jikMrs. T’s Recalls Pierogies That May Be Stuffed With Potatoes And Plastic Shardsde

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Pierogies are one of the world’s most perfect foods. That’s why it’s sad news that a new flavor of Mrs. T’s frozen pierogies has been recalled because the pasta pillows may contain pieces of plastic. While no one has encountered one on their plate yet, the company is recalling affected products just in case.

What should you look for in your freezer? The only affected product line were the new Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil flavor. They’ll have a “Best by” date of 05/20/16 or 7/15/16 on the box.

If you have any questions about the recall, contact Mrs. T’s at 1-800-743-7649. That’s also the number to call if you aren’t able to return your pierogies to the store where you purchased them for a refund or a replacement.

Ateeco, Inc., Maker of Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Issues Voluntary Regional Product Recall of Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Pierogies Due to Plastic Contamination [FDA]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

jikVisa And Pizza Hut Want You To Order And Pay For Pizza With Your Carde

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(Adam A. Koch)

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want pizza to come to you as easily as possible, using as few tools to procure said pizza as possible? Then you might be into a new concept from Visa and Pizza Hut, that wants to get drivers to order and pay for their pizza without ever leaving their cars — or picking up their smartphones, for that matter.

The two companies announced the connected car idea along with Accenture during the Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona.

The system is expected to feature Visa Checkout, Visa’s online payment service, cellular connectivity, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Beacon technolgy deployed at Pizza Hut restaurants. That lats bit will let staff know when a customer is arrived and ready for the order.

“By 2020 it is estimated that more than 250 million vehicles worldwide will include some form of embedded connectivity1,” says Bill Gajda, senior vice president of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Visa Inc. “As the number of connected cars on the road increases, so does our ability to bring secure online commerce to consumers everywhere. We initially focused on a specific use case – ordering a meal on your way home – but we envision a world where consumers can seamlessly make many of their everyday purchases from the car.”

The team’s sights aren’t just set on pizza, though pizza is delicious. The first idea is pizza or ordering food at a quick service restaurant, but the partners note that the technology can also be applied to other things like paying for gas, transit, parking and drive-through retail opportunities of all sorts.

Vis is going to demonstrate the concept this week during the event, which lasts until Friday. The companies involved with the project expect to start testing it in Northern California this spring over a period of three months.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikMint St. Patrick’s Day Milk Goes National With TruMoode

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(The Impulsive Buy)

Do you enjoy drinking milk, but think that it simply isn’t green or sugary enough? Following in the deeply disturbing footsteps of orange milk and jellybean milk comes “mint vanilla” flavored milk from TruMoo, a brand that started as a low-fat version of chocolate milk. Why mint? The milk is green, for St. Patrick’s Day, so it’s mint-flavored. It’s like a melted Shamrock Shake.

Mint-flavored holiday milk isn’t an invention of Dean Foods, maker of TruMoo. It’s not even new The green stuff was a childhood staple for me every spring from the local dairy, and they started this hot trend in 1976. They make a fine pairing with Thin Mints, and at least make a little bit more sense than Creamsicle milk to celebrate Halloween.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

jikReport: Teens Buy E-Cigarettes Online With Little Difficulty Despite Industry Safeguardsde

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Back in February 2014, Ohio became the first state to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Since then, 40 other states and cities have followed suit. Despite those regulations, a new study found it’s increasingly easy for teens to skirt the rules by purchasing the products online.

USA Today reports that a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found teens had little trouble purchasing e-cigarettes through online retailers across the country.

The study, which included 11 teens ages 14 to 17, found that participants were able to buy the products in 94% of attempts.

In all, only five of the 98 purchases were rejected based on consumers age. Those attempts were blocked because of parental control settings on the computer.

When the packages were delivered, none of the teens were asked to shows proof of age. In 95% of the cases, the study reports, the packages were simply left on the doorstep.

According to the study, seven of the 98 online e-cigarette retailers claimed to use age verification techniques capable of complying with North Carolina law, which requires online retailers to verify e-cigarette customer’s ages with a government records database.

However, researchers say the teens were able to place orders at six of those websites, showing that the retailer’s age verification doesn’t sufficiently work.

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular in recent years, while the Food & Drug Administration has been slow to implement federal regulations.

The FDA’s proposed regulations include a ban on selling the products to minors, but those rules have yet to be finalized. Additionally, the proposed rules do not take intent sells into consideration, researchers say.

Harold Farber, a pediatric pulmonologist, tells USA Today that the study’s findings aren’t shocking.

“Ninety percent of adult smokers start before age 18,” Farber says. “The industry knows very well that in order to get their next generation of customers, they need to get them before they become adults. We’re seeing the e-cig industry follow the tobacco industry’s playbook.”

Still, representatives with e-cigarette industry group, Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, say retailers take protecting children seriously.

“We certainly don’t want teenagers to have access to them,” Phil Daman, president of industry group, tells USA Today. “If people aren’t using age verification software, if they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, there’s no excuse for it,”

Teens can easily buy e-cigarettes online, study says [USA Today]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

jikMichigan Lawmakers Want To Bring Back School Bake Salesde

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(Coyoty)

In an attempt to bring back that event many remember as a particularly sugary, joyous time at school, Michigan lawmakers have introduced legislation that would lift the current ban on bake sales, saying school groups are in need of such fundraisers to keep going.

As is laid out under federal rules that went into effect for the current school year that require anything sold as a snack to be healthy, bake sales have gone extinct in some states during school hours. Fundraisers that sell food that isn’t meant to be eaten immediately like Girl Scout cookies are still allowed.

But though the rules allow for some exemptions and flexibility, the Michigan Department of Education had opted to keep the ban in place, reports the Detroit Free Press.

But supporters of bake sales say funding efforts have been stifled as a result, making it difficult for school-related groups to raise money.

“It’s been a tough year,” Samantha Phillips, president of the Rochester Community Schools PTA Council told the paper. Bake sales were easy — kids like sweet stuff, and parents could be involved easily.

The new legislation introduced in the House and Senate would allow school officials flexibility to raise money at least three times a week by selling baked goods.

“You’re essentially cutting them off and saying we’re cutting off this livelihood you’ve had for your organization,” said Sen. Patrick Colbeck, noting a public forum where a Boy Scout troop member had asked why he couldn’t sell brownies at school to raise money.

Colbeck and 19 other senators in the state legislature are behind that bill, while a similar bill was also introduced in the House by Rep. Pat Somerville.

Schools would then have the control to decided whether or not to allow the sales.

A spokesman for the MDE said “it was a collective decision to not allow the non-compliant fund-raisers,” pointing to things like selling Boy Scout popcorn or frozen pizza kits is still okay, since that food isn’t usually consumed on the spot.

“It’s important to note that many healthy fund-raising options are available to schools that are easy to implement and profitable,” he added.

Cupcakes, doughnuts make comeback in Michigan schools? [Detroit Free Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

jikShipments Diverted To East Coast During Contract Dispute Probably Won’t Come Backde

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(Corey Templeton)

Here’s the thing with container ships: you can move them. That’s the point, actually, so it’s not surprising that instead of waiting in long lines to have their cargo unloaded while the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union spent nine months in a contract dispute. Some ships were diverted to the East Coast, and it’s possible that those shipments may never come back to the West Coast.

The two sides reached an agreement with the help of the Secretary of Labor, and it will take a few months both to ratify the contract and to clear the massive backlog of cargo that’s lined up at the West Coast ports. Yet some shippers have moved their business to ports on the East Coast, or in Canada or Mexico, in order to avoid the hassles of going through ports on the West Coast of the United States during the last few months. One company that comprised most of the business for an entire terminal at the port of Portland, for example, is no longer sending shipments to Portland at all.

Call it Frank Sobotka’s Revenge. Yes, that’s a fictional character, but an important symbol of what’s happening here. He was a fictional port workers’ union president in the HBO series “The Wire,” who went to great lengths to keep work from drying up at the port of Baltimore. Indeed, things are booming over in Baltimore, with shipping container up 10% since the slowdown began.

Some cargo diverted during West Coast port slowdown may never come back [Business Journals]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

jikHealth Officials: Three People Contracted Measles From Contagious Restaurant Worker In Las Vegasde

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(AgeOwns.com)

Disneyland isn’t the only place dealing with measles outbreaks these days, as health officials in Nevada say they believe three new cases of the disease have been linked back to a Las Vegas restaurant worker who was contagious while on the job.

The three new cases are likely linked to a contagious worker at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, reports Reuters, and includes two staff members and a restaurant patron.

That makes for nine total cases in Clark County, a spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Health District said. Though Disneyland isn’t too far away, she adds that none of these cases is linked to the outbreak there in December.

Officials believe the worker was infected by an infant who was too young to have been immunized against measles. Though none of the new patients have been hospitalized, one of them did visit a Walgreens and a Chili’s while infectious, so others who may have visited those locations should be informed.

“The Health District is advising anyone who was at these locations during these times to review their immunization status against measles if they have not already had the disease,” Nevada health officials said in a prepared statement. “In addition, they should contact their health care provider if they develop rash with fever or other symptoms consistent with measles within 21 days after their visit.”

Three infected with measles at Las Vegas seafood restaurant [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist