Great Fact of the Day

Something you should buy at Costco: Kirkland Signature Organic Olive Oil

"Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil may be the best-kept secret in the store. At $9.99 for 1.5 liters, it is roughly half the cost of the well-known Bertolli brand, and yet, according to at least one independent study, it's much better. In a recent comparison of 19 olive oils on the market, The Olive Center, a research group at the University of California-Davis, found that Kirkland Organic was one of only five in the study not mixed with cheaper refined olive oil that can spoil the taste. The other four at the top of the list were all high-end brands that cost as much as five times Costco's. Make sure you buy the Costco version that's labeled organic, though, as opposed to the one that's simply called "extra virgin olive oil." It'll cost a little bit more, but it's worth it."

Something you should not buy at Costco: Imported Shrimp

"Most shrimp sold in the U.S. is imported from countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where environmental regulations are often lax or not enforced, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, (EDF), an education and advocacy non-profit. The EDF classifies shrimp imported from these regions as "eco-worst" for the environmentally destructive ways in which they are often farmed. Greenpeace took aim at Costco's seafood sustainability practices last June with an aggressive campaign called Oh No Costco. While Costco seafood buyer Bill Mardon says his company has entered into a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to set global standards for shrimp farming, the specific objectives are still being discussed.

"Costco gets credit for starting down the road," says Tim Fitzgerald, senior policy analyst for oceans at of the EDF, "but they are still very early on." In the meantime, you're better off buying shrimp at Trader Joe's, which is much further along on the same path. After Greenpeace launched its Traitor Joe campaign in early 2009, Trader Joe's pledged to remove all non-sustainable seafood from its stores by the end of 2012, and it's already taken concrete steps in that direction."

{Information comes from this article here}