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The recall includes products sold in New York City

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Made Fresh Salads is recalling dozens of ready-to-eat deli salads, cream cheeses and other products because of possible Listeria contamination.

• The products were distributed to retailers and distributors in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and other parts of New York City and may have been repackaged for consumers.

• No illnesses have been reported, but consumers who purchased the recalled products are being urged to return them for a refund.

Consumers in the New York City area are being warned to check their refrigerators after a food manufacturer recalled a wide range of ready-to-eat deli products because they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Made Fresh Salads Inc., based in Bay Shore, New York, announced the recall Sept. 6. It covers ready-to-eat deli-style salads and cream cheese sold under the Made Fresh Salads and Northside brands.

The products were distributed by direct delivery to retail stores and distributors in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and elsewhere in New York City.

One potential complication for consumers is that the food may not still be in its original Made Fresh Salads packaging. The company said retailers may have repackaged the products in deli containers or other retail packaging, meaning labels and product codes can vary depending on where the food was purchased.

A long list of recalled foods

The recall covers dozens of products, including several foods commonly purchased from supermarket and deli counters.

Among them are black bean and corn salad, bruschetta, chickpea salad, crab salad, shrimp salad, egg salad, tuna salad, quinoa salad and numerous pasta and tortellini salads.

Larger containers of potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw are also included, along with chocolate and vanilla pudding, potato croquettes and crab cakes.

The recall also includes a large selection of flavored cream cheeses, including:

• Apple cinnamon

• Blueberry

• Bacon scallion

• Garlic and herb

• Jalapeo and jalapeo cheddar

• Lox

• Scallion

• Strawberry

• Vegetable

• Walnut

• Whipped cream cheese

Some tofu spreads are included as well. Northside-branded cream cheese and tofu products are also affected.

The recalled foods have expiration dates ranging from Sept. 3 through Sept. 18, 2026. Products supplied to retailers came primarily in 5-pound and 30-pound white plastic tubs or half-size aluminum pans.

Listeria found during environmental testing

The recall was initiated after environmental sampling conducted by the FDA and the company found Listeria monocytogenes in some areas of the manufacturing facility.

Made Fresh Salads has stopped production and distribution of the affected products while the company and FDA investigate the source of the contamination. No illnesses have been reported as of the recall announcement.

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly among older adults, young children and people with weakened immune systems.

Healthy people may experience symptoms including fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Infection during pregnancy can also cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

What consumers should do

Consumers who believe they purchased one of the recalled products should not eat it and should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Because some retailers may have repackaged the food, consumers who purchased prepared salads or cream cheese from a deli counter in the affected New York City distribution area may want to contact the retailer if they are unsure whether their purchase is included.

Consumers with questions can contact Made Fresh Salads at 718-765-0082, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time.

On the other hand, it could also cost you

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Zillow research suggests the color of a homes front door can change what buyers are willing to offer by thousands of dollars.

• Light blue-green produced the biggest premium in Zillows study, adding as much as $5,023 when paired with an all-white house.

• But matching matters: A red door on a light-brick home could reduce what buyers are willing to pay by as much as $6,738.

Homeowners getting ready to sell often spend thousands of dollars sprucing up kitchens, bathrooms and landscaping. But Zillow says one of the changes that could influence buyers the most may require little more than a can of paint.

New Zillow research finds that the color of a home's front door can affect how much prospective buyers say they are willing to pay sometimes by several thousand dollars. But the findings come with an important catch: The best color depends heavily on the exterior of the house.

Zillow studied buyer reactions to four types of home exteriors light brick, solid white, white wood combined with light brick, and dark red brick. Researchers compared doors painted dark gray, light blue-green, yellow and red against a white-door baseline.

The results suggest sellers shouldn't simply pick the year's trendiest color.

Light blue-green is a winner on the right house

For an all-white house, Zillow found that a light blue-green front door delivered the largest potential payoff of any combination in the study. Buyers indicated they would pay as much as $5,023 more for the home compared with one with a white door.

The same color also performed well against dark red brick, potentially increasing offers by $2,460.

But put that light blue-green door on a light-brick house and the result reversed. Buyers indicated they might pay $4,221 less than they would for the same house with a white door.

Red can be an expensive gamble

A red front door is often used to make a house stand out, but Zillow's findings suggest sellers should be especially careful with it.

On a solid-white house, red performed well, potentially adding about $2,512 to an offer. But on a light-brick house, a red door reduced buyers' willingness to pay by as much as $6,738 the largest potential penalty among the combinations Zillow studied.

A red door on a white-and-light-brick exterior also performed poorly, lowering prospective offers by about $3,953.

Dark gray works best with dark red brick

Homeowners with dark red brick may want to consider charcoal or dark gray. Zillow found that combination could increase an offer by as much as $3,753 compared with a white door.

Again, however, context matters. A dark gray door on a light-brick house could lower an offer by as much as $3,741.

Yellow showed a similar pattern. Buyers indicated they would pay an average of $1,966 more for an all-white home with a yellow door, but $2,907 less when yellow was paired with light brick.

Zillow distilled its findings into a fairly straightforward guide. For an all-white house, light blue-green, yellow or red performed well. For light brick, white was the safest choice. White or yellow worked for a white-and-light-brick exterior, while dark gray or white performed best with dark red brick.

The larger lesson may be even simpler: The more visually complicated the exterior, the more buyers appear to appreciate a neutral front door. A simple exterior, meanwhile, may benefit from a splash of color.

Motorists could see another round of increases at the pump if crude remains near triple digits

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Brent crude oil climbed above $100 a barrel Wednesday as renewed fighting in the Middle East raised fears of further disruptions to global oil supplies.

• The national average price of regular gasoline has already jumped to about $4.22 a gallon, according to AAA, and the latest oil surge could push pump prices higher.

• A common rule of thumb suggests every $10 increase in crude oil can eventually add roughly 24 cents to the price of a gallon of gasoline, although refinery conditions and other factors can amplify or soften the increase.

Oil prices crossed a psychologically important threshold Wednesday, with Brent crude rising above $100 a barrel as escalating conflict in the Middle East renewed concerns about the world's oil supply.

Brent, the international benchmark that has a strong influence on U.S. gasoline prices, traded above $100 early Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was around $95. It was the first time Brent had crossed $100 since late July.

For motorists, the question is how quickly that increase will show up at the gas station.

The answer may be: fairly quickly.

AAA reported Wednesday that the national average price of regular gasoline had reached about $4.22 a gallon, up from $4.15 just a day earlier. Gasoline prices were already under pressure before oil's latest move because of tight supplies and disruptions to refining operations.

What $100 oil could mean at the pump

There is no exact formula connecting crude oil and gasoline prices, but the Energy Information Administration has long used a useful rule of thumb: a $1 increase in the price of a barrel of crude can translate into roughly 2.4 cents a gallon at the pump.

That means a sustained $10 increase in crude could eventually add about 24 cents a gallon to gasoline prices.

The key word is "sustained." A brief spike above $100 isn't necessarily enough to produce a comparable increase in retail gasoline prices. If oil quickly retreats, some of the increase may never reach consumers.

But if Brent remains at or above $100 for several weeks or moves significantly higher motorists could face another noticeable increase.

Gas prices also tend to respond more quickly when oil prices are rising than when they're falling. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis recently examined that familiar "rockets and feathers" effect: pump prices can shoot up rapidly following an oil shock but decline much more slowly afterward.

Why oil is rising

The latest surge is being driven largely by fears about Middle East supplies.

Renewed U.S.-Iran fighting and attacks on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia have increased concerns about shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil transportation routes. Oil flows through the strait have already been sharply reduced during the conflict.

The market's biggest fear is that the conflict could further damage oil production or transportation infrastructure.

Bank of America analysts have suggested oil could trade in a range of roughly $95 to $120 a barrel, with the possibility of a much larger spike if critical infrastructure is damaged.

That makes $100 oil important not because of the number itself, but because of where prices could go next.

Refinery problems are making matters worse

Normally, consumers might expect gasoline prices to begin declining after Labor Day as the summer driving season winds down and refiners switch to less expensive winter gasoline blends.

This year may be different.

The EIA says gasoline supplies are unusually tight because of disruptions to refining operations in Russia, China and the Middle East. U.S. gasoline imports since March have also been running 32% below their five-year average.

Refinery profit margins known as crack spreads are also unusually high. That means motorists aren't dealing only with expensive crude oil. The cost of turning that oil into gasoline is elevated as well.

The combination makes it possible for gasoline prices to remain high even if crude oil stops rising.

What consumers should watch

The biggest factor over the next several weeks will be whether Brent crude stays above $100 or quickly falls back below it.

If tensions ease and oil shipments increase, the normal seasonal decline in gasoline demand could eventually provide motorists some relief.

But if oil remains around $100 or moves toward $110 or $120 the national gasoline average could continue climbing rather than falling as it normally does in autumn.

And the effects won't stop at the gas pump. Higher oil prices raise the cost of diesel and jet fuel, which can eventually increase trucking, delivery and airline costs. Diesel prices are already approaching $6 a gallon nationally.

The scheme tries to steal personal and financial information

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A nationwide phishing campaign is impersonating MyChart and promising consumers a free Medicare Kit or Senior Health Package.

• The promised kit doesnt exist; scammers may use the offer to collect MyChart credentials, personal information and credit card numbers.

• Consumers should avoid links in unexpected MyChart messages and instead access their accounts through the official app or their health providers website.

Theres another scam masquerading as MyChart, the patient portal used by doctors to communicate with their patients. The new scam uses email and texts to target seniors with the promise of a free Medicare kit.

Health systems across the U.S. are warning patients about a growing phishing campaign that impersonates MyChart, the widely used patient portal developed by Epic Systems. The messages may promise a MyChart Medicare Kit, Medicare Health Kit, Senior Health Package or another free wellness product.

There is no such giveaway.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday issued a warning Aug. 28, saying scammers are sending emails and texts offering patients a chance to claim a MyChart Medicare Kit. The messages attempt to get victims to click malicious links and surrender passwords or other personal information.

A previous campaign used a fake MyChart that warned of a serious test result, in hopes of persuading the victim to download malware.

The new campaign has spread widely. Becker's Hospital Review reported that at least 41 health systems had warned about the scheme by late August.

How the scam works

The scam is particularly convincing because millions of patients are accustomed to receiving legitimate MyChart notifications about appointments, test results, prescriptions and messages from their doctors.

One version tells recipients they have been selected to receive a free 2026 Medicare Health Kit. MyChart itself warns that it does not conduct giveaways and says any email claiming MyChart is giving away a product is fraudulent.

UC Davis Health says one version directs consumers to a survey where they are eventually asked for financial information to cover the supposed cost of shipping the free first-aid and medical supply kit.

That's where a free offer can become expensive.

Gizmodo, which obtained consumer complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission, reported that one consumer in their 70s entered a Mastercard number to pay $9.95 for shipping. According to the complaint, another attempted charge for $29.95 quickly followed.

Other versions can be even more dangerous because they attempt to steal MyChart usernames, passwords or verification codes. Cooper University Health Care warns that fake messages may also request Medicare information or direct consumers to websites designed to look like legitimate MyChart pages.

MyChart hasn't necessarily been hacked

Receiving one of these messages doesn't mean hackers have broken into your hospital's computer system or gained access to your MyChart account.

Health systems say the criminals are impersonating the familiar MyChart brand to make their messages more convincing. Virtua Health, for example, says there is no indication that MyChart, Epic or its health system was breached as part of the scam.

That's an important distinction. The scam relies on social engineering convincing victims that a fraudulent message comes from an organization they already trust.

Red flags

Consumers should be suspicious of messages announcing that Your MyChart Medicare Kit Awaits! or offering free Medicare supplies, wellness packages, prizes or rewards.

Other red flags include requests to verify an address, take a survey, provide Medicare or insurance information, enter a MyChart password or pay a small shipping charge.

Don't assume a message is legitimate simply because it contains the MyChart logo. Scammers can copy logos and other graphics from legitimate websites.

Also avoid clicking an unsubscribe button in a suspicious message. Several health systems warn that the unsubscribe link itself may be malicious.

What to do

If you receive an unexpected MyChart message, don't use the link contained in the email or text. Open the MyChart app you normally use or go directly to your health care provider's known website.

If the message concerns something legitimate such as an appointment, bill or test result you should normally be able to find corresponding information inside your actual account.

Consumers who already entered a MyChart password on a suspicious website should change the password immediately and review their account for unexpected activity. If credit or debit card information was provided, contact the card issuer or bank promptly.

And remember one simple rule: MyChart is a patient portal, not a Medicare benefits program. It doesn't give away Medicare kits.