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Letter to the editor

Talk of the bay: Other grocers hitch ride on Sweetbay stars

By Times Staff
Published December 2, 2007

The Guiding Stars program at Sweetbay Supermarket, which uses three types of shelf tags to rate nutritious food offerings, is popular enough that other chains have asked to use it. Created by Sweetbay's corporate sibling Hannaford Brothers in Portland, Maine, the Belgian parent Delhaize Group now plans to sell licenses for the one-, two- and three-star rating program to others. Guiding Stars are issued to only 6,000 of the 40,000 items sold at Sweetbay. Ratings are all based on 100-calorie servings. Points are awarded for vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. They are subtracted for cholesterol, sodium, sugars and saturated or trans fats. The news comes as more complex rating systems are being proposed by others in the food industry.

Coin exchange ups the ante

The average American family has $90 in loose change stashed away someplace at any given time, says the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet the average transaction at self-service Coinstar coin counters in Tampa Bay grocery and convenience stores is less than $40. So to entice more of that $10-billion in spare change into circulation, Coinstar Inc. signed up more retailers willing to eat the 8.9-cents-on-the-dollar counting fee at Coinstar kiosks. Coinstar machines now spit out gift certificates that can be redeemed fee-free at JCPenney, Circuit City, Linens n' Things, iTunes, Amazon.com and Pier One. Which retailers participate varies from chain to chain at Coinstar machines in Albertsons, Winn-Dixie and Sweetbay, so check the fine print before dumping out your penny jar.

Condom kudos

CondomDepot.com, an online retailer that sells exactly what you would expect, has identified the top 10 best products in its lineup. The Tampa-based company said the awards were based on evaluations by 50 "swingers" and its Web site's customer rating service.

Join Money Panel

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the Times Money Panel. You'll be reading some of their ideas and opinions about money, investments and the economy in the coming months. If you'd like to join the Money Panel, it's not too late to sign up by registering at www.sptimes.com/moneypanel.Congratulations to the winners of our prize drawing for the following attraction and event tickets: Cynthia Sessums, Brandon, Busch Gardens; Roger Herrnsteen, Lutz, Florida Orchestra; John McCraney, Largo, Gypsy at Ruth Eckerd Hall; and Ryan Cesa, St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Lightning.

[Last modified November 30, 2007, 22:27:21]