Food Roundup: Pistachio Update, Domino's Bailout Snafu, Coke Fan Site, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Setton Pistachio mixed raw with roasted -- The salmonella contamination that led Kraft, Frito-Lay and others to recall pistachio products was likely caused by a California plant running raw and roasted nuts through the same machinery, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The roasting process kills salmonella and other bacteria, but the pistachios came in contact with raw, contaminated nuts after being roasted, against good manufacturing practices. Setton Pistachio has recalled more than 2 million pounds of pistachios. [Sources: Food Business News, Washington Post]

Accidental promotion costs Domino's 11,000 pizzas -- A customer discovered that typing "bailout" into the Domino's online ordering site earned a free pizza, and proceeded to spread the word. The system glitch was a result of a promotion that Domino's toyed with but ultimately abandoned, but unfortunately for Domino's, 11,000 "bailout" pizzas were ordered before the company disabled the free pizza code. Domino's said it will reimburse its franchises for the pizzas ordered, and communications VP Tim McIntyre tried to put a positive spin on it, saying the incident "drove thousands of people to our online ordering website that might not have otherwise gone there." [Sources: The Big Money, CNBC]

Carbonated soda demand falling-- Fewer people are reaching for cola and other carbonated soft drinks, according to a recent Mintel study. Sodas have become associated with obesity and empty calories, and 15 million fewer people are drinking them now than in 2003. The top replacement drinks include bottled water, energy drinks and sports drinks. [Sources: FoodNavigator-USA.com, Food Processing]

PepsiCo's Tropicana adds stevia -- The juice company has introduced Trop50, which uses a natural, low-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant. The product will replace the artificially sweetened Light n' Healthy orange drink. A growing number of stevia-based drinks have appeared on the market since the FDA granted two products GRAS status in December. [Source: FoodNavigator-USA.com]

Coke Facebook fan page has 3.3 million fans -- The fan page has gained so many members that Facebook has asked the company to take over administrating the page. It is the second most popular fan page on Facebook, after the page for Barack Obama. Coca-Cola will work with the fan page's creators to monitor and remove obscene photos and comments, which tend to turn up on any high-traffic Facebook page, but comments such as "I like Pepsi" will be allowed to stay. [Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution]