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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kraft recalls some American Singles cheese

From Wire Reports

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – Kraft voluntarily recalled 7,691 cases of its American Singles cheese product Friday because an ingredient was stored improperly by a supplier.

The food maker said that, while unlikely, the product may spoil prematurely or cause a food-borne illness.

Kraft Foods Group Inc., which is based in Northfield, Illinois, said the supplier didn’t keep the ingredient stored in accordance with its temperature standards.

The recalled products come in four varieties with “Best When Used By” dates of Feb. 20, 2015, and Feb. 21, 2015.

Kraft said customers can return the products to the store they bought them from for a refund or an exchange. Customers also can call Kraft at (800) 396-5512.

Hershey’s freshens Kiss for corporate logo

HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Co. is rolling out a new corporate logo that features a freshly stylized version of one of its most famous chocolate products.

The candy maker on Friday announced the new design, which adds a new version of the Kisses chocolate at the end of the company’s name.

It’s part of what the company calls a “disciplined identity system” designed to provide more consistency.

Ron Burrage, the company’s senior global design director, says the goal is to help people “clearly identify, this is from The Hershey Company.”

For its products, the only change will be on the back of packaging where the company’s name is printed.

Based in central Pennsylvania, The Hershey Company has about 13,000 employees and generates more than $7 billion in annual sales.

Alibaba rivals detail e-commerce project

BEIJING – China’s biggest property developer, Wanda Group, and Internet giants Baidu and Tencent unveiled a new e-commerce venture Friday in a challenge to industry leader Alibaba Group ahead of its U.S. stock offering.

The three companies said they will integrate online and offline selling, with e-commerce services in Wanda’s 107 shopping malls, as well as its hotels and resorts. They said they would invest 5 billion yuan ($814 million) to start.

The venture adds to competition for Alibaba, whose Taobao, Tmall and other platforms account for about 80 percent of Chinese online commerce. The company is preparing for a U.S. initial public offering that analysts say might value it between $150 billion and $200 billion.

China is the world’s most populous Internet market, with more than 600 million people online. The consulting firm McKinsey has said online shopping might triple from 2011 levels to $400 billion a year by 2015.

Rig count reaches 1,914

HOUSTON – Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 18 this week to 1,914.

The Houston firm said Friday in its weekly report that 1,575 rigs were exploring for oil and 338 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,776 active rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained 12 rigs, Pennsylvania gained five, Oklahoma gained four and Colorado and Alaska each gained one.

Kansas lost three rigs and Arkansas, Ohio and West Virginia each lost one. California, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming were unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.