5 things: Are grocers engaging in dynamic pricing?

Dynamic drama: Digital price tags are great for optimization, but according to some federal lawmakers they could play a devious role when it comes to pricing. Grocery retailers like Kroger and Walmart are already using the tech to engage in dynamic pricing, according to this New York Times piece. The two retailers deny that they’re using the tech for dynamic pricing. The Times asked several professors for their take on the practice and all of them said the grocery retailers are not taking advantage of customers with the tech. University of Texas at Austin’s Yannis Stamatopoulos said he found that when the tech was used in stores, prices went down, not up. That’s good, because we don’t want anything cool connected to anything dirty. And digital price tags are only going to continue to grow. —Bill Wilson

Hold the mold, please: Just one month after launching, the pre-packaged lunch box Lunchly from MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI has received serious flack. The YouTubers created the brand as a “healthier alternative” to Lunchables, slamming the Kraft Heinz brand’s “prepared cheese product” in favor of their “low-moisture part-skim” mozzarella cheese with “cultured pasteurized part-skim milk,” which they proudly labeled “real cheese.” Yet, two months before the Lunchly packs’ expiration dates, dozens of consumers have found their boxes filled with mold, with many taking to the internet to share pictures and air their grievances. The main criticism has come from Rosanna Pansino, a YouTuber and cookbook author, who has posted multiple photos and videos of the mold-filled snack. This comes on the heels of Logan Paul and KSI’s involvement in a safety scandal for their Prime Hydration and Energy drinks, which lawsuits claim contain PFAS (a forever chemical) in quantities above the EPA’s limit in drinking water, as well as excessive caffeine, with one bottle containing as much caffeine as half a dozen cans of Coke. Doesn’t exactly make one hungry for more. —Ally MacConchie 

Strike update: Earlier this week, two CVS pharmacy technicians who were on strike talked to Forbes about the unfair labor practices they were alleging their employer used. According to Marquis Jackson and Cecilia Menjivar, who are based in one of the seven CVS pharmacies that went on strike on Oct. 18, many frontline CVS employees were making less than $20 an hour and ironically could not afford their employer’s health insurance. They also alleged unsafe working conditions and union-busting activity; Jackson and Menjivar are members of UFCW 770. They called for consumers to avoid shopping with CVS, and specifically asked people to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations elsewhere. The strike came to a tentative end on Thursday, with UFCW saying it secured better wages, “more secure” staffing, and a more affordable healthcare plan. —Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Bagging votes: Milk, eggs, and…your vote? In an effort to move the voting barometer, two mobile voting sites were set up outside of grocery stores in the Chicago area this week. One of the sites was parked outside a Jewel-Osco in Aurora, and local media affiliate NBC 5 reported a steady flow of voters. “With this equipment we have you now, you don’t have to go to your precinct, you could go to any 300 precincts in [Kane] county,” Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham told NBC 5. Cunningham said the goal is to make it as easy as possible on voters. Ah, if you could only push some buttons for your entire grocery order to fill your cart right there on site. Now that would surely make life easier. —BW

Tips for saving $ on groceries? As high food prices continue to rise and consumers continue to feel the pain, The Onion stepped in and took its own humorous crack at advising shoppers on how to save dough. Advice includes: “Stop feeding any children that clearly aren’t gonna pan out in the long run,” “Make your own tomatoes, however that works,” and the always tried and true: “There are always lentils!” Read on for more tips / laughs. —Chloe Riley