Current Events in February 2016

Living Tree Community Foods of Berkeley, Calif., is recalling Organic Macadamia Nuts and Organic Macadamia Butter.

The products maybe contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recalled products were distributed throughout the U.S. via retail stores (California, Connecticut) and to mail order customers.

Living Tree Community Foods Organic Macadamia Nuts come in a 4-oz. clear plastic pouch marked with lot #153442 on the top.

Living Tree Community Foods Organic Macadamia Butter comes in an 8-oz. glass jar, with a Living Tree Community label on it.

Affected lot numbers are: 134415, 136215, 101716. The UPC Code is: 641432000987. These items were shipped between December 12, 2015, and February 3, 2016.

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume, but return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-510-526-7106 from 8:30-4:30 (PST) Monday thru Thursday and 8:30-3:00pm (PST) on Friday.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA is recalling approximately 26,000 Model Year 2013-2016 Scion FR-S vehicles.

Connectors for the automatic transmission key interlock on some vehicles may not have been connected during pre-delivery service prior to sale. That would make it possible to remove the key in gear positions other than “Park,” increasing the risk of vehicle rollaway and a crash. Thus, theese vehicles do not comply with a portion of Federal/Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114.

All known owners of the subject vehicles will be notified by first class mail and instructed to return the vehicle to a Toyota dealer to have the ignition key interlock function confirmed, and if necessary, delivery mode connectors connected at no charge.

Owners may contact customer at 1-800-331-4331 for Toyota or 1-800-255-3987 for Lexus.

Back in December it was announced that Volkswagen would be turning to Kenneth Feinberg to settle claims related to its diesel scandal. The American attorney, who is noted for handling compensation funds for GM’s ignition switch scandal and many others, has told a German newspaper that VW will be offering “generous compensation packages to the roughly 600,000 U.S. owners of diesel vehicles whose emissions are over the legal limit,” according to a Reuters report.

However, in what manner -- and when -- consumers can expect to be compensated is still uncertain. The company has not yet determined whether vehicle owners will be given cash, car buy-back options, repairs to existing cars, or replacement cars, according to Feinberg’s report.

High expectations

The process of determining adequate compensation has been slowed mostly because VW has had trouble putting a price on the scandal. The company has not been able to come to an agreement with federal agencies on how the problem will be fixed – something that Feinberg is quick to note.

“My hands are tied as long as VW and the authorities have not overcome their differences,” he said, stating that it’s unlikely that the fund would be set up within the established 60-90-day period. However, he is confident that once things get rolling he’ll be able to create a plan that will be accepted by the public. He will be looking to duplicate his past successes in creating compensation plans.

“Look at my prior cases: 97 percent of the victims of Sept. 11 accepted my offer. At GM and BP it was more than 90 percent, too. That has to be my target for VW,” he said.

Fair treatment

For many consumers, being compensated for the scandal is simply a matter of fairness. The scandal may not have affected them on a personal level, but the general outcry shows that consumers won’t stand for being misled.

“It is a purely business transaction, less emotional. I see that from emails I get from vehicle owners, who say things like: ‘Mr. Feinberg, I know I haven’t lost a relative, I just want to be treated fairly.’ They are all quite reasonable,” he said.

The attorney shouldn’t have too much resistance when it comes to setting a price that consumers will agree on; VW has given him complete authority over setting compensation prices. 

Since the housing market crash, fewer people have been able to buy homes, meaning more people have to rent.

Rents have quickly escalated to the point that last summer, Zillow declared a “rent affordability crisis.”

It's bad enough that rent keeps going through the roof, but a new study claims renters face another hit in the pocketbook – they pay more for car insurance than people who own their homes.

An analysis of auto insurance premiums by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found major insurance companies charge consumers with good driving records as much as 47% more for car insurance if they rent.

30 year-old safe driver

The study is based on a sampling of insurance quotes across the country for a 30-year old safe driver. If that driver happened to be a renter rather than an owner, the CFA found he or she paid about $112 more per year.

The CFA said Liberty Mutual penalized renters the most with premium hikes, averaging 19% more for state mandated auto insurance coverage.

The CFA maintains this practice ends up placing an economic hardship on low-to-moderate income consumers who tend to be renters. In 2013, the median income of renters was $27,800 compared with $63,400 for homeowners.

"To raise people's auto insurance premium because they can't afford to buy their homes unfairly discriminates against lower-income drivers," Robert Hunter, the CFA's Insurance Director and the former Insurance Commissioner of Texas, said in a release. "A good driver is a good driver whether she rents or owns her home. Insurance companies should not be allowed to target people based on homeownership status."

Other rate-setting factors

But homeownership status is far from the only thing that can affect what you pay for car insurance. As we have previously reported, your credit score can also affect your rate. Only three states – California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii – outlaw the practice of using credit scores to set auto insurance rates.

Other external factors that insurance companies use to gauge risk – and thereby set rates – are marital status and the Zip Code in which you live. Again, some states – notably California – don't allow those criteria to be used.

The CFA says the average rate differential for renters is 6%, but when you break it down on a company-by-company level, there are several that charge renters double-digit increases over homeowners.

The consumer groups says Geico was the only company tested that did not consider homeownership status in any of the 10 cities it measured. And in one case – in Chicago – the CFA said it found Allstate actually gave renters a break, lowering their car insurance premiums by 11% compared to homeowners.

Sale Slash LLC will stop flooding consumers' in-boxes with weight loss offers, can its fake news sites and bogus celebrity endorsements, and pay $10 million, most of which will be used for consumer reimbursement. 

The Glendale, California, company sold diet pills, including Premium Green Coffee, Pure Garcinia Cambogia, Premium White Kidney Bean Extract, Pure Forskolin Extract, and Pure Caralluma Fimbriata Extract, while using fake endorsements from celebrities ike Oprah Winfrey.

“Sale Slash’s business model was built on lies,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “They used spam email, fake news sites, and phony celebrity endorsements to make their outlandish weight loss claims.”

The court order settling the FTC's charges prohibits Sale Slash and its affiliates from making weight-loss claims unless they are not misleading and are supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. Such evidence specifically includes a human clinical test or study substantiating the claim.

"Blizzard of lies"

In another case, two Maine-based marketers will surrender "substantial" personal and business assets and will be prohibited from making deceptive claims about health products and engaging in deceptive marketing practices under a settlement reached with the FTC and the State of Maine’s Office of the Attorney General.

The agencies’ joint complaint charges Anthony Dill, his wife Staci Dill, and their two companies, Direct Alternatives and Original Organics LLC, with violating the FTC Act and Maine consumer protection laws in connection with their promotion and sale of weight loss supplements AF Plus and Final Trim.

In total, the defendants sold more than $16 million worth of the two products over the past four years. The companies have since ceased all sales.

“The Dills’ companies told a blizzard of lies,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “They sold worthless weight-loss supplements, lied about their supposed ‘risk-free trial’ offers, took people’s money with unauthorized auto-renewal plans, and made it nearly impossible to return their bogus products.”

“This company preyed on the vulnerability of consumers who seek a legitimate weight loss program,” said Attorney General Janet T. Mills. “The alleged conduct here is not limited to making false claims about their products; it also includes charging consumers hundreds of dollars in automatic monthly orders and making it very difficult for customers to cancel orders or get their money back. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is grateful to the FTC for the resources and assistance it brought to this case.”

The joint complaint alleges that the defendants falsely claimed users would quickly and easily lose significant weight and reduce their waist size by taking AF Plus and Final Trim and that the results were “proven” by scientific studies. The defendants used radio ads – at least one of which claimed to be a public service announcement – to sell their products.

The problems students have had with some for-profit school are well documented. Remember Corinthian College?

You don't have to have a long memory. In September 2014 the U.S. government sued the for-profit college for what it called an illegal predatory lending scheme.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) charged that  Corinthian lured tens of thousands of students to take out private loans to cover expensive tuition costs by advertising bogus job prospects and career services. To make matters worse, CFPB said Corinthian then used illegal debt collection tactics to strong-arm students into paying back those loans while still in school.

Before it declared bankruptcy and closed less than a year later, thousands of students had borrowed huge sums to attend, with nothing to show for it.

Proactive move

Now, the Department of Education wants to make sure potential train wrecks like Corinthian cross its radar screen before consumers have been harmed. It has announced creation of a Student Aid Enforcement Unit to respond more quickly and efficiently at the first suggestions of trouble.

"When Americans invest their time, money and effort to gain new skills, they have a right to expect they'll actually get an education that leads to a better life for them and their families," Acting Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a release. "When that doesn't happen we all pay the price. So let me be clear: schools looking to cheat students and taxpayers will be held accountable."

To head up the unit, Robert Kaye is coming over from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where he was a top enforcement attorney.

Four divisions

The new unit will have four divisions that will perform special roles. The Investigations Group will be the early warning system, on the lookout for potential misconduct or high-risk activity among higher education institutions so that it can protect federal funding.

The Borrower Defense Group will provide legal support, It will analyze claims and make injury determinations.

The Administrative Actions And Appeals Service Group will impose administrative actions, such as suspending an institution and levying a fine. It will also try to resolve appeals by program participants.

The Clery Group will make sure for-profit colleges comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, requiring colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to disclose campus crime statistics and security information.

The latest National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic shows completed foreclosures posted a year-over-year decline of 22.6% in December -- from 41,000 to 32,000 -- and are down 72.8% from their September 2010 peak of 117,722.

In addition, the property information, analytics, and data-enabled services provider reports the foreclosure inventory that same month dropped 23.8%. The foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes at some stage of the foreclosure process and completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure.

Since the beginning of the financial meltdown in September 2008, there have been approximately 6.1 million completed foreclosures across the country. And since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been about 8 million homes lost to foreclosure.

As of this past December, the national foreclosure inventory included approximately 433,000, or 1.1%, of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 568,000 homes, or 1.5% the year before. The December 2015 foreclosure inventory rate is the lowest for any month since November 2007.

“Reflecting on the full-year foreclosure results for 2015, we can see that completed foreclosures are down more than 20% for the year, which is the lowest level since 2006, before the crisis,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Maryland, which can be described as a suburb of the solid D.C. market, led the way with a 59% decline in foreclosures in 2015.”

CoreLogic also reports that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency (defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure or real estate owned) declined by 23.3% from December 2014 to December 2015, with 1.2 million mortgages, or 3.2%, in this category. The December 2015 serious delinquency rate is the lowest in eight years.

“The supply of distressed inventory continues to shrink rapidly. While this is positive for the housing market overall, it also drives a decline in the inventory of affordable for-sale homes,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The lack of housing stock, particularly affordable inventory, is a growing issue and will limit a full housing recovery in the short to medium term.”

Report highlights:

• On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures declined by 5.6% to 32,000 in December 2015 from the 34,000 reported in November 2015. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.
• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in December 2015 were Florida (79,000), Michigan (50,000), Texas (30,000), Ohio (24,000), and Georgia (24,000). These five states accounted for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
• Four states and the District of Columbia had the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in December 2015: the District of Columbia (81), North Dakota (220), Wyoming (541), West Virginia (560), and Alaska (700).
• Four states and the District of Columbia had the highest foreclosure inventory rate in December 2015: New Jersey (4.2%), New York (3.5%), Hawaii (2.4%), the District of Columbia (2.3%), and Florida (2.3%).
• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory rate in December 2015 were Alaska (0.3%), Minnesota (0.3%), Colorado (0.4%), Arizona (0.4%), and Utah (0.4%).

Fresh Express Incorporated is recalling a limited quantity of 32-oz. Fresh Express Chopped Romaine with a Product Code of G034A06A and Use-By Date of February 19.

The sealed condiment packets containing individual packets of dressing, croutons and Parmesan cheese used in the brand’s Caesar salads were mistakenly placed in a limited quantity of the chopped romaine product. Ingredients in the individual packets include milk, eggs, wheat and fish, allergens not listed on the label.

No illnesses have been reported.

The following products are being recalled:

Recalled Product Distribution
Fresh Express Precautionary Recall, Chopped Romaine – 2/06/16
(No other Fresh Express Salads are included in this recall)

Customers who have the recalled product should discard it

A refund is available where purchased or by contacting the Fresh Express consumer response center toll-free at (800) 242-5472 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET).

H-E-B is recalling H-E-B Creamy Creations Caramel Pecan Turtle Ice Cream.

The product may contain pieces of wood.

There have been no reports of illness.

The following products are being recalled:

Customers who purchased the product can return it to the store for a full refund.

Consumers with any questions or concerns may contact H-E-B customer service at 1-855-432-4438.

KHS America of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., is recalling about 150 Monkey Glockenspiel children’s musical instruments.

The pink metal note bar on the glockenspiel may contain excessive levels of lead in the paint, violating the federal lead paint standard. If the paint is scraped off and ingested lead can cause adverse health effects.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The Green Tones 8-note Monkey Glockenspiel is a children’s musical instrument with eight metal bars in multiple colors mounted on a wooden base shaped like a monkey. The bars are individually attached to the base with one screw at each end.

The second bar from the top is pink, 3.5 inches long and has a “B” stamped on it. This is the bar that needs to be replaced.

The Green Tones logo is stamped on the back of the glockenspiel and the tracking number HS0178410914 is printed in black at the bottom.

The instruments, manufactured in Israel, were sold at independent toy and music retailers and online at amazon.com and gogreentones.com from January 2015, through September 2015, for about $40.

Consumers should immediately remove the pink bar from the glockenspiel and contact KHS America for information on getting a free replacement pink bar.

Consumers may contact KHS America Green Tones at 800-283-4676 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday or online at www.gogreentones.com for more information.

There's no doubt falling gasoline prices have offered consumers a nice break. They've also pulled down the official inflation rate, which remains near record lows.

In fact, the Federal Reserve would like to see a little more inflation in the economy, since its worry over the last few years has been that prices aren't rising enough.

But behind the numbers suggesting little or no increase in consumer costs, the cost for some things that are common consumer expenditures continues to go up. They include housing, vehicles, restaurant meals, college tuition, and healthcare services.

Housing

The cost of putting a roof over your head is one thing that has gone up sharply over the last year, regardless of whether you are renting or buying. In mid 2015, real estate marketplace Zillow warned that rental affordability had worsened, with renters forced to pay 30.2% of their monthly income toward rent – the highest percentage ever.

Before the real estate bubble and bust, U.S. renters were spending about 24.4% of their incomes on rent. Zillow expects rents to flatten out this year after a double-digit rise last year.

"There are good reasons to rent temporarily – when you move to a new city, for example – but from an affordability perspective, rents are crazy right now,” Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell noted in an August press release. “If you can possibly come up with a down payment, then it's a good time to buy a home and start putting your money toward a mortgage."

But consumers buying homes also face rising prices. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) report for December showed a 7.6% rise in the median home price in 2015.

New and used cars

The cost of both new and used cars has risen faster than the official inflation rate. Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) report the average transaction price of a new car hit another record high in January. KBB said the cost of a new set of wheels rose nearly $1,000 from January 2016 to last month, hitting $34,112.

However, KBB points out that doesn't reflect increases in vehicle prices as much as it does consumers' preference for more expensive vehicles, primarily SUV and pick-up trucks. That said, prices for full-size and mid-size trucks increased by 5.9% and 7.9%, respectively.

The average price of a used car has also gone up lately. Automotive site Edmunds.com reported that consumers are buying newer used cars, which cost more. It found average used car prices hit a record high of $18,800 in the second quarter of last year, up 7.6% — or $1,300 per vehicle — from the second quarter of 2014. Meanwhile, the average age of used cars sold in Q2 2015 was 4.5 years, down from an average of 4.9 years the same time last year.

Mixed bag on food costs

Like energy, food costs have generally been lower for consumers in recent months. With the exception of fresh vegetables, most other grocery items are down or have risen no more than the official inflation rate.

The exception is restaurant meals. According to the Labor Department's December report, food consumed away from home rose 2.6% in 2015.

For consumers attending college, costs continue to rise much faster than the inflation rate. According to the experts at FinAid, an online guide to college financial aid, tuition generally increases at about double the inflation rate, going back to the 1970s.

But lately increases have been much higher. On average, the site says, tuition tends to increase about 8% per year. At that rate, the cost of college doubles every nine years.

Drug prices

That brings us to healthcare, and in particular, the cost of prescription drugs. The AARP reports that overall healthcare costs, while still going up faster than inflation, have begun to stabilize. The exception is for prescription medication.

The seniors group reports drug costs have doubled, and in some cases soared by 1,000% or more.

So the overall inflation rate may be tame, but that doesn't mean everything is cheap.

More than likely, you’re not using every minute in the shower as wisely as possible. Between waiting for the water to warm up, singing into shampoo bottle microphones, and the time spent doing your “best thinking,” a lot of water is essentially wasted. In fact, if you've got a standard showerhead, every minute wasted equates to 2.5 gallons.

On a national scale, we use 1.2 trillion gallons annually just for showering, according to the EPA — “enough to supply the water needs of New York and New Jersey for a year.” So how can we reduce this number? According to the EPA, a good start would be to switch to a more water-efficient showerhead.

With WaterSense labeled showerheads, you can conserve a substantial amount of both water and money. If every home in the U.S. retrofitted their shower with a WaterSense labeled showerhead, the EPA estimates that we could save more than $2.2 billion in water utility bills and conserve more than 260 billion gallons of water each year. For the average family, that translates to a water savings of about 2,900 gallons per year.

Water-saving showerheads

Thankfully, technology has brought water-conserving showerheads a long way; no longer does "water-efficient" have to mean “low flow.” These days, you can get a water-efficient showerhead that will deliver on both water pressure and savings.

Here are a few showerheads that meet EPA criteria for WaterSense:

• Moen Attract Chrome with Magnetix Handheld Showerhead, $60.60 at Moen.com. Voted one of This Old House’s Top 100 Best New Home Products of 2015, this six-function showerhead offers both ease of installation and eco-performance. One reviewer notes, however, that the single docking position (meant to help curb exterior splashing) is uncomfortably high for short persons and inconvenient for them to dismount.
• Delta Foundations Monitor 13 Series Water Trim, $42.51 on Amazon. Offers a full body spray and a Scald-Guard valve to ensure temperatures never get too hot or cold. Reviewers enjoy the fact that this shower kit is complete — no need to buy additional parts separately. 
• Danze Parma Five-Function Showerhead, $36.47 on Amazon. It features five different spray functions, and boasts a 20% water savings compared to standard showerheads. The dual valve technology minimizes water pressure loss even as settings change.
• Hansgrohe Croma C 100 Green Showerhead, $57.20 on Amazon. Hansgrohe's EcoAIR technology adds air to each drop of water, allowing water to be used efficiently while still maintaining water pressure. Features three jets, a 4-inch spray face, and 75 no-clog spray channels. Its flow rate of 2.0 GPM equals a 20% water savings.
• Kohler Pinstripe Single-Function Katalyst Showerhead, $175.55 at Kohler.com. Minimizes wasteful overspray and increases cleaning and hair-rinsing performance. Katalyst's air induction technology is said to maximize the air/water mix for a powerful, even flow. One Amazon reviewer notes: "It sounds just like a small waterfall." 

Online shopping gets bigger every year, in large part because it is more efficient and convenient for consumers.

It takes less time to shop online, comparing prices without going store to store. It also requires less driving, which saves energy, puts less stress on roadways, and creates less pollution.

Experts at the University of Delaware don't quibble with the convenience of online shopping, but their research casts doubt on the other part.

Researchers conducted a multi-year study that suggests online shopping might have unseen impact, only making it seem greener than driving to the nearest mall.

Additional burden

"Our simulation results showed that home shopping puts an additional burden on the local transportation network, as identified through four measures of effectiveness – travel time, delay, average speed, and greenhouse gas emissions," co-author Mingxin Li said in a release.

To the consumer shopping from home, or placing an order using their smartphone, e-shopping seems like it would be saving resources. It requires less energy and space, right?

Arde Faghri, University of Delaware professor and leader of the study, says it's the unseen impact that raises the environmental toll from online shopping. It puts more delivery trucks on the roads, which translates into more wear-and-tear on pavements and increased environmental pollution through the emission of fine particulate matter from diesel engines.

Then there's the impact on traffic patterns. Residential and downtown streets were designed mainly to accommodate cars, not delivery trucks of varying sizes that make frequent stops to park, load, and unload.

Not keeping shoppers at home

The dramatic increase in truck traffic, he maintains, can interfere with through traffic, causing delays and compromising safety. And in the end, he says it isn't keeping consumers at home and off the roads.

"We found that the total number of vehicles miles traveled hasn't decreased at all with the growth of online shopping," Faghri said. "This suggests that people are using the time they save by shopping on the internet to do other things like eating out at restaurants, going to the movies, or visiting friends."

Faghri admits his research has its limitations. For one thing, it was conducted in a relatively small geographic area – Newark, Delaware.

However, he does believe it has value to local, state, regional, and national planners, who may be unaware of what the explosion in online shopping will mean for traffic flow and infrastructure needs.

The other impact, he says, is easier to see. In the future there will be less need for sales personnel and a greater demand for truck drivers.

Add the state of New Jersey to the long list of plaintiffs suing Volkswagen for using deceptive software to allow its VW, Porsche, and Audi diesel-powered cars to masquerade as low-emission vehicles.

“For the past decade Volkswagen engaged in one of the largest frauds in the history of the automobile industry,” the state’s lawsuit asserts. “It developed and distributed into the marketplace sophisticated software to evade emissions requirements, it misled regulators about the true environmental impact of its vehicles, and it misled consumers about the products that it was marketing as supposedly good for the environment.”

“Our lawsuit alleges that Volkswagen put profit ahead of honesty, integrity, fair business practices and – most disturbing of all – the well-being of people living and breathing the air here in New Jersey and across the country,” said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. 

The New Jersey suit is similar to those filed by New Mexico, Texas, and West Virginia. The company also faces a federal complaint that seeks billions of dollars in damages, as well as a growing list of individual and class action suits.

Volkswagen says its primary concern at the moment is figuring out how to recall and fix the affected vehicles in a manner that satisfies regulators.

"Profited greatly"

The New Jersey suit, filed Friday in Hudson County Superior Court, alleges that Volkswagen “profited greatly” from its effort – launched in 2005 – to gain a greater share of the U.S. passenger vehicle market by quietly developing, then deceptively promoting, diesel vehicles that appeared to be environmentally friendly, but in fact were equipped with pollution control systems that only functioned during emissions testing.

The alleged conspiracy enabled Volkswagen to steadily increase its passenger vehicle sales over time so that by 2014, it accounted for about 70% of new diesel passenger car sales in the U.S. 

The New Jersey suit alleges that Volkswagen fraudulently increased its sales and market share “at the expense of the unsuspecting public.” By emphasizing the supposed superiority of German engineering, the company successfully charged “inflated purchase prices” for the cars, which spewed illegal qualities of nitrogen oxide (NOx) into the air, endangering the health of New Jerseyans, the suit argues.

NOx pollution has been shown to contribute to harmful ground-level ozone (smog) and fine particulate matter (soot), and exposure to NOx and its byproducts has been linked to such serious health problems as cardiopulmonary disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and exacerbation of asthma, the complaint alleges.

Current estimates are that Volkswagen sold approximately 580,000 vehicles equipped with the defeat software in the United States, about 17,420 of them in New Jersey.

The Jel Sert Company of West Chicago, Ill., is recalling 52 cases of Margaritaville Banana Cream Pie Filling.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There have been no reported illnesses related to this product to date.

The product was not available to consumers on store shelves, only through directly provided sales samples and gift packages.

The following product is being recalled:

Margaritaville Banana Cream Pie Filling 4.16 ounce carton

Lot number on cartons: WC5257

UPC Code 7239202925

Best before date: September 2017

Anyone in possession of the recalled product should dispose of it.

Consumers with questions may contact Jel Sert toll-free at 866-853-1969 at any time.

WWRD U.S. of Wall, N.J., is recalling nearly 700 Wedgwood Peter Rabbit decorative baby rattles in the U.S. and Canada.

The ball bearings inside each side of the decorative rattle can be released, posing a choking hazard to young children.

The firm has received two reports of ball bearings releasing from the decorative giftware baby rattle. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves all Wedgwood Peter Rabbit decorative baby rattles. The silver-plated giftware is shaped like a baby rattle, but is intended to be used as decoration only. It measures about 4 ½ inches long and 2 inches wide.

A Peter Rabbit figure and “hop hop hop” underneath are embossed on one end cap and “hop little rabbit” over the Peter Rabbit figure is embossed on the other end cap.

The decorative rattles, manufactured in China, were sold at Bloomingdales, Macy’s, WWRD Outlets and other department stores nationwide and online at www.amazon.com and www.wedgwood.com from April 2015, through December 2015, for between $75 and $95.

Consumers should immediately stop using the decorative rattles and take them away from young children and contact WWRD for a full refund.

Consumers may contact WWRD toll-free at 877-892-9973 anytime or online at www.wwrd.com for more information.

Marin Pasta Works of San Rafael, Calif., is recalling approximately 491 pounds of pork ravioli products.

The products did not undergo federal inspection.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The following sausage, Parmesan and spinach ravioli items, produced between Jan. 4, 2016, and Feb. 4, 2016 and distributed to retail locations in California, are being recalled:

• 12-oz.vacuum-packaged packages containing pieces of “Sausage, Parm and Spinach Ravioli” with Best By Dates of Feb. 4 to March 4, 2016.

Customers who purchased these products should not consume them, but throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact John Sarrran at (877) 263-2332 ext 310.

Dollar General of Goodlettsville, Tenn., is recalling about 27,000 toy trucks.

The toy truck’s remote control can short circuit, causing it to overheat and posing fire and burn hazards.

The company has received five reports of the toy’s remote control overheating. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves a toy excavator and a shovel loader. The remote controlled plastic toys are orange with black and orange wheels. Both have tracking code 90RWE15 marked on the back of the battery compartment. UPC number 00430000549030 can be found on the bottom of the packaging.

Power, Shovel Loader and Super Power are printed on stickers located on the side of the excavator. UPC 00400001622537 can be found on the bottom of the packaging. 6000Kg Peakload, FL-330 Deluxe Crane, and Crane Super Truck are printed on stickers located on the side of the shovel loader.

The toy trucks, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Dollar General stores nationwide and online at www.dollargeneral.com from July 2015, through December 2015, for about $10.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled toy vehicles away from children and contact Dollar General for a full refund.

Consumers may contact Dollar General at 800-678-9258 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday, by email at custsv@dollargeneral.com or online at http://www2.dollargeneral.com/Customer-Care-Center/Pages/product-recall-pdfs/Recall-Toy_Construction_Vehicle.pdf.