and guess what they found? You’re paying a hefty premium for your portion control. Those packs cost, on average, about two-and-a-half times as much as bigger bags.
"Ketchup And Fries" Flavored Burger King Potato Chips?
By 7.31.07
Some press releases we wish were actually jokes. This is one of them. Burger King has announced that it will be launching a line of snack foods that will include, among other things, potato chips flavored like “Ketchup and Fries.”
How To Save On The Golf Course
By 7.30.07
Golf doesn’t have to be the expensive, effete, sport of the affluent ruling class that popular culture has made it out to be. Not if you follow five simple tips from No Credit Needed:
Montana Man Finds Deep-Fried Mouse In Bag Of Potato Chips
By 7.28.07
Jack Hines reacted with cat-like reflexes when he discovered a deep-fried mouse in his bag of Lays K.C. Masterpiece BBQ Flavored Potato Chips. From UPI:
“I just about put it in my mouth,” said Hines. “I was sitting there watching TV in the dark and I grabbed for three fingers of potato chips and I grabbed a mouse. It shook me up a bit and I threw it over my head.”
Lays is handling the situation well. When Hines reported the mouse to their 800 number, they made sure he was feeling well and offered to dispatch a representative to retrieve the mouse and remaining chips. Hines has vowed never to buy barbecue potato chips ever again.
Would You Pay More To Eat Less?
By 7.7.07
Calorie-conscious consumers may not realize that 100-calorie snack packs slim both your waist and your wallet.
As a business concept, the idea is simple. Take an existing product, portion smaller amounts of it into single-serving bags, and sell several of the bags for about the same or more as a regular-size package.
United: No Snacks For You
By 1.17.07
United Airlines has discontinued snacks on flights shorter than 2 hours, according to Cheapflights. United has also raised fares by $5 each way, except in markets where its competing with Southwest…and despite falling fuel prices.
