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First Grocery Store Failure?

Discussion in 'General Chat Forum' started by ExRIGuy, Jun 27, 2008.

  1. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    Blooms is a pleasant surprise and they were doing undercover shopping there a few months ago with their secret shoppers. ;)

    We like grocery stores that do a lot of business like Wegmans because there is a better chance the food is as fresh as can be. Less chance of out of date. And the fresh foods such as fish and meat and poultry and vegetables almost always is as fresh as they can be.

    Wegmans is like going to an event rather then just a store. Just a fun place with the wine tasting and the cooking shows going on and everything else.. The always attentive service and on and on.

    The secret to parking at Wegmans is to go past target turn by the car dealerships turn by burger king then straight to the pharmacy side of wegmans for parking. There is also a secret door at the end of the check outs to get out to your car on that side. Just reverse when you leave.

    But the coolest and priciest grocery store is the New Whole foods in fair oaks. THe inside is the coolest layout I have ever see and their sky high prices to go with it. :mad:But the best kept secret is one of the largest grocery chains in the world, Aldi's, non out here but there are 4 or 5 in the dc area with several in northern virginia. small store but the quality an prices can not be beat. :happygrin:
     
  2. Sunny

    Sunny Chief Advisor

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    i still want to open my mom n pop grocery store called nuts-a-no-no
    one day...
     
  3. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    This isn't in Broadlands, but the Giant in Potomac Station is struggling quite a bit. The Caribou Coffee was doing okay, but not good enough for their corporation to keep them open - they closed a few months ago. Once the new Wegmans is built off Route 7 and River Creek Pkwy that Giant is likely to go under.
     
  4. goofus

    goofus New Member

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    As a member of the tiny minority of people who actually liked Food Lion, I have to say that I do not like Bloom. Bloom's everyday shelf prices are higher than Food Lion's. I used to go to Food Lion 1 or 2 times per week... and because of my disdain for Bloom, I've probably been there only 3 or 4 times since the conversion. The price differential is most pronounced in the produce department and with the Bloom/Food Lion house brands (which are one and the same). Don't believe me? Check out the unadulterated Food Lion in Winchester the next time you're in the neighborhood. Or closer to home, visit Bottom Dollar (Food Lion's limited-selection, low-end chain) in Sterling.
     
  5. maeve

    maeve New Member

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    Nut allergy in your family? Ours too.
     
  6. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    then stay faaaar away from Lee- OHHH! why am i the first to catch that! lol

    kidding buddy. :)
     
  7. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    Now that is funny :clap:
     
  8. Sunny

    Sunny Chief Advisor

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    yep! it would be great to have a bakery and all kinds of organic snack foods w/o nuts. every organic food i want to buy has been processed with nuts! how frustrating is it that when i want to eat healthy (AND spend more money doing it) SO many boxes of organic snack foods are processed with nuts!!!!!???

    i think some people think that if a food is organic then it doesn't have peanuts. i don't know why, but it can be scary to think that someone might overlook an allergy warning based on the type of food it is.

    everyone be careful with food allergies!
     
  9. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    Sunny os there a nut-free online grocery you could shop at? if not- what a great idea to cashew on ...oooh, sorry for the pun.
     
  10. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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  11. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    Lee and others--

    Lee, I have to agree with "y'all" on your opinion regarding Whole Foods Market located at Fair Oaks. What a beautiful and welcoming store!

    Whole Foods also sponsors local Farmers Markets on Wednesdays from 3 to 7 pm and Sundays from 9 am to 1 or 2 pm. Double check the days and times, I believe, these are accurate times. Farmers from WV, PA, MD, and VA areas sets up "shop" in the Whole Foods parking lot beside the grocery store. Whole Foods is great about supporting local farmers and their produce and products. I am working with Whole Foods to have a "spot" at their store-sponsored Farmers Market to feature our OWN farm products and produce.

    By the way, Lee, you are not the "only local celebrity"--;). When Emeril Lagasse recently was at the Fair Oaks Whole Foods with his film crew filming his new Planet Green TV show called Emeril Green (which airs in July 2008), I was shopping for some groceries at Whole Foods--with my kids--(all 6) :scaredeyes: for a friend who had just had her first baby; and I got an opportunity to met Emeril briefly. Emeril is as personable and friendly in "real life" as he is portrayed on TV. Needless to say, he and his film crew were "surprised" by my "brood"!

    Anyway Emeril and I exchanged pleasantries; and I mentioned my Mennonite Bulk Foods/Local Foods Cafe business plan. He was interested in my efforts and offered some good advice. Who knows maybe "y'all" will see my kids and I featured on Emeril's new TV show for Planet Green? :happygrin: The shows air in July 2008 on Discovery Channel's Planet Green.

    Whole Foods is great for customer service and great food samples!:clap:

    Foodie:happygrin:
     
  12. sportzfish

    sportzfish New Member

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    Speaking of Emeril, I remember his early shows before he hit it big and I thought that he would not make it very far since he did not display any personality while cooking. Whenever he would be making his etoufee, he would just be stirring the pot and looking down in it without saying much. There was no "BAM" in his vocabulary and that is why when I saw him on the Food Network in the later on that I thought to myself that he had gotten some good coaching.
     
  13. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    sportzfish and others--

    Emeril is affable with myself and our kids. He even asked if the kids knew what certain vegetables were and how they tasted. They told him that we had a farm and loved veggies.

    On a sidenote, a friend of mine who lives in Reston (near North Point) said that Giant had a "grand re-opening" of its North Point Giant location this past weekend. She said it was quite nice and had a Starbucks kiosk (like Harris Teeter and Safeway has in its stores). According to her, the North Point Giant looked better than what she had heard of the new Ashburn concept. Great foods, etc. and a bright store. I guess Giant is still trying to capture the local "market share"--bad pun--:screwy: of its customer base.

    Foodie:happygrin:
     
  14. jblnd

    jblnd New Member

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    Isn't Whole Foods going through a bit of PR problem right now (and credibility issue in my book)? It seems that many of their frozen veggies, even the ones named California veggies, are actually grown in China. And when they were confronted with the issue of how did they know that China was following "organic standards" they said they had an independent agency checking on that--but then refused to name the independent agency. Did anyone else see this report?
     
  15. Thunderchild

    Thunderchild New Member

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    Sunny,
    Not sure if I posted this before or not so here goes. The FDA requirement for allergen labels the last time I checked was that it is voluntary, not mandatory. For this I have a story. I had to contact a manufacture of Ginger snaps cookies (Don't remember the co., just that it is in PA.) The label did not have peanuts or processed on equipment used to process peanuts. I spoke to someone in Customer Service and then to a VP and they told me the FDA does not require them to put that information on the label and besides the requirment for not listing nuts on the label was the equipment had to be "visably clean" to leave it off the label. To which I asked a question, I asked if they would eat off of my toilet, as it is visably clean? There response was "NO! I wouldn't eat off your toilet. You don't know what else is on it" So I posed one more question, I said wouldn't it be better to include the peanuts info on the labels instead of having a child have an allergic reaction a dying? To which I was told "Sir, there is nothing I can do to help you, Thank you" and the phone was hung up. So, the labels can be/are misleading but you hope that most of the companies whould do the right thing and list it on the label. Just make sure the epi-pen is up to date and I hope your child never has to use it.

    On another note, I have heard recently that they are working on a "vaccine" to help with the possible exposure to nuts, ie:plain M&M's (made on equip. used for nuts). I can't remember where I got this info, but you should sign up for the THE FOOD ALLERGY & ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK
    http://foodallergylist.org/

    They will send emails with recalls etc so hopefully you can avoid an accidently exposure.

    Have a nice day!
     
  16. maeve

    maeve New Member

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    Your comment on missing an allergy warning is true but what's worse is when these manufacturers don't put any warnings on about shared lines. Annie's Homegrown doesn't do this for it's microwaveable single-serve packages of mac and cheese. I gave that to my DD for years and quite often too before I was tipped off to the warning on Annie's web site. They don't put the warning on the package (don't have to legally because it's just a may contain/shared facility). There are only a few organic manufacturers we use regularly: Ian's, Dr. Oetker (for frosting), Muir Glen, Stoneyfield.

    We're dealing with egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame, cucumber, and cantaloupe allergies with my DD so finding foods can be a challenge, particularly with sesame which doesn't have to be listed and can be hidden as spices or flavorings. (We also deal with dog, cat, and environmental allergies and asthma.)
     
  17. maeve

    maeve New Member

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    Manufacturers do not have to have an "Allergens:...." statement in addition to the ingredients list. However, by law manufacturers must list peanut, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, and wheat in plain English in the ingredients. This is a requirement of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) which went into effect January 1, 2007. The plain English requirement is meant to ensure that consumers know whether an ingredient listed, for example, as lecithin is derived from soy or egg or whether something listed as flavoring is derived from milk ingredients. Manufacturers are not required to have a warning if they used shared lines/facilitys or if the product may contain an allergen; there is also no standardization of the shared lines/may contain warnings. Some manufacturers, as you noted, feel that their allergen washes are thorough often do not put a warning statement on their products. Your post is dealing with the may contain/shared lines warnings.
     
  18. Thunderchild

    Thunderchild New Member

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    Thank you for posting this information, I was not aware of the new law in 2007. Glad to see more care being taken in regards to allergens.

    Have a nice day!
     
  19. cmbm

    cmbm New Member

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    If you are looking for a quick allergen free cake mix, try Cherrybrook Kitchen's mixes. I have seen them at Wegmans and Target. They are not as good as my homemade allergen free cakes but it is easy. The one I have is Gluten free, Peanut free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, and wheat free.

    It actually tastes OK.

    I keep thinking I should open up a nut free bakery and sandwich shop that UNDERSTANDS about cross contamination and other allergens too!
     
  20. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    Fellow Foodies--

    As a food scientist (in a former life--sans kids;)), food allergens are quite tricky. I would suggest that if you need more resources for gluten-free and allergen-free foods that you check out our United Natural Foods Buying Club.
    Check out the post called "United Foods Buying Club..." under the "Area Restaurants..." thread for details.:happygrin:

    There are alot of products that even Whole Foods Markets and other Natural Food stores CANNOT carry because of the huge selections that United Foods distribute to their customers and Buying Clubs. Bob's Mill products as well as other frozen, packaged, and fresh products for allergy diets you are not even aware of can be purchased at a discounted price.

    Have a good and blessed July 4th--:happygrin:

    Foodie & Family:happygrin:
     

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