To protect ShopRite brand, store bans antibiotic-free Perdue chicken

"No Antibiotics Administered" on the label sets Readington Farms Chicken apart at ShopRite supermarkets, including the Paramus store. But ShopRite doesn't sell Perdue's Harvestland brand, also raised without antibiotics.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Chicken giant Perdue made a clean breast of it when it unveiled Harvestland -- whole birds and parts raised without harmful antibiotics.

But at the Paramus ShopRite, shelves are filled with packages of  antibiotic-free Readington Farms Chicken, which the supermarket chain sells exclusively, not with Perdue's Harvestland.

This ShopRite continues to offer conventional Perdue Chicken with a deceptive "all natural" label -- the parts are raised on antibiotics that promote growth and cut down on disease in crowded chicken houses.

ShopRite continues to sell Perdue Chicken Drumsticks and other parts from birds raised on antibiotics.

"No antibiotics ever" is on the label of Perdue's Harvestland Chicken Drumsticks, which I saw at H Mart, the Korean supermarket in Englewood.

Readington Farms Chicken at the Paramus ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east. Coleman Organic is the only other brand of antibiotic-free chicken available at this ShopRite.

Locally grown basil in a pot was on sale Tuesday at the Paramus ShopRite.

ShopRite has the best buy on Organic Whole Wheat Pasta from Italy, including this Capellini dressed in a combination of Victoria Marinara and Vodka Sauce. The Luigi Vitelli brand also offers Spaghetti, Linguine, Fusilli and Penne, all for only $1.25 a pound.

New cage-free eggs at Costco, Paramus ShopRite, road food and more

The Hackensack Costco warehouse closed on Tuesday night, but clueless members continued to show up on Friday afternoon, only to drive away in search of the new Costco Wholesale in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center off of Route 46.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale apparently is responding to the controversy over selling eggs from caged chickens by making more cage-free eggs available.

On Friday, I made my first shopping trip to the Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, which opened on Wednesday morning.

I planned to order two new pairs of glasses and pick up food items I couldn't find on the last day the Hackensack warehouse was open for business.

I bought my usual Kirkland Signature Organic Large Grade AA Eggs, which are brown and marked cage free, vegetarian fed and certified humane ($6.99 for two dozen).

But as I was checking out, I noticed the couple behind me had a different brand of brown eggs that were marked cage free, but not organic.

Their package also contained 24 eggs, but they should be cheaper than organic.

When I called the Teterboro Costco today, an employee couldn't find the non-organic cage-free eggs in the computer.

So, Costco offers consumers more choice in cage-free eggs, but continues to sell whole eggs and liquid egg whites from caged chickens -- years after the company promised to withdraw them from warehouses.

A 2-pound bag of Chopped Kale, above left, and Butter Lettuce, below, are two of the many items I saw on Friday in the bigger Teterboro Costco that I don't recall from the Hackensack warehouse, which closed on Tuesday night after 21 years.

Frozen seafood

The Teterboro warehouse may be bigger and sell more items than the old warehouse in Hackensack.

Yet, Costco continues to offer an unusually large amount of previously frozen seafood -- from cooked Dungeness Crabs to raw Sea Scallops to raw Lobster Tails, some of them treated with preservatives.

I've been disappointed by the previously frozen cooked crab and scallops, and never tried them again.

On the other hand, another frozen item -- Phillips Seafood Restaurants Maryland Style Crab Cakes -- are as good as any I've had in a restaurant.

The first ingredient is jumbo lump crab meat, and they have to be cooked, not just reheated. 

You get six crab cakes with a total weight of 1 pound 2 ounces for $18.99 -- more than $3 each -- but they are worth the premium.

On Friday, I saw another frozen seafood item that I might try next time -- ahi tuna slices prepared rare with olive oil, garlic and other seasoning.

I did buy a 3-pound bag of frozen wild-caught Mahi-
Mahi loins ($19.99), a 1-pound pouch of Kirkland Signature Smoked Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon ($15.99) and a 3-pound bag of peeled California garlic ($7.39).

Also, a pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.59), and Chobani Greek Yogurt, 0% fat with fruit on the bottom ($14.99 for 20 5.3-ounce cups).

On Tuesday at the Hackensack Costco, a 2-pound bag of Mayorga Cafe Cubano Dark Roast, organic, shade-grown coffee beans, were $10.99 with an instant coupon, and I was able to grind them Turkish in the store.

Shuttered warehouse 

As I was looking over eyeglass frames on Friday, I overheard one of the Costco opticians on the phone, giving directions to the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center from the old Hackensack warehouse.

Huge banners announcing the Hackensack closing and Teterboro opening were hung for many weeks and fliers were given out to members in the days before the former closed on Tuesday night.

Some Costco members didn't get the memo.

Another change I noticed in Teterboro are wider parking spaces and more corrals for Costco's oversized shopping carts.

Still, the wider spots won't protect you from lazy members who think nothing of loading their cars and SUVs, then leaving their empty carts against the fender or door of someone else's vehicle. 

These bruised and battered honeycrisp apples were put on sale for $1.69 a pound at the ShopRite in Paramus on Friday morning. They looked awful.

At ShopRite, Zeigler's Apple Cider is a blend of honeycrisp and other apples.

Potassium sorbate is among the ingredients.

The Paramus ShopRite has the nerve to charge more for the Gia Russa brand of 100% Whole Wheat Pasta from Italy, top, than for the superior Luigi Vitelli brand, on shelf below, which is organic and also imported from Italy.

ShopRite normally charges $2.79 for a can of Season Sardines from Morocco, but even on sale at $1.49 a can, they cost more than the same skinless-and-boneless fish at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, where six 4.375-ounce cans are $6.99 with an instant coupon through Oct. 25. Costco's Season Sardines are marked non-GMO and the cans are BPA free. The regular Costco price is $1.66 a can.

At the Paramus ShopRite, I was all set to buy wild-caught Jumbo Shrimp from the United States for $14.99 a pound until I saw the small lettering on the sign, "Sulfites Added." 

ShopRite Containers are cheaper than the Ziploc brand sold next to them, and both are BPA free. I use them only for storage of leftovers, even though they are marked microwave safe. I plate leftover food before reheating it and cover it with a paper towel, not plastic wrap, to avoid the transfer of chemicals used to make plastic.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Capellini in Victoria Marinara with added Season Anchovies (one can) and Season Sardines (three cans), red wine and seasonings. A pound of the thin pasta cooks up al dente in unsalted water in just three minutes. Leftovers go great with eggs or an omelet for breakfast.

At the Suburban Diner in Paramus (172 Route 17 north), the Clam Chowder may have too many potatoes, but there are plenty of fresh-tasting clams just below the surface of the tomatoey broth ($4.75 for a bowl).

At Kitchen Bar in Abington, Pa. (1482 Old York Road), my so-called Greek Salad came without stuffed grape leaves, a big strike against it ($11.99).

We had a late lunch at Kitchen Bar on Oct. 10 with our son, who is attending college on Penn State's Abington campus. This was our second visit to the restaurant.

I would have been happy ordering small plates, such as these Grilled Vegetables ($3.99). My wife complained her Fish and Chips, cod dipped in beer batter and deep fried, were too greasy. The staff happily took it off the bill and brought her a Caesar Salad ($7.99). She didn't like that either, she said later.

My son like his Fish Taco appetizer, though the price was closer to that of an entree ($11.99).

My son ordered the Cajun Penne with Shrimp, but didn't finish the pasta ($12.99).

At the New King Fung Supermarket in River Edge (625 Kinderkamack Road), I shop only for Miya Japanese bowls, not food, because the floor is dirty and the Chinese-owned store has deteriorated since a renovation several years ago.

The label on the bottom of a 6-inch bowl ($6.99). I bought three.

Clams, crabs, yams, salads and organic whole-wheat pasta

Hundreds of Cherrystone Clams were shucked under a tree on Saturday, the first day of summer, during Members' Day at American Littoral Society in Highlands, above and below.

The clams came from Virginia, because they were cheaper than New Jersey clams, one of the shuckers said.

The headquarters of the American Littoral Society, a coastal conservation group, is in a former lieutenant's house at Fort Hancock, part of the Sandy Hook national park, above and below.

The front porch overlooks Sandy Hook Bay.

Navesink Fishery, in a shopping center on Route 36 in Navesink, above and below, is a homier version of Seafood Gourmet, the fish market-restaurant in Maywood.

I had hoped to have another lunch of soft-shell crabs, like the one I enjoyed on Friday in Maywood, but Navesink Fishery doesn't serve lunch on Saturdays. (1-732-291-8017).

Are these yams or sweet potatoes? ShopRite in Paramus complicates the answer by selling them as "yams/sweet potatoes" for $1.29 a pound. I boiled them with peeled garlic, drained and mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, curry powder, cinnamon, red-pepper flakes, black pepper and other seasoning. Yams are starchier and probably have more calories.

A wedge of frittata (egg whites, cheese, fresh tomato, garlic and pesto) served with mashed yams/sweet potatoes and leftover Chinese takeout string beans.

A dinner salad from the cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center includes tofu and mozzarella cheese.

Another dinner salad includes red- and green-leaf lettuce from our garden, smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, organic beets, Campari tomatoes and reduced-fat Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese, all dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, above and below. Most of the ingredients are from Costco Wholesale.

Non-organic whole wheat spaghetti, on sale last week at the ShopRite in Paramus, was no bargain, compared to the $1.39 Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market charges for 1 pound of the organic version. But ShopRite did have a sale on 1-pound packages of Luigi Vitelli-brand organic Whole Wheat Capellini from Italy with a cooking time of 3 minutes ($1.25), a whole-wheat shape I haven't seen anywhere else.