My Heinz Beans "Horror" Story!

UPDATE MAY 2017:

PLEASE ALSO READ MY UPDATE COMMENTS BELOW (CLOSE TO THE END OF  LIST) THAT EXPLAIN IN MORE DETAIL WHAT ULTIMATELY HAPPENED WITH THIS COMPLAINT.

SUFFICE TO SAY, I WAS NOT IMPRESSED AND WILL NEVER BUY OR RECOMMEND ANY HEINZ PRODUCTS AGAIN! 😦

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AND HERE'S MY ORIGINAL POST ABOUT THIS INCIDENT FROM 2014: 

Yes, I know, I know...

I'm a cookbook author. I shouldn't be eating or writing about canned beans! ;-) 

But sometimes, as much as I like to cook (make that LOVE to cook) I need a night off from the kitchen. When that happens, beans on toast are sometimes on the menu here.

Our family (all the way back to my grandma...and forward) have been buying Heinz beans for a lot of years. Up until a couple of months ago, have never had any problems with any of their products. That all changed in December of last year.

Here's my initial email sent to Heinz Canada on January 8th, explaining what happened:

About a month ago, I opened a can of Heinz Beans in Tomato Sauce, 796 ML size, purchased at Save-On Foods, in Nelson, BC. The beans looked different than usual: mushy on top and there little sauce.

But I went ahead and heated them up and my husband and I ate them. Not a good decision. About 2 hours later, we were both feeling sick: stomachs churning, severe chills, feeling weak...all indicators of food poisoning.

The beans were the only thing that we can attribute this too, our symptoms were so similar and this was the one thing we both ate, just before this happened.

We didn't pursue this with you or Save On at that time and chalked it up to a one time bad experience.

Two nights ago, I opened another can of the 796 ml. size of these same type of beans (but not bought at the same time as the first problem can) and this time, we DID NOT eat them. The beans were all congealed at the top of the can, with what looked like a thick fatty substance. We were definitely NOT going to take a chance on another 'suspect' can of beans, after our recent bad experience.

I have kept this can of bean intact and covered, in the fridge.

L6R 1222 1531

Heinz Beans in Tomato Sauce

796 ML. size

I will wait to hear from you before contacting Save On about this problem.

We do expect some compensation for this obviously. Our experience with the first can could have been so much worse. As it is, we both felt very ill for that evening and part of the next day.

Sincerely,

Geraldine Hartman

***

Since writing this initial email, I have also been in contact with Heinz.com and Heinz.ca again, to no avail.

 On January 30th, I decided to write a letter to the CEO of Heinz Canada: Peter Luik, explaining our experience with their products and how our complaint had NOT been handled to date.

You guessed it. 

As of today, still no phone call, email or letter in response to my letter or earlier emails.

I happened to note an article in MacLean's magazine about a week ago, in regards to many factory closures that have recently happened or are pending in Canada.

Surprise, surprise...(not really) the Lemington plant for Heinz Canada is set to close this summer!

I don't know if this product quality down-slide is related to this upcoming closure and subsequent job losses but the timing certainly seems suspect, don't you think?

As for Heinz products of any kind, I won't be buying or eating ANY of them, any time soon, after how they have not followed up on what could have been a widespread and serious health risk for many, many consumers.

If you've got a can or two...of these beans in your cupboard or any Heinz product, buyer beware!

Overall rating for this product/company: BAD. 0 out of 5.

Back to Blogging. The Catch-up Continues!!!

I am finally back online with a new computer and Windows 8 to learn!

Not to mention a gazillion emails and other things to catch up with, including several reviews I have pending.

Mr. Cheddar is working on some new reviews too! 
He wanted me to mention that. ;-)

The Windows 8 part is turning out to be quite a challenge.

If you haven't "upgraded" from Windows 7 yet, my advice is not to until you absolutely have to. 

This new version of Windows leaves a lot to be desired. I now understand why so many people are complaining about Windows 8 online. I have yet to read any favorable comments about it. 

One plus about being offline for a while, I got to catch up with a lot of the books/ebooks I had on hand. Several of those, I plan to review here in the next few weeks. Some were very good, some stinkers! ;-)

I also have a couple of new posts over at:

My Poetic Path

and

Veggies, Yarns & Tails

that you might enjoy reading in the meantime.

I'll also be around to visit all my fav blogs as soon as I can.

Happy Weekend to All! :-)

Kindle Fire HD (2013)

I received a Kindle Fire HD as a Christmas gift and for the past month, I've been 'getting to know' my new Kindle. ;-) 

I previously had a Kindle Paperwhite, that has now been gifted to Joe. He loves having his own ereader now. I tended to 'hog' it quite a bit, when we only had one ereader to use.. ;-)

You can read my review of the Paperwhite here. It was a tough act to follow as I love the Paperwhite for reading. 

But my new Kindle Fire HD has so many new features that I am also really enjoying. 

At the top of that list, the amazing C-O-L-O-R! 

Looking at them online really doesn't tell the whole story in this regard. The colors are so vivid and clear. And what a treat it is to now browse and enjoy books with images in them, in color. Such a visual treat.

The price for the new Kindle Fire HD is currently $139. at Amazon.com. IMO, that is a real bargain especially considering how much ereaders of this quality were selling for, only a short while ago. 

The Kindle Fire HD is a bit heavier than the Paperwhite, but still not uncomfortable to hold, for long periods of time, when reading. 

The screen size is generous. Dimensions are 7 1/2" x 5" overall, a bit larger than the Paperwhite, which was a nice surprise. I actually thought that the Kindle Fire was longer and narrower than the Paperwhite, but it's just as wide but longer.  

Battery life is about 8 hours based on tracking this a couple of times so far. I have used the Fire for trying out a few games too (for review purposes only, of course LOL) and that may account for the less than 10 hours of battery life that these are suppose to have. If it goes down any further for battery time though, I may be calling Amazon to check on this.

There is a lot to learn with any new gadget and the Kindle Fire HD is no exception. I feel like I've just scratched the surface so far, of what this ereader is capable of doing. 

I purchased a Kindle Fire HD users guide recently that was recommended to me (I'll also be reviewing that ebook soon) and that is helping with the learning process. 

The user/help info. included with the Kindle Fire HD itself, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. At the very least, for first time ereader users in particular, I think Amazon should be including some basic info in the printed booklet that comes along with the Fire. There was not even a mention of how long to charge the unit for the first time, in this booklet and that's about as basic as you can get. 

On the plus side re: help, the Amazon support team has been great for answering my questions, in a timely and knowledgeable way when I've phoned them. So help is close at hand, if needed. 

There is still a lot more that I hope to use my new Kindle Fire HD for. It really is so much more than just a new way to read books. And speaking of reading, it is easy on the eyes, in spite of the high-gloss screen. Now if I could only find a way to minimize all the smudges from using the touch screen features. ;-) 

So many freebies to enjoy. Games and all kinds of apps. Organizational tools. Streaming video, watching TV and movies (not sure if that's available in Canada but not a priority for me anyways). I did recently move my Amazon.ca account to Amazon.com, so I'll have to look into what added features that may allow. 

What's New about the Kindle Fire HD from the Amazon product review page:

(click to enlarge)

If you've been considering buying an ereader for the first time or are looking to upgrade to one with color like I was, the Kindle Fire HD (2013) is a tough one to beat and for so many reasons. 

Overall rating for this product: Very Good. 4 out of 5.