Former Peanut Butter Moguls Found Guilty Of Knowingly Shipping Contaminated Food

(Great Beyond)

Remember the massive outbreak of salmonella in peanut butter? No, not the one earlier this year, or the one in 2012, or the one in 2007. We mean the one in 2008, where peanut butter shipped from the Peanut Corporation of America was linked to more than 700 illnesses and nine known deaths. Five years after the company’s cartoonish terribleness was revealed, three executives were put on trial for knowingly distributing contaminated food to the American public.

And when we say “contaminated,” we mean “scooping up peanuts from the floor” contaminated. Back in January of 2009, it was easier for us to share a list of all of the peanut butter products that were known to not contain any potentially contaminated peanut butter.

Accidentally distributing a bunch of contaminated food isn’t a crime, but that’s not what the Peanut Corporation of America was accused of. Three executives were charged with actual federal crimes: the former owner, Stewart Parnell; his brother and the company’s food broker, Michael Parnell; and the plant’s former quality control manager, Mary Wilkerson. The Parnell brothers were both found guilty on multiple counts; Wilkerson was found guilty on one count of obstruction of justice. Other high-level PCA employees traded testimony against the Parnells for immunity.

If you’re interested in an incredible level of detail about what went down in the trial, one of my favorite extremely specialized news sites, Food Safety News, had reporters there for all seven weeks of the trial. The site’s publisher, food safety attorney Bill Marler, represented some victims of the salmonella outbreak in their lawsuits against PCA.

The illnesses and deaths weren’t part of this federal trial: the Parnells were charged with conspiring to ship out contaminated peanut butter even though they knew it could potentially harm consumers. Knowingly shipping contaminated food is a crime.

Peanut company owner found guilty in deadly salmonella outbreak [CNN]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

California Lays Down New Requirements For Olive Oil Labels

(Michael W. May)

Sure, the label says California olive oil — but how do you know something else hasn’t crept in along the way, an oil of another sort? California is trying to prevent that adulteration from happening by instituting new standards for olive oil makers in the state.

The state’s Department of Food and Agriculture adopted new quality standards for olive oil yesterday, including most of the rules proposed by the Olive Oil Commission of California, reports the Los Angeles Times.

That group of local growers and millers had pushed of new testing and labeling requirements for any products bearing the “Made in California” label.

“California agriculture has an enviable reputation for high-quality products sought by consumers here and around the world,” said Karen Ross, secretary of the state Department of Food and Agriculture. “We believe the time has come to designate a ‘California-grown’ olive oil, and these standards are an excellent way to do it.”

The new standards are only for olive oil makers producing at least 5,000 gallons per year, which is about 100 olive growers and a dozen millers in California.

The rules lay out new enforcement and require testing to look for adulteration or other defects like rancidity in the oil, because who wants to open up a fresh bottle of olive oil and smell that kind of stank? No one.

It also ditches marketing terms like “light,” which only means the oil has been refined with additives and isn’t, as the name suggests, lower in calories; and “pure,” which means a combination of virgin and refined olive oils. Instead, they’d both have to have labels including the fact that they’re refined.

The rules take effect Sept. 26.

California adopts new olive oil standards [Los Angeles Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

6 elementos del SEO móvil #infografia #infographic #seo

Hola:

Una infografía con 6 elementos del SEO móvil.

Un saludo

Courtesy of: Sytaxxx

Archivado en: Infografía, Posicionamiento Web, Sociedad de la información Tagged: Infografía, internet, posicionamiento, Telefonía, tic



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via Alfredo Vela Posteado por www.bscformacion.com

Alibaba vs otras salidas a Bolsa #infografia #infographic

Hola:

Una infografía sobre Alibaba vs otras salidas a Bolsa.

Un saludo

You will find more statistics at Statista

Archivado en: Economía, Infografía Tagged: Economía, Infografía



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via Alfredo Vela Posteado por www.bscformacion.com

$400M Loan From Its Own CEO Is Only 1/10 Of What Sears Needs To Stay Alive

(Scott Miller)

I don’t know about you, but if someone loaned me $400 million, it would just about cover all my debts. But I’m not a sagging national retail operation that hasn’t been relevant in decades. If I were, then I’d probably need a much, much, much bigger loan to get out of hock.

Yes, as we told you earlier this week, Sears Holdings Corp., which includes the equally irrelevant Kmart, borrowed $400 million from ESL Investments, a hedge fund entirely owned by Sears CEO Eddie “What’s a few hundred million between coworkers?” Lampert.

And while that substantial loan will help Sears pay down older debts and possibly get the company through the end of the year, BusinessWeek reports it’s a small fraction of the $4 billion in capital the retailer needs to make it to 2016.

Sears can’t just keep borrowing money to stay open, as every lender will eventually need to be repaid, and the company’s cash flow is heading in the wrong direction.

Presumably taking a break from e-mailing his buddies at other companies about job openings, a rep for Sears told BusinessWeek that “We have many assets at our disposal to continue to fund our transformation,” and that Sears has “multiple financial resources available” to generate additional liquidity.

Sears has already spun off the Land’s End retail operation and is reportedly considering doing the same with its automotive business.

In recent years, it has tried to capitalize on formerly exclusive brands by allowing Costco to sell Craftsman tools, and Meijer to sell DieHard car batteries.

One place where Sears could raise significant chunks of money is through real estate. As we discovered in June, nearly every Sears and Kmart location in the country is potentially available to rent right now.

Of course, if Sears sells off or leases out a store, it has to weigh the benefit of a short-term cash injection against any long-term loss in sales from closing that business. And the stores that would bring in the most money to cash-strapped Sears on the real estate market are likely among the ones with the best retail sales figures.

“The company has significant assets to raise additional liquidity,” says one analyst, who cautions that Sears still needs to turn itself around. “Ultimately the trend for the business will need to improve relative to recent performance.”

Another analyst isn’t hopeful that the retailer can make it work in the long-term.

“I don’t see a turning point for them to make this a profitable business anytime soon,” he tells BusinessWeek. “The only way to keep it going is to continue to carve out pieces of the business and monetize it. At some point the music stops, and that’s when they get stuck.”

Speaking of music, a Credit Suisse analyst says he’s been hearing The Doors’ “The End” whenever he thins of Sears.

“Let’s face facts. Sears is generating negative operating cash flow of between $1 billion and $2 billion [closer to upper end, it looks like] in 2014,” he wrote in a note to investors. “Unless it sells off real assets while somehow maintaining the cash flow from those assets, this story is not likely to have a happy ending, and that ending continues to depend on suppliers.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Failed Stowaway Tries To Hide In Plane’s Wheel Well For Free Ride From Orlando To NYC

(kevindean)

Just because one person survived flying miles above the ground in the wheel well of an airplane doesn’t mean everyone should try it. Luckily for a shirtless, barefoot man who police say tried to stowaway in a JetBlue plane’s wheel, he never left the ground.

Police in Orlando say a 32-year-old man climbed under a fence to gain access to a restricted area at the Orlando International Airport, before climbing into the wheel well of a plane headed to New York City, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

He’d apparently walked eight miles to get to the airport, and managed to rest from that journey for a few hours in the wheel well before climbing out again. That’s when a JetBlue employee spotted him on the tarmac.

He then reportedly told the worker he was an airline mechanic, but that his ID badge had been stolen. Seeing as he was half-dressed, this seemed unlikely.

When police got there he changed his tune, and confessed he was looking for a free ride. Officials with the police as well as the FBI questioned him for hours, during which he showed them how he’d dug a hole under the fence to get in.

Officials rescued his T-shirt and socks, as well as a lighter, from the wheel well.

He was arrested on charges of trespassing, burglary and loitering.

OPD: Shirtless, greasy, barefoot man tried to stow away on JetBlue plane [Orlando Sentinel]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Recreated Pan Am Plane Transports Guests To 1970s – All For The Price Of Real Airline Ticket

An airline themed film studio is offering consumers the chance to travel back to the ’70s.

What if I said you didn’t need a speeding Delorean and 1.21 gigawatts to revisit the past? No, you just need a few hundred dollars and the willingness to spend that money to sit on a movie set and pretend you’re flying in a Pan Am jet from a bygone era.

The Pan Am Experience, which is really just a set at aviation-themed film studio Air Hollywood, aims to take guests on a trip back to the 1970s when travelers enjoyed five-star dinners and unlimited cocktails in the lap of luxury – all without actually going airborne.

The supposed blast from the past starts on the main deck of a re-created Pan Am 747 with cocktail and beverage service provided by those famous polyester-clad flight attendants. From there guests can choose from a variety of video and audio selections while reclining in the classic Pan Am Sleeperette seats.

When it’s time for dinner, guests can climb the staircase for cocktails and a gourmet meal is served. Don’t worry, the food is reportedly freshly made, not an actual holdover from the ’70s.

“Everything from the china to the glassware is authentic with careful attention to the exquisite service delivery of the era and menu offerings of Pan Am,” officials with Pan Am Experience say.

To end the evening customers are invited to look at airline memorabilia and other film production sets at Air Hollywood.

While most everything is authentic to the ’70s, the cost of admission isn’t. For the approximate price of a modern airplane ticket – you know, one that actually takes you from one place to another – consumers can purchase either a first-class ticket for $297 or the equivalent of today’s economy class ticket for $197.

The Pan Am Experience, A Real-World Simulation of a 1970s Flight on a Pan Am 747 Jumbo Jet [Laughing Squid]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Judge Hits Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme With $40.7 Million Penalty

(Duncan Rawlinson)

If someone convinces you to invest with him by promising returns of 7% weekly, and that he’s never lost money and there’s no risk, you should be incredibly concerned about giving him your money, regardless of whether it’s a dollar or a Bitcoin. But the operator of a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme in Texas was able to rake in millions based on completely empty promises — and now has to pay it all back.

In July 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit [PDF] in federal court against Trendon T. Shavers, the founder and operator of Bitcoin Savings and Trust (BTCST).

According to the complaint, Shaver managed to raise around 732,000 Bitcoin (which is worth around $290 million today, though the exchange rate changes wildly) between Feb. 2011 and Aug. 2012, by convincing people in Bitcoin forums that he was some sort of hotshot investor in the virtual currency who sold to individuals looking to buy Bitcoin “off the radar” quickly and/or large quantities.

STILL NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT BITCOINS ARE OR HOW THEY WORK? CATCH UP WITH CONSUMERIST’S BITCOIN 101

But BTCST turned out to be an illusion, with Shavers using new investors’ Bitcoin to make payments to other investors, while also taking some for himself to invest and play with.

And like all Ponzi schemes, it had to come crashing to the ground eventually. Some investors did manage to make money, but many others lost their investments.

Earlier this week, Reuters reports that the District Court judge in the case determined that “The collective loss to BTCST investors who suffered net losses.. was 265,678 Bitcoins.” At today’s exchange rate, that’s more than $106 million.

The court also calculated that Shavers’ operation brought in $38.6 million in illegally gained profits. With interest, she came up with the total penalty of $40.7 million for the scammer.

As a result of this case, the SEC issued a warning [PDF] to investors to be on the lookout for Ponzi schemes trying to take advantage of interest in, and ignorance of, virtual currencies. However, much of the advice given by the Commission is no different from what it, or common sense, would tell you to be mindful of — guaranteed high returns, promises of no or little risk, difficulty in cashing out of your investment, complex or secretive strategies and fee structures, and the use of word-of-mouth from other investors to attract new investors.

These are all red flags that, if people had been aware of them in 1920, we wouldn’t all know the name of one Charles Ponzi.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

At Marriott, Going To Hawaii Means Standing In A Warm, Misty Booth Wearing Goggles

Teleporters be teleportin’. Sort of. (Marriott)

You know how when you go to Hawaii, you sort of stand very still one, warm spot wearing weird goggles while the ocean breeze mists your face? That’s what it’s like, right? At least, at certain Marriott hotels, where guests can stand inside a phonebooth wearing virtual reality glasses and “travel” to Hawaii or London.

The hotel company will install the new “Teleporters,” which include Oculus Rift technology inside and sensory elements like wind, heat and mist, reports CNBC.com.

So what’s the point? Clearly standing in an immobile structure is not the same as traveling to a place (unless that place is Narnia) — this is just a way for Marriott to explore VR technology, and use it to check out different places they might like to go before they actually book a trip.

Or hey, maybe you’re sick of wherever you are and want to be anywhere but standing at that Marriott.

“It can inspire their decision of where they want to go and it could also be used to enhance their stay,” Michael Dail, vice president of brand marketing for Marriott Hotels told CNBC.

The first location to get a Teleporter is in New York City, but the booths will travel around the country, Dail said. But physically, not by stepping inside another booth. Inception. Whoa.

Marriott’s leaps into virtual-reality vacations [CNBC.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Let’s Celebrate Christmas In October 1989 With Kay-Bee Toys

We’ve been cataloging the spread of Christmas Creep, the debut of Christmas merchandise and decorations earlier in the season, for some years now, but it’s important to remember that aggressive Christmas marketing before Thanksgiving and even before Halloween is not a new phenomenon. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a trip back in time to 1989, when video game consoles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, and Transformers ruled the line drawings of the Kay-Bee Toys ad. Wait, this is really 25 years old?

Of course, much of what you see here is now defunct: you never see line drawings in newspaper ad circulars anymore, and Kay-Bee (later known as KB) Toys is no longer in business. Toys themselves don’t change all that much, though. Compare this flyer to Walmart’s 2014 “hot toys” list: both have dolls, cars, games, cuddly toys, and dinosaurs.

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

I was never really into board games, but I had no recollection of what “Tuba-Ruba” was. I found this ad, and have never quite recovered.

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

(tOkKie-Pokie ..puddin’ n pie..)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist