uWhole Foods Naming New Line Of Stores After Its “365” Brandr

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  (AlishaV)

  If you have been waiting on the very edge of your seat to find out what Whole Foods would be branding its new line of smaller stores with lower prices, today is your day. After filing various trademark names to throw everyone off, the company says it’ll be calling the chain “365 by Whole Foods Market.”

  Those familiar with Whole Foods will know that’s not a random number chosen by the company, but a nod to its “365 Everyday Value” house brand. Co-CEO Walter Robb told the Associated Press that while those 365 products will anchor the stores, they’ll also sell other items and national brands.

  Whole Foods got clever with this one, shooting off a slew of trademark filings over the last month to keep people wondering which might be the name: Clever Egg, DailyShop, Greenlife, Small Batch and Swiftgoods were all on the table. And they were all part of the game.

  “Those were all decoys,” Robb told the AP, before adding that maybe he was just saying that as another decoy to keep people from guessing other plans. Is he trying to incept us?

  The new chain is slated to open next year, with Whole Foods planning to open between five 10 of the new 365 stores around the country next year, with the potential for the chain to one day have as big a footprint as its parent.

  There aren’t many other details about the plans for 365 stores. Though the initial announcement had Whole Foods chasing the younger set, saying the stores would be “geared toward millennials,” Robb says that though that group inspired the idea, the new chain is for anyone who wants a quick shopping trip.

  Robb’s fellow co-CEO John Mackey had only hinted before that the stores’ insides would be like what sounds like an Apple store but with actual apples — a “streamlined, hip, cool technology oriented store, unlike any store anybody has ever seen before.”

  Robb also isn’t coughing up many details, telling reporters to envision a place “that’s fresh, that’s clean” with a smaller, more neighborhood feel, a “streamlined” selection and “technology woven in.”

  Does this mean flying shopping carts? Robotic shopping assistants? Who knows, but Robb says the 365 stores will have the same quality standards as “the mothership.”

  “It’s not going to be a dumbed-down thing,” he said.

  Whole Foods: New chain to be named for ‘365’ store brand [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

u72-Year-Old & His Dog Die In Hot Car After Power Locks Malfunctionr

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• A Texas man and his dog both died while stuck inside his 2007 Corvette earlier this week after the power locks malfunctioned and the driver was apparently unable to find the manual release.

  KBMT-TV reports that the 72-year-old had just finished eating at Waffle House when he went out to his car.

  A Port Arthur man took his last breath in what he considered to be his dream car. 72-year-old James Rogers and his dog Leia got trapped inside his 2007 Corvette Monday afternoon.

  The vehicle’s battery cable had somehow come loose, making the Corvette’s power lock system inoperable. Making matters worse, the driver could not call for help as he had left his phone inside the restaurant.

  Eventually, Waffle House employees noticed the problem and contacted another regular customer who runs a roadside assistance company, hoping he’d be able to help.

  “I went back to the vehicle and as soon as I saw it I knew I wasn’t getting into it,” he tells KBMT. “I tried, but didn’t make it.”

  Firefighters called to the scene eventually smashed the glass to get to the driver and his dog, but it was too late.

  The Corvette does have a manual release located on the floor next to seat. The driver may have been trying to find this information in the owner’s manual [PDF] but was unsuccessful.

  This tragic story should be a reminder for everyone to be mindful of where the manual release switches and levers are on their cars so that they don’t end up locked inside a vehicle if the battery dies.

  [via NY Daily News]

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uJune Food And Supplement Recall Roundup: Dill Pickle Popcorn And Donut Moldr

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• In this month’s Recall Roundup for food and supplements, banned diet drugs make a reappearance, pork sausage has mysterious “foreign materials” in it, cat food has too much Vitamin D, and some mini donuts are possibly powdered with mold.

  Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate posts: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables.

  If you have any of these listed items in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer, first check the varieties and flavors against the ones listed on the recall site or press release, then check expiration date or lot numbers.

  When there’s a match, don’t panic! If an item is listed as having undeclared walnuts and you’re not allergic to walnuts, for example, you don’t have to do anything at all. You can keep the item, eat it, not eat it, or return it to the store or the manufacturer for your own peace of mind.

  Items that may be contaminated with pathogens or foreign objects are worrisome for everyone, and you should return them to the retail store where you bought them, or contact the company for a refund and further instructions.

  DESSERTS AND SNACKS
  Nice! Powdered Sugar Mini Donuts (Walgreens) – Reports of mold
  Paleteria La Jalpita ice cream bars and popsicles – May contain undeclared milk and sulfites
  Popcorn Factory Lite Works Dill Pickle Popcorn – May contain undeclared milk

  NUTS
  Aurora Natural Brand Macadamia Nuts – May be contaminated with Salmonella
  Waymouth Farms Raw Pine Nuts – May be contaminated with Salmonella
  Vietnamese LP Cashew Kernels – May be contaminated with Salmonella
  Natural Grocers brand Macadamia Nuts – May be contaminated with Salmonella

  CANDY
  Sunridge Coconut Chews – May contain stainless steel wire
  Hua Zhi Ying Brand Gourd Candy – Contains undeclared sulfites
  Poco Dolce Confections Individually Wrapped Tiles – Contain undeclared milk

  FRUIT
  Best Brand Green Raisins (Sunderkhani) – May contain undeclared sulfites
  Euro Imports Dried Apricots – Contain undeclared sulfites
  SunRidge Farms Bulk coconut – May contain stainless steel wire
  Jamba “At Home” smoothie kits – May be contaminated with Listeria

  STAPLES
  Brown Betty Coconut Milk Powder – May contain undeclared (cow) milk

  VEGETABLES
  Good Seed Soybean Sprouts and Mung Bean Sprouts – May be contaminated with Listeria
  Today’s Harvest Field Peas with Snaps, Silver Queen Corn, and Broccoli Florets (Publix) – May be contaminated with Listeria

  PACKAGED MEALS
  Dr. Praeger’s Gluten Free California Veggie Burgers – May contain undeclared soy
  Anytime Foods Turkey and Cheese Lunch Kits – Contains undeclared egg
  Simply Balanced Pork Chile Verde – May contain mushroom risotto, which has wheat ingredients
  Wegmans Herb Stuffing, With Pork and Veal – Contains undeclared soy

  CONDIMENTS AND SPICES
  Jose Madrid Salsa Original Mild Salsa – Jars were improperly sealed and could become contaminated

  SUPPLEMENTS
  Smart Lipo – Contains drugs that have been withdrawn from the U.S. market.
  Natural Creations New Zealand Colostrum – Contains milk without allergy warning

  FISH
  Golden Krust Shrimp and Soya Patties – May contain undeclared egg

  PET FOOD
  Rachael Ray Nutrish wet cat food – Excess vitamin D
  OC Raw Dog Turkey & Produce dog food – May be contaminated with Salmonella

  MEAT
  Frontiere Natural Meats Ground Elk Meat – May be contaminated with E. coli
  Tyson Ground Beef – Possible E. coli contamination
  Old World Meats Recalls Roast Beef – Contains undeclared soy
  Walker’s Pit barbecued pork with sauce – Contains undeclared soy
  Big Easy Foods of Louisiana Boneless Stuffed Chicken with Pork Sausage and Potato Stuffing – Contains undeclared wheat
  Quincy Street Pork Sausages – May contain “foreign materials.”

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFake Cop Wants Prepaid PayPal Cards To Make Your Warrant Go Awayr

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  (Kenny Louie)

  Here’s an innovative scam that’s been reported near St. Louis, and could soon come to a doorstep near you. Victims report receiving a phone call from someone who identifies himself as a local police officer, who tells the target that they’ve missed a court date, and must pay up within an hour or an officer will immediately arrive to arrest them. While the threat of being arrested is scary, this is not an actual thing that happens.

  This is very similar to the IRS phone call scam, where bad guys call people up to let them know that their tax bills are due immediately, and the target must purchase a prepaid card and transmit the numbers over the phone. Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars to the IRS version of the scam. This almost makes sense for the distant and scary IRS, but why do you need to pay over the phone when your local police are after you?

  Here’s the story that the fake cop spins: you, the target, were supposed to report for jury duty and didn’t show up. You can pay $174 right now by prepaid card over the phone, and receive a new date to report to the court, or you’ll be arrested really soon. In Jefferson County, Missouri, they even add in the names of an actual sheriff’s department lieutenant and an actual judge. (The local government has removed both of their names from official websites while this scam is occurring, in case targets Google their names.)

  If someone calls and threatens to arrest you, turn around and look up the phone number of the agency that is allegedly calling you, whether it’s the IRS or your local sheriff. Crooks are looking for new and inventive ways to make people panic and send them money over the phone: it’s the job of informed consumers to think critically instead of panicking, and to warn less savvy loved ones about these scams.

  Missouri scammer poses as police and threatens arrest for money [KTVI]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uPizza Hut Officially Announces Pizza Surrounded By Pigs In Blanketsr

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• Over the last eight years and in multiple countries, Pizza Hut has been carefully developing their “hot dog stuffed in a pizza crust” concept. An early version stuffed only the ends of a regular-length hot dog inside the crust, creating a pretty flower shape. Then the frankfurters lay horizontally along the crust, like the ropes of cheese. Now the crust has finally come to America, as the Hut hinted earlier this week.

  You wouldn’t think that it would take this much effort to develop such a concept, but that’s why they run the multinational pizza empire, and we run the consumer advocacy blog. So we won’t question Pizza Hut’s decision to create a pizza surrounded by what are effectively 28 pigs in blankets. The pizza will cost $11.99, and will be available starting on June 18.

  Here’s the earliest version of this pizza, the blossom-like layout sold in South Korea:

  

  This final version is most similar to the one available last fall in Luxembourg, which also included short sausages wrapped in dough.

  

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uBudget Proposal Seeks To Prevent FCC From Enforcing Net Neutralityr

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  (inajeep)

  The latest attempt at net neutrality rules are slated to kick in later this week, but a federal budget proposal by the House Appropriations Committee would not only cut into the FCC’s resources, but prohibit the Commission from enforcing the new regulations, along with stripping its ability to regulate things like fees and data caps.

  According to the Committee’s breakdown of the appropriations in the proposal that was adopted today, the FCC’s budget would be $25 million less than it was last year and the agency would be barred “from implementing net neutrality until certain court cases are resolved.”

  More precisely, the budget proposal [PDF] states that “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce [the Open Internet Order], until the first date on which there has been a final disposition of all of the following civil actions:”

  It then goes on to list three separate lawsuits pending against the FCC, all of them seeking to block the enforcement of the neutrality rules.

  The FCC has repeatedly stated that it believes its new net neutrality rules will withstand a legal challenge, but you’ll notice that the proposal refers to the “final disposition” of all of these lawsuits. If passed, it would likely hold up enforcement of the order for several years. The Verizon lawsuit that gutted the original Open Internet Order took four years before a federal appeals court ultimately sided against the FCC.

  In addition to seeking to indefinitely hold up enforcement of the Open Internet Order, the budget proposal forbids the use of FCC funds to “regulate, directly or indirectly, the prices, other fees, or data caps and allowances… charged or imposed by providers of broadband Internet access service.”

  The folks at Free Press have dubbed this move by the Appropriations Committee a “sneak attack” on net neutrality.

  “[U]nlike other threats that we’ve seen emerge in Congress, this is particularly troubling because it’s hidden deep inside a big funding package that the House needs to move so that the government can continue operating,” explains the advocacy group.

  [via Ars Technica]

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uSwiss Carpenters Bend Engineering Skills To Important Task Of Opening Five Beers At Oncer

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  (Handwerkskollektiv Zurich on YouTube)

  There are some problems that are so important, it takes professionals to figure out how to solve them. But it wasn’t a group of bartenders who worked out a way to open five beer bottles at once, it was a team of thirsty carpenters making use of their engineering skills.

  Using an arrangement of 10 wooden rulers (two rulers per beer, stacked) leading from the five beers outward in a star formation, with one guy’s hand at the middle clutching all of them, the carpenters are understandably pumped when a quick push on the rulers pops the tops of all five bottles.

  The cameraman then pans around to show glowing faces and exuberant smiles all around while everyone cheers.

  I don’t speak Swiss German but I think the translation here is, “YEEEEEEEESSSSSS WE DID IT YOU GUYS WE ARE AWESOME, YAAAAY BEER LET’S DRINK IT!”

  The group is made up of members of the Handwerkskollektiv Zurich, a cooperative dedicated to carpentry and painting. They said in a Facebook post that the men were participating in a traditional construction celebration called an Aufrichtefest (via UPI).

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist