Costco's rotisserie bird is glaring exception to Kirkland Signature label's quality claims

ADDED SALT, SUGAR AND SODIUM PHOSPHATE: The label of Costco Wholesale's wildly popular Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken, above, lists salt, sugar and sodium phosphate as ingredients. Sodium phosphate also is given to people undergoing a colonoscopy.

JUST OUT OF THE ROTISSERIE: A little after 9 a.m. on a Tuesday, when the Costco warehouse in Teterboro, N.J., opens for seniors, whole chickens fill shelves and rotisserie cases, above and below.

 

Story on private label omits

wildly popular low-quality chicken

 

Editor's note: This post includes a link describing Costco Wholesale's rotisserie chicken as good dog food, as well as more than 100 comments from Costco members describing their experiences eating the chicken and giving it to pets. 

 

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken is missing from a cover story in the Costco Connection magazine praising products sold under the warehouse giant's private label.

Writing about Kirkland Signature products in the September issue, Editorial Director Tim Talevich says:

"We stand behind the quality of an item, that we feel proud of it, that it's trustworthy."

But this past April, The Humane League reported:

"In 2020 alone, Costco sold more than 100 million of its rotisserie chickens. That’s close to 300,000 chickens, on average, every single day. Its suspiciously cheap price tag of just $4.99 tells a deeper story—one that would ruffle the feathers of anyone who is opposed to the abuse of animals—dog, cat, cow, or chicken. You see, behind the low cost of this cheap meat, is a big cost—the painful suffering of smart, cuddly, and curious chickens. These abuses are among the worst in the poultry industry."

Salty chicken

In August, Consumer Reports said:

"But while roasted rotisserie chickens are convenient, tasty, and easy on your wallet, they’re often not so good for your health. As CR previously reported, a salt solution is often injected into the cooked chickens to enhance flavor and tenderness. 

"Costco’s rotisserie chicken has 460 mg of sodium per 3-ounce serving. That’s one-fifth of the maximum amount of sodium adults should consume in a day (2,300 mg). ShopRite’s Bowl & Basket chicken has even more sodium, with 490 mg per 3-ounce serving."

Antibiotics?

The label on Costco's Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken doesn't mention whether the birds are raised on antibiotics that are harmful to humans or fed a vegetarian diet.

So, you can assume the worst -- that they are raised with antibiotics and fed animal by-products -- bits of dead animals.

One of the ingredients listed on the label is sodium phosphate, which is also used to treat constipation in humans and clean the bowels before a colonoscopy.

'A label of quality'

The cover story in the September issue of the Costco Connection lists many high quality items sold under the Kirkland Signature label, including wine from Italy, health and beauty products, and even the 18-inch pizza that goes for only $9.95 at Costco's food courts.

I am a big fan of Kirkland Signature French Champagne, available at the Costco warehouse in Wayne, N.J., for about half the price of French brands, as well as Kirkland Signature XO French Cognac.

Kirkland Signature Bath Soap and Kirkland Signature Moisturizing Shampoo produce more lather than competitive brands for less money.

Officials of Costco have never explained what prompted them to slap the respected Kirkland Signature label on a low-quality rotisserie chicken that makes great dog food, not good human food, as I reported in Do You Really Know What You're Eating?

My message to Costco: At least offer a better quality, healthier rotisserie chicken as an alternative at a higher price, one that is raised humanely.  

READ: Costco members see red

 in bloody, undercooked chickens

MORE FROM KIRKLAND SIGNATURE: You can find Kirkland Signature products throughout Costco, and the vast majority of them are better than competing national brands and are sold at a lower price, including organic quinoa, above; California almonds, organic brown eggs, Italian Basil Pesto and water filter cartridges (see photos below).

PRICE HIKE: Costco's Kirkland Signature Free Range Organic Brown Eggs are $6.49 for two dozen, the first price increase I've seen since they were introduced at $5.99 a couple of years ago.

Can solar panels, three Tesla Powerwalls completely eliminate your electric bill?

THREE POWERWALLS: Each of the Tesla home batteries I had installed in March 2019 at my New Jersey home stores roughly 13.5 kWh of energy generated by my solar panels.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- When you purchase home batteries to store energy from your solar panels, Tesla doesn't promise you a rose garden.

In other words, Tesla says the Powerwall 2, as the latest version is known, allows you "to reduce reliance on the grid and run your home off solar day and night."

So far this year, I paid a service charge of $4.95 -- but nothing for electricity -- in each of 4 months to run a house of more than 3,000 square feet with central air conditioning and to charge my Tesla Model S roughly once a week.

You pay for 'delivery'

But in the other 3 months, my bill for electricity and delivery has totaled $90.02 (for Jan. 7 to Feb. 4, 2021); $181.08 (Feb. 5 to March 8) and $96.35 ( July 8 to Aug. 5, 2021). 

The most recent bill shows a charge of $65.57 for electric supply and $30.78 for "delivery."

Still, my batteries have kept my house running during every power outage in my neighborhood since they were installed in March 2019.

No night rates

We get a lot of rain and snow in northern New Jersey, and my solar panels often generate little or no electricity for my storage batteries, meaning I draw a lot from the grid.

My utility doesn't pay me for excess power or have lower rates for electricity at night. 

If I generate more than I use, those kilowatt hours go into a "bank" that I can draw on later.

Hooray for SRECs

In fact, the key to eliminating your electric bill in the Northeast is not just solar panels and Tesla batteries that store the electricity they generate.

I earn Solar Renewable Energy Credits or SRECs, which go only to those who, like me, own their solar systems.

I can sell those credits to my utility through a middleman.

The certificates are worth roughly $223 each (I recently sold 5), down from a high of $600 each after I had solar panels installed in 2009.

For a second, smaller solar system I had installed in 2012 with a loan from my utility -- PSE&G -- I am repaying the loan with SRECs that are valued at $400 each.

READ: The best and worst of Tesla

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: My home has a southern exposure, meaning the sun shines on my solar panels through the day.

Watching TV, I have so many questions, but the media don't seem to have answers

WET BUT FAR FROM SEXY: The Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant on the California coast provides 50 million gallons of fresh water a day to San Diego, reports E360, an online magazine published at the Yale School of the Environment. (Photo from Poseidon Water) 

Conundrums: Drought, the U.N.,

cling peaches, invisible captions

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Night after night, the evening TV news reports about the drought in California -- claiming there isn't even enough water to fight the wildfires that destroyed an historic mining town and other property.

But in June 2019, there were 11 seawater desalination plants in California and 10 more were proposed, according E360, an online magazine.

Why have the media been silent about them? Why aren't more of these plants being built? 

Don't they hold the solution to this cycle of drought, fires and barren farmland?

BLAST SCENE: The explosion in the port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, leveled many blocks of the Lebanese city and killed more than 200.

What does the U.N. do?

The other night, I saw an alarming TV report on the first anniversary of that massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, with soldiers or police battling protesters in the street.

The report portrayed government officials as corrupt and refusing to investigate the explosion, which killed more than 200 people, or assign blame.

Meanwhile, motorists have to spend hours in lines to fill up their tanks with gasoline.

Lebanon is far from the only failed state around the world, so the natural question is what does the United Nations do?

Nothing, in Lebanon's case. Nothing, in Syria's case. Nothing, in the cases of so many African countries.

Does the U.N. merely call diplomats from around the world to come and live lavishly in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world, and jawbone all day?

What's the good of a Security Council taking decisive action and moving against a failed, corrupt government, if Russia or any other member can veto the council's decisions?

Cling peaches

Is there any good reason cling peaches and nectarines are still being grown instead of all freestone, where the pit is separated from the flesh?

Try to cut them up for a fruit salad or even eat them out of hand without making a mess of the kitchen counter or your clothes or both.

I buy organic, and the peaches and nectarines I find at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, N.J., aren't labeled as cling or freestone, so you don't find out the bad news until you get home.

Are cling superior in any way? I doubt it. They just piss you off.

TV captions

Here is another infuriating oversight -- captions for documentaries that require translation are invariably in white and often blend into the background, so that they're unreadable.

Why not just render them in black? At least you wouldn't miss any words, and when the background is dark, then white captions would be justified.

One color doesn't fit all.

I noticed this recently when watching the PBS series, "Latino Americans."  

I loved the music, but much was lost in the translation when the captions appeared in white.

Toyota goes from a pioneer of green cars to fighting electric vehicles and clean air

Toyota's first gas-electric hybrid, the Prius, above, was introduced in 1997 and exported to the United States and other markets starting in 2000, but the Japanese carmaker never made the seemingly natural transition to all-electric cars, placing its bets on hydrogen instead. (Photo credit: Toyota)

 

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- In 2014, when I and thousands of other owners of the gas-electric Prius were ready for an affordable all-electric car with a range of 200 miles, Toyota and the rest of the world's auto industry wasn't ready for us.

I not only started a blog called Shocking Car News to dramatize deadly auto emissions, but in April 2015, I took delivery of a new Tesla Model S, a luxurious 4-door hatchback with a 60 kWh battery and an advertised range of 208 miles ($69,000 without options, more than twice the cost of our 2010 Prius).

But now, according to The New York Times, as the world moves toward zero-emissions electric cars, giant Toyota "is fighting climate regulations in an apparent effort to buy time."

"...In recent months," The Times reported, "Toyota, one of the world's largest automakers, has quietly become the industry's strongest voice opposing an all-out transition to electric vehicles -- which proponents say is critical to fighting climate change."

Hydrogen over electric

With Toyota betting its future on the development of hydrogen fuel cells, "a rapid shift from gasoline to electric on the roads could be devastating for the company's market share and bottom line," The Times said.

Toyota and other auto makers "also sided with the Trump administration in a battle with California over the Clean Air Act and sued Mexico over over fuel efficiency rules," The Times said, adding that in Japan, "Toyota officials argued against carbon taxes."

I recall Toyota explaining the name "Prius" means "what comes before."

So, with Toyota actively fighting stricter clean air standards and the transition to electric cars does Prius mean what comes before our planet turns unlivable?

Our 2010 Toyota Prius, our fourth since 2004, gets more than 50 miles per gallon of gasoline in highway driving, and it is quieter than conventional gas-powered cars, with the engine shutting off at red lights and when the car is coasting on the highway. When parked, a small solar panel on the roof activates interior fans in hot weather.

My second Tesla, a Model S 75D with all-wheel drive and air suspension, above, shares the garage, but the Prius will soon have to make way for a new Tesla Model Y, a 4-door hatchback, we've ordered.

Prius sales fall

U.S. sales of all models of the Toyota Prius peaked in 2012 at 236,665, according to GoodCarBadCar.net.

By 2019, Prius sales dropped to 69,218. Sales in 2020 -- during the Covid-19 pandemic -- totaled only 43,525, but they appear to be bouncing back in 2021.

European automakers

Meanwhile, since the 1990s, all of the major German automakers agreed not to compete on introducing stricter emissions controls, according to the European Union, which fined Volkswagen and BMW more than $1 billion dollars, according to TechCrunch,com:

"According to the European Union, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler have been illegally colluding to restrict competition in emission cleaning for new diesel passenger cars, essentially slowing the deployment of cleaner emissions tech. On Thursday, the EU issued fines of $1 billion (€875 million) to Volkswagen and BMW for their involvement in the emissions cartel."

 

Read: After a decade of driving Priuses,

 I'm ready for an affordable electric car

Read: My love-hate relationship

 with two Toyota dealers

Read: On an electric road trip to Montreal...

The 4 generations of the gas-electric Toyota Prius, from left to right, the first practical hybrid passenger car imported into the United States.

Crosswalk without a warning sign proved deadly to woman, 76, out for a daily stroll

JINXED CROSSWALK: None of the 4 crosswalks on Passaic Street and Summit Avenue in Hackensack -- including this one on Passaic Street, used by Carol A. Ventura before her untimely death on May 13, 2021 -- have "Walk/Don't Walk" signs or any other warning to alert pedestrians about turning vehicles from Summit Avenue, like the Tesla I photographed yesterday, above. 

 

She was hit by one vehicle, 

then run over by a trailer

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- When a 76-year-old woman set out for her daily late afternoon walk in her neighborhood two weeks ago, she didn't stand a chance as she stepped off the curb at dusk and into a crosswalk on Passaic Street at Summit Avenue.

Not only are the crosswalk stripes non-reflective, faded or missing, but there is no lighted sign warning pedestrians like Carol A. Ventura it is unsafe to walk as vehicles on Summit get a green arrow and turn onto Passaic Street and into the crosswalk she was using.

That late afternoon walk on May 13 proved to be Ventura's last as first a pickup truck turning onto Passaic from the Summit Avenue turn lane hit her and knocked her down shortly after 8:30 p.m., police said.

Then, a second driver, like the first, said he didn't see the woman, and she was run over by a landscaping trailer his vehicle was pulling.

Ventura, who had retired recently after 25 years as a sales administration manager at E.T. Browne Drug Co. in Englewood Cliffs, died a short time later at the hospital.

She lived not far away in The Pierre Apartments on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack.

No 'Walk/Don't Walk' signs

None of the 4 crosswalks at the busy intersection of Summit Avenue and Passaic Street -- in Hackensack's Fairmount section -- have "Walk/Don't Walk" signs.

The intersection has long been cursed by drivers on narrow, 2-lane Passaic Street -- a major artery leading to Maywood, Rochelle Park and Paramus -- because there are no turn lanes for vehicles on Passaic at Summit Avenue.

The street dates to the Revolutionary War, and the intersection, maintained by Bergen County, would look more at home in an underdeveloped country.

NO WARNING OF TURNING VEHICLES: The second crosswalk on Passaic Street at Summit Avenue, above, has no sign to alert pedestrians they should look out for cars or trucks turning into the street from Summit Avenue.

No help for pedestrians 

Pedestrians also are sitting ducks on Polifly Road in Hackensack, where a 3-block stretch with a busy CVS Pharmacy on one side of the 4-lane street and an apartment building on the other side lacks crosswalks or traffic lights.

On March 4, 2021, Lillian J. Holmes, 81, of Hackensack died after she was knocked down by a hit-run driver in a black SUV, and struck by a second driver as she was crossing the darkened street to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy.

Polifly Road is another street "maintained" by Bergen County.

June 4 services

Services for Carol A. Ventura. who turned 76 on April 13, one month before she was killed, will be held on June 4 at G. Thomas Gentile Funeral Home at 397 Union St. in Hackensack.

A celebration of her life will take place at Nanni Ristorante in Rochelle Park.

"Carol had been embracing her retirement and looking forward to spending more time with her cherished companion" -- identified as William J. Gaynor -- according to her obituary.

Ventura grew up in North Bergen, earned a bachelor's degree at Montclair State University and became a school teacher.

Read her full obituary on the funeral home website: 

Obituary of Carol A. Ventura

READ: Yet another careless driver 

is getting away with running down a pedestrian

Yet another careless driver is getting away with running down a Hackensack woman

ANOTHER VICTIM: Carol Ventura, 76, was in a crosswalk when she was struck by one vehicle, then run over by a landscaping truck's trailer last week not far from her home in The Pierre Apartments on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack, below. She died at the hospital.

 

A second pedestrian is killed

crossing the street at night

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- No criminal charges will be brought against the driver of a pickup truck who ran down a 76-year-old woman in a crosswalk on Passaic Street at Summit Avenue, police said.

On May 13 shortly after 8:30 p.m. -- described as "dusk" --  a second driver didn't see Carol Ventura lying on the pavement, and she was run over by a landscaping trailer his vehicle was pulling.

She was pronounced dead a short time later at Hackensack University Medical Center, according to news reports.

Ventura was at least the second pedestrian killed crossing the street in Hackensack since March.

Poor street maintenance and the absence of pedestrian safety measures are issues in both deaths. 

Hit-run death

On March 4, Lillian J. Holmes, 81, of Hackensack died after she was knocked down by a hit-run driver and struck by a second driver as she was crossing a darkened Polifly Road, between Sutton and Marvin avenues.

She was going to pick up a prescription at a CVS Pharmacy, family members said.

There is no painted crosswalk, traffic light or adequate street lighting where the hit-run crash occurred, even though there is an apartment building on one side of the 4-lane street leading to Route 80 and a busy pharmacy on the other.

The Fatal Accident Investigation Squad of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office still hasn't found the driver of the black BMW X-5 SUV that hit Holmes first before fleeing. The second driver stayed on the scene.

The deaths of the women are two more examples of drivers who kill pedestrians, but never face serious charges, and of streets -- many of them maintained by Bergen County -- that lack crosswalks, proper lighting, reflective crosswalk stripes or walk/no-walk signs.

In effect, many pedestrians are sitting ducks.

READ: Penalties for killing a driver 

don't act as a deterrent

Confused news reports

News stories from the Hackensack Daily Voice and Patch said Ventura, the victim, "had the right of way," quoting Hackensack Police Capt. Nicole Foley.

But in a story that also appeared on the front page of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle, the clueless Joshua Jongsma of NorthJersey.com, The Record's website, quoted police as saying "they do not believe Ventura had a walk signal or the right of way when she crossed."

As the photo below clearly shows there is no walk/don't walk signal for the crosswalk the victim used.

Capt. Foley quoted an unidentified Rochelle Park man, 42, who was driving the pickup that first hit the woman, as saying he didn't see her.

That driver might face a traffic summons for failing to yield or stop for a pedestrian, and 2 points on his license. 

The second driver, a 51-year-old Paramus man, also said he didn't see the victim. He also wasn't identified.

"From 2010 to 2020, 14 pedestrians were killed in Hackensack, records show, including three last year," NorthJersey.com reported, but there was no mention of whether any of the drivers faced serious charges.

FADED PAINT, MISSING WALK/DON'T WALK SIGNAL: According to news reports, Carol Ventura of Hackensack was in this crosswalk on Passaic Street "shortly after 8:30 p.m." on May 13, 2021, when she was struck by a 2021 Dodge Ram pickup truck turning from southbound Summit Avenue, like the white sedan in this photo taken a few days later. The crosswalk paint is faded, and likely hard to see at night, and there is no don't walk sign to warn pedestrians about turning vehicles, which get a green arrow before the traffic light on Summit turns green. 

Hackensack's reformers win another term despite pathetically low turnout by voters

A CLEAN SWEEP: In a photo from his campaign's Facebook page, Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse, center, declared a clean sweep over 2 other tickets in Tuesday's non-partisan City Council election. From left, Councilman Leo Battaglia, Councilman-elect Gerard Carroll, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino and Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg.

 

Labrosse, running mates beat

10 others in nasty City Council race

 

Editor's note: This post has been updated with the official results as certified by the Hackensack City Clerk's Office.

By VICTOR E. SASSON  

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Mayor John Labrosse -- first elected in 2013 as a reformer after the city became a laughing stock known as "Zisaville" -- won another 4-year term on Tuesday to lead the City Council.    

Labrosse, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino, Councilman Leo Battaglia, Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg and newcomer Gerard Carroll scored a clean sweep in the nonpartisan election.

Here is part of their statement as posted on the campaign's Facebook page late Tuesday night, as well as the official results as certified by the City Clerk's Office:

"It's a Clean Sweep.

"Today, Hackensack voters spoke loud and clear that they want to keep moving forward and let the Labrosse Team finish the job of revitalizing our city and building a brighter future for all residents."

Low turnout

Labrosse was the top vote getter with 1,879 votes in a city with 27,365 registered voters as of May 6, 2021, according to the Hackensack City Clerk's Office, which certified the election.

Hackensack residents would rather bitch, bitch, bitch than vote, vote, vote.

The official results for all candidates appear below. 

Officials said 3,133 voters went to the polls on Tuesday, but the number of returned mail-in ballots wasn't available.

READ: Campaign by 15 candidates turned nasty

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

LABROSSE 1,879

CANESTRINO 1,812

BATTAGLIA 1,754

CARROLL 1,832

VON RUDENBORG 1,823

AMIRHAMZEH 1,056

GLOVER 1,059

POST 1,062

GAINES 1,141

LOPEZ 1,005

SIMS 1,119

ROMERO 1,138

MILLER 1,015

NELSON 995

MERINO 965