Seasoning spurs recall of snack food

A company recalled on Monday a second popular snack food over fears it could be contaminated with salmonella.

Robert’s American Gourmet Inc. said it was recalling all lots and sizes of Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks Snack Food sold across the United States and Canada.

Company president and chief executive Robert Ehrlich said the recall was precautionary, since the product used the same seasoning as the Veggie Booty Snack Food recalled last week. Ehrlich said his Sea Cliff, N.Y., company is still doing testing to determine the source of any contamination.

The original recall was prompted by 54 cases of salmonella poisoning in 17 states. Many of those infected reported eating Veggie Booty.

Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks are packed in a flexible, plastic foil bag in a 6-ounce size, and bears universal product code 15665-10356. The company said consumers who have the product should discard the contents and contact the company at 1-800-626-7557 for reimbursement.

Continental Airlines Inc. said Monday it has entered an agreement outlining the schedule for contract talks with the union representing its pilots.

The Houston-based airline said the protocol agreement set the stage for it to begin discussing noneconomic contract issues with the Air Line Pilots Association.

Continental said the union asked the company to begin discussions earlier than the April deadline in order to complete the process by the contract’s Dec. 31, 2008, amenable date.

Shares of Continental rose 18 cents to $34.05 in afternoon trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Blockbuster named James W. Keyes, former president and chief executive officer of 7-Eleven, as the chairman and chief executive officer of the struggling movie rental company Monday.

Keyes, 52, replaces John F. Antioco, who announced in March that he would leave by the end of the year after nearly a decade leading the Dallas company.

Blockbuster has been fighting for survival as consumers increasingly look online to companies like Netflix Inc. for movies.

In May, Blockbuster said its first-quarter loss widened because of a soft market for movie rentals and heavy spending on its online rental program, which now competes with Netflix.