Warning: These colors run

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The color-fastness of Fairway Market's plastic bags is nothing to celebrate.

A River Edge woman complains the black color on the plastic bags used by Fairway Market in Paramus runs, if the bag touches any moisture, such as a wet counter top or a snow bank.

She said she called the Paramus store, as well as calling and e-mailing executives in New York, but no one responded. Some of the black color stained her counter and she had to use bleach to remove it.

To avoid the plastic bags, bring re-usable bags. Unfortunately, Fairway is one of the few stores that doesn't reward customers who bring their own bags.

Sliced and diced

This same shopper noticed the low-calorie rye bread she buys at ShopRite isn't so low-calorie anymore.

Without notice, a slice went from 50 calories to 60 calories, and from 3 grams of fiber to 2 grams. She tracked down the bakery that makes the bread for ShopRite, Weight Watchers and Manischewitz and was told the changes made the bread taste better.

Only the low-calorie rye made for Stop & Shop wasn't altered, she said.

For meat lovers

On Tuesday, I bought four organic Pinata apples that were on sale for 99 cents a pound at Whole Food Markets in Paramus, compared to $1.29 a pound for conventional apples at ShopRite in Rochelle Park.

At checkout, I received a $5-off coupon on a purchase of $20 through Feb. 14. It's labeled "Cook for Your Valentine," but it's good only on meat purchases.

Why no coupon for non-meat eaters? 

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Sardines in the Sahara

Sahara Fine Food in Hackensack continues to offer Al Shark-brand Moroccan sardines for 99 cents a can (not skinless and boneless). Each can contains four and three-eighths ounces. 

I bought 18 cans with spicy oil, and plan to eat them in canned-fish salads, with rice and pasta, or over salad greens. The sardines also come in non-spicy oil. Sahara is at 242 S. Summit Ave. (201-487-7222.)

No rhyme or reason

I found another item on sale at ShopRite that wasn't discounted during the recent 40th anniversary Can Can Sale. The 100% sparkling juice from Spain is $1.99 a bottle, compared to $2.49, with a limit of four.

Last week, my wife bought four, one-pound boxes of Barilla pasta for 77 cents each. They weren't on sale during the Can Can sale, either.

Non-meat chili

Among the lobster bisque and king crab soup at Costco in Hackensack, I found a Stockpot-brand four-bean, organic, vegetarian chili. The chili is fully cooked. For $9.99, you get two 24-ounce tubs and each is enough to serve three as a first course.

What's on sale at ShopRite, Fairway Market

When I open supermarket sale circulars, I notice what's not on sale. Usually, antibiotic- and hormone-free foods are never discounted by ShopRite and Fairway Market, although Whole Foods Markets do a much better job in this regard.

The ShopRite circular for Aug. 9-15 prominently features that lousy Perdue chicken, for as little as 59 cents a pound. This is a case of getting what you pay for: flaccid chicken pumped full of antibiotics to make it grow faster and fatten the wallets of the owners. Packages are invariably marked "All Natural," a cruel joke on consumers. I'm still waiting for a sale on drug-free Readington Farms chicken, which is raised on a vegetarian diet.

At Fairway, USDA Prime shell steak, also known as New York strip, is on sale for $8.99 a pound from Aug. 8-14. Prime is the USDA's top grade, assigned that distinction because it has more fat than Choice or Select ("abundant marbling" is the way the USDA puts it). But the producer is not identified in the circular, so it's safe to assume the animals were confined in a feed-lot and pumped full of grain and hormones to get them to grow faster and get them to market faster. How appetizing is that?

Whole Foods often sells its drug- and hormone-free steaks for a discounted price of $9.99 a pound. And it stocks beef from New Jersey that is 100% grass-fed, considered the most natural way to raise the animals. Naturally raised chicken, pork, lamb -- all of it is on sale regularly -- and Whole Foods has the biggest selection, too.