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The peanut recall seems to keep growing every week with more and more companies recalling products with peanuts, peanut butter and peanut paste. The network marketing industry has recentally fallen victim to the salmonella outbreak as well and Isagenix  is the latest company to have to issue a recall.

The health and nutrition company has just recalled their Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut IsaLean Bar because the bar contains peanut based ingrediants that were manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America, (PCA) the plant that has been identified as the source of the salmonella outbreak.

Isagenix is no longer using PCA as a peanut ingredient supplier, however many of the bars out there today were made with peanut products from PCA and therefore, as a precaution Isagenix has ordered the voluntary recall.

The recall only applies to that one bar and does not apply to the Chocolate Crunch bar or the Peanut Crunch bar.

Isagenix says that thus far they have received no reports of illness due to their products. The recall is voluntary and is in accordance with FDA guidelines regarding peanut products made using PCA as a supplier.

Isagenix issued a statement about the recall saying, Consumer safety is our number one priority, along with other major bar manufacturers and keeping in line with the recommendations FDA, we are urging all customers who have purchased or are in possession of the Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut Bar with the above mentioned lot numbers to immediately destroy them. If you have distributed any of the affected products, please immediately contact those accounts/customers, advise them of the recall and instruct them to immediately destroy them. Customers seeking a replacement bar for the above lot numbers are being asked to call an Isagenix representative at 1-877-877-8111 and a replacement product will be issued.

While the company claims that no illnesses have been reported….this weekend while on vacation, I met a woman who did indeed get salmonella poisoning from the Isagenix bar. Remember, many of these illnesses go unreported. Don’t take any chances. If you have any of these Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut bars, dispose of them and don’t risk getting sick!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Creative Memories parent company, The Antioch Company, has just announced that they have come to an agreement with its lenders to restructure its debt. Antioch and six of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company felt this was the best way to expedite the restructuring process, and also allowed the company to maintain its normal business operations without any interruption.

There was no specific word from the company on exactly why they had to file for chapter 11, though I’m sure the economy along with the advancement of online and digital scrapbooking products has impacted the company. Creative Memories says that they do not expect to have to lay off any employees or change its operating locations. The company will use the restructuring time to refocus on the business as well as expand product offering to meet the growing digital demands of the public.

After receiving advice from turnaround specialists, Antioch agreed to a prepackaged plan of reorganization that includes the debt restructuring. Company leaders say they expect the process to be completed by the end of this calendar year.

Asha Morgan Moran, global president of Creative Memories feels strongly that the restructuring plan will make the company better and stronger, “We are confident that the restructuring will provide strong opportunities for the company’s consultants, employees, and customers. This process demonstrates our commitment to the future of Creative Memories,” Morgan Moran said. “We will ensure that product development remains a top priority so that the company and our 55,000-plus global sales consultants will continue to benefit from our respected position in the traditional scrapbooking industry. At the same time, new product development will assist us in expanding our role into the digital market.”

Creative Memories is an active member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA).

Popularity: 10% [?]

USANA has yet another athlete to congratulate on his performance in the Beijing Olympics. As the Olympics have come to an end, Hooker is the last in a distinguished line of USANA sponsored athletes who have done an amazing job in the 2008 Olympics.

The most recent USANA athlete to medal, Steve Hooker of Australia, took home gold in track and field. Hooker, a USANA sponsored Olympian won the gold in the mens pole vault competition. Hooker is just one of many athletes who have openly endorsed USANA’s products as effective tools in their training regime. USANA supplements and vitamins are all natural and approved by the Olympic governing body as containing no banned substances.

Hooker wowed the crowd with an impressive 19 feet, 4 and ¼ inch jump. He became the first Australian man to win a gold medal in any track and field event since 1968. Not only did he earn the gold medal, he also set a new Olympic record.

USANA sponsored athletes made an impressive showing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, bringing home several medals in track and field, cycling, swimming and fencing.

Usana released a statement saying, “USANA applauds Hooker and all of the athletes at the 2008 Summer Games for their hard work and dedication to sport.”

Popularity: 4% [?]

ASD Cash Generator - a network marketing company that buys and sells advertising packages, has apparently been shut down by the SEC.

According to the company, ASD is a “Gateway to Financial Independence.” The company makes money by charging customers fees each month to buy advertising packages that they can they resell. Members can also make money selling monthly memberships to new recruits. According to ASD, purchasers can earn rebates up to 100 percent of their ad cost, and can even earn an additional 25 percent by convincing others to purchase packages for resale as well.

Details of exactly what has gone down are still a bit fuzzy, but from what we can gather, the Florida based company was sued by the Florida’s attorney general, Bill McCollum. Just last week, the company was raided by the U.S. Secret Service and was shut down by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia who claims that ASD was running a “massive internet based wire fraud scheme.

In the lawsuit filed in Florida, McCollum says that ASD and its President, Thomas Andy Bowdoin Jr, and employees, have conned and defrauded countless people out of money and McCollum is seeking civil damages as well as an injunction against the company, its president and employees to stop them from operating their deceptive business.

The Secret Service raided the ASD office last week and seized the Presidents home. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia called the business a “Ponzi scheme, masked as an advertising company. Nobody has been officially charged with a crime just yet, but the investigation is ongoing and for the time being, the company is shut down. The official message on ASD’s website reads:

–Upon direction from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, ASD will not be able to move funds into company accounts, or out of them. We will work to resolve this problem, and return to normal operation, as soon as we are permitted to do so.
-ASD Management

Bowdoin has not been answering calls, but on a message on his answering machine it says that he will not be making any comments on advice of lawyers. While I do not fully understand the business, something does seem a bit off about the services they are offering, and the amount of money the company has been raking in, is almost unreal. Bowdoin has told officials that he expects sales of more than $100 million this year with ad sales over the first half of the year reaching $40 million. There are over 75,000 members in the ASD network.

Popularity: 8% [?]