| Easter Basket Recall Announced in Florida
Now that the Easter baskets have been opened, parents and children should be mindful of warnings about certain children's products, according to a Florida newspaper. Watchdog group Consumers Union have cautioned against the eating of Italian-made Kinder Surprise Eggs, hollow chocolate eggs that contain small toys, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel. The eggs were banned in the U.S. in 1997 but still make it to stores through gourmet sweet shops, candy merchants and ethnic importers. Click here to read the Sun-Sentinel story. In addition, Consumers Union has declared a voluntary recall of about 8,500 Disney plush Easter baskets, whose small ribbons and beads could be considered a choking hazard for small children. The baskets, which are manufactured by Gemmy Industries, are pink and purple plush and themed after the Disney Princesses.
Boosting corporate do-gooding
I'm happy to report that corporate philanthropy is a growing trend for businesses everywhere, not just with huge corporations, but also small local businesses.
For example Starbucks, Accenture, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer and Toyota Motor all have routine practices of lending out top executives to work for nonprofit organizations -- often at no charge -- for as long as three years. They call this practice "volunteerism on steroids."
.
Local Pet Food Company Recalls 'Gourmet' Food
Los Angeles -- A Pacoima pet-food company owned by actor Dick Van Patten recalled four varieties of dog and cat food this week after discovering they were contaminated with a chemical that made pets sick, it was reported today. So far, thousands of bags and cans of Natural Balance food have been pulled from stores nationwide. Natural Balance began receiving calls about sick pets a week ago today and started testing products Friday, a company spokesman said. The testing determined that the chemical melamine was present in a rice protein concentrate added to two dry food products, though how the contamination occurred is not yet clear. The products were recalled Monday and Tuesday. Even though melamine was only found in two products, the others were also recalled because they also contain rice protein.
Reed’s, Inc. to Launch New Diet Soda Line for Virgil’s Brand
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reed's, Inc. (OTCBB:REED) announced today that it plans to launch new diet versions of the Company's Virgil's Root Beer and Cream Sodas in the second quarter of 2007. Chris Reed, Founder and CEO of Reed's stated, "We are extremely excited to announce the addition of the diet soda line for the Virgil's brand. The addition of the diet line to our product portfolio will allow us to reach a larger audience, further expand our distribution network and drive top line growth for 2007 and beyond." The new product launch will include diet versions of Virgil's Cream Soda, Black Cherry Cream Soda and Root Beer sweetened with Splenda. The product will be distributed through mainstream supermarkets and warehouse clubs such as Costco Wholesale Corp.
SLI mix keeps Nimmo at top of funds heap
Harry Nimmo, who runs Standard Life's £346m UK Smaller Companies fund, has achieved the longest run at the head of The Herald's table of top-performing asset managers with Scottish investment houses. Nimmo made it six months in a row even though his UK-wide ranking dipped from second to a still-impressive fourth when investment performances for the three years to March 31 were compiled by financial publisher Citywire. This was the longest run since The Herald began publishing the monthly table in summer 2003. .
Plane sailing?
A company that operates seaplanes is in discussion with regeneration agency Cumbria Vision and hopes to bring the ‘flying boats' to the lakes and coast. Cumbria Vision is helping AirSea Lines, which runs services in the Mediterranean and Canada, to begin talks with the Lake District National Park Authority, Cumbria Tourism and local councils. Martin Staveley, Cumbria Vision's strategy manager, said: “We are currently having outline discussions about the opportunity. It's difficult to say which piece of water it might be — it could be anywhere, for example, Walney. “There are a number of different lines of enquiry that we are following through." If AirSea Lines does begin operating in Cumbria, it wouldn't be the first time that seaplanes have touched down in the Lake District. During the Second World War Sunderland flying boats were built at White Cross Bay on the shores of Windermere.
|
