Volkswagen Group of America temporarily halted sale today of certain diesel-powered models and is recalling nearly 160,000 VWs and about 7,000 Audis because of a high-pressure fuel line that might come loose.

The defect could cause a leak and possibly a fire. VW says it has no reports of fires, accidents or injuries due to the metal fuel lines, some of which don’t meet correct specifications. VW says it had owner complaints and its investigation found the potentially faulty lines that are specific to the TDI diesel engines in certain models.

To read the full story: USA Today

Kraft Foods (KFT) is recalling certain batches of Velveeta Shells & Cheese Microwaveable Cups because they might be tainted with wire-bristle pieces, the company announced Friday afternoon.

About 137,000 cases of the potentially affected products were distributed throughout the United States. The company said it has received no reports of injuries or complaints, and that it was voluntarily issuing the recall to be on the safe side.

Consumers who purchased the products stamped with the ”best when used by” dates listed here, along with their UPC codes, should return the products to the store for an exchange or full refund. Or they can contact Kraft Foods Consumer Relations Monday through Friday at 1-800-308-1841.

Meat giant Cargill has issued a new recall that affects 185,000 pounds of ground turkey. Sunday’s announcement said that the recall included ”85-percent-lean fresh ground turkey products produced at the company’s Springdale, Ark., facility on Aug. 23, 24, 30 and 31, 2011, due to possible contamination from Salmonella Heidelberg.” The firm posted a list of the problem products on its website.

The new recall follows another issued in early August, affecting 26 million pounds of ground turkey that made dozens sick and may have killed one person. The new recall may be smaller, but it is a sign that the huge agribusiness firm is still struggling with quality control.

With companies announcing a seemingly constant stream of new recalls, it can be a challenge for consumers to keep track of the latest products and food getting pulled off the shelves. To make life easier,DailyFinancewill now collect them all in one place for you to check each week.

This is Total Recall.

Beware Soft Dolls with Looped Hair

On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced a voluntary recall by Pottery Barn Kids, a division of Williams-Sonoma (WSM), of 84,300 soft dolls named Chloe, Sophie and Audrey — 81,000 sold in the U.S. and 1,300 in Canada — because of a strangulation hazard.According to the USPSC, “The hair on the Chloe and Sophie dolls may contain loops that are large enough to fit around a child’s head and neck, and the headband on the Audrey doll, if loosened, can form a loop that fits around” the same. Pottery Barn has received five reports of dolls with looped hair, “including one report in which a loop of the Chloe doll’s hair was found around the neck of a 21-month old child. The child was not injured.”

Giant Food Stores has recalled Quaker Chewy Smashbar Graham Pretzel Snack Bars since the product may contain milk, an undeclared allergen, the grocery chain said today.

To read the full story: Mcall

Carolina Pride Foods Inc. recalled more than nine tons of boneless, diced and fully cooked ham products sold in six states because they may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

So far, no one has reported getting sick from eating the diced ham, sold under the brand names of Carolina Pride and Hardee’s in stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. A list of retailers that carried the ham wasn’t available, but the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it would release a list when it was compiled.

Listeria can cause a potentially fatal infection in the very young, elderly or those with weakened immune systems; it has been linked to miscarriages and stillbirths. The infection can cause a high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness and nausea. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,600 people contract listeriosis each year and of those who do, 260 die.

The potential contamination was discovered through microbiological testing by a company hired by Carolina Pride Foods. The company then opted to recall the 18,416 pounds of ham products.

To read the full story: Wallet Pop

The maker of Nivea skin creams has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of false advertising by claiming one of its skin creams helps consumers melt away excess pounds.

The settlement prohibits Beiersdorf Inc. from promoting its My Silhouette! skin cream to consumers as a weight-loss treatment and requires the company to fork over $900,000 to the FTC.

“The real skinny on weight loss is that no cream is going to help you fit into your jeans,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “The tried-and-true formula for weight loss is diet and exercise.”

The FTC’s complaint accused Beiersdorf of hoodwinking consumers by claiming regular applications of Nivea My Silhouette! cream to their skin would actually reduce their body size. Beiersdorf marketed the “weight loss” skin cream in nationwide TV ads and via sponsored search results on Google, both of which hyped the cream’s “Bio-slim Complex,” a combination of ingredients, including anise and white tea, that somehow helps people slim down.

To read the full story: Wallet Pop

The Better Business Bureau recently issued a number of consumer warnings, so to make it easier for you to stay on top of them all, Consumer Ally decided to condense and combine a few below for your convenience.

Jamaican Phone Scams

The BBBs of Minnesota and North Dakota are warning area consumers to be suspicious of phone calls informing them they’ve won a prize package that includes a new car.

According to a consumer who contacted the BBB, when he expressed his doubts to the caller about the veracity of the prize, the scammer promised the prize was real and claimed an affiliation with the BBB.

But the consumer wasn’t buying it and contacted the BBB, who assured him the caller was a fraudster. According to the consumer’s caller ID, the scammer’s number had an 876 prefix, the local area code from Jamaica — a frequent source of phone scams targeting Americans.

Consumers are advised to be “extremely leery” of calls telling them they’ve won cash or prizes — especially calls claiming an affiliation with the BBB or FTC. Neither of these agencies ever award prizes, and they never endorse contests or sweepstakes.

To read the full story: WalletPop

Consumer complaints of a foul, moldy odor has prompted McNeil Consumer Healthcare to recall almost 61,000 bottles of Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets in 225-count bottles, the company said.

The musty smell has been linked to trace amounts of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole — also known as TBA — which is a residue of a fungicide used to treat the wooden pallets on which the bottles of the over-the-counter medicine are stored. The same chemical is responsible for the recall of millions of bottles of Tylenol and other Johnson and Johnson drugs since December 2009.

While not considered to be toxic, TBA can cause a foul odor and has been linked to temporary and non-serious gastrointestinal maladies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

To read the full story: WalletPop

Within seconds, the Weedmaps app finds a user’s nearest dispensaries for medical marijuana. It is a remarkable change for anyone who remembers when pot distribution was once handled primarily through clandestine exchanges and pager numbers. Today, it is now legally sold at more than 2,400 dispensaries in 16 states. For thousands of people around the country, cannabis is an alternative, natural medical treatment for the symptoms of many illnesses, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Last week, U.S. Reps Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) introduced a bill in Congress that would remove the federal prohibition on marijuana and let states produce, regulate and tax it. It is potentially a watershed moment for the medical marijuana movement, though it’s unclear how much legislative traction the bill will achieve. However, it shifts the debate from a moral to an economic one, and raises a number of consumer safety issues.

To read the full story: Daily Finance