SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California's chefs and bartenders can resume legally handling food with their bare hands under a bill headed to the governor's desk that would repeal an unpopular regulation.

The bill, AB2130, passed its final legislative hurdle Thursday with a 32-0 vote in the state Senate.

A law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year requires restaurant employees to use gloves or utensils to handle food going straight to diners' plates, from the rice in a sushi roll to the mint in a mojito. The prohibition, in place in 41 other states, has long been recommended by regulators to curb the spread of food-borne illness.

The original legislation attracted no opposition from lobbying groups or chain restaurants because the no-hands approach is a national norm. But independent and high-end chefs and bartenders who weren't familiar with the regulation in other states say they were caught off-guard by the new rule coming to California. They say the ban disrupts well-established hand-washing routines, generates unnecessary waste of disposable gloves and restricts them in their craft.

Sen. Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, told lawmakers on Thursday that the ban would not have been approved had their concerns been raised.

Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, introduced AB2130 to repeal the law he originally authored as part of an update to the state food code. Pan, who is chairman of the health committee and a pediatrician, said it became apparent that local health inspectors were more stringent in granting exceptions than lawmakers intended.

Inspectors are not supposed to start slapping eateries with fines for bare-hand contact until July 1, which is when the bill would take effect. The governor's office did not immediately return a request for comment about the bill.

Pan said he's not abandoning the regulation altogether. He wants to revisit the prohibition, but make it more flexible to meet the concerns of restaurateurs.

"It's not about whether you wear gloves or not," Pan said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's about how clean the surfaces (touching food) are. We need to have the conversation go back to, 'This is about food safety.' "

Elsewhere in the U.S., Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina and Wyoming encourage minimal contact but do not ban bare-hand contact outright. Tennessee is implementing its ban next year.

Chefs and bartenders in the remaining states that do have an outright prohibition on touching said they have found ways around it or learned to adjust.

"It just becomes common practice that you don't touch food as much," said Ravin Patel, a chef in Sacramento who moved from New York in 2009. "When the health inspector comes, you slap on a bunch of gloves."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that workers touching food provided the most common transmission pathway for food-originated norovirus outbreaks between 2001 and 2008, the most recent comprehensive review of data available.

TORONTO - All hail Caesar this Canada Day — or at least, the cocktail. A backyard party or barbecue on July 1 is a perfect opportunity to celebrate what's been called Canada's national cocktail while toasting the country's birthday.

To help with the fun, Clint Pattemore has created more than 50 unique recipes for the clamato juice cocktail. His cookbook "Caesars: The Essential Guide to Your Favourite Cocktail" (Appetite by Random House) includes 20 recipes from Calgary chefs Connie DeSousa and John Jackson that were inspired by the flavour and texture combinations of the drinks.

Although the traditional recipe — vodka, hot and Worcestershire sauces, salt, pepper, clamato juice, a celery salt rim and lime wedge and celery stalk garnish — is sacred to many aficionados and is the base for every cocktail in the book, Pattemore wants people to be adventurous.

"There's variations on the classic using horseradish or pickle brine," he says. "There's some in there that really push the boundaries like a Red Curry and Coconut Caesar (with Indian food), or like a Thai mango with sriracha, which is really popular right now."

He's grouped the recipes into seasonal suggestions. In summer, try Cucumber-Infused Caesar, Strawberry Daiquiri Caesar and Peachy-Keen Caesar. Heading into fall, the Oktoberfest Caesar includes sauerkraut while the Thanksgiving Caesar has apple cider and whisky. In winter, there are punches. There's even a nod to hockey, with Lord Stanley's Caesar and one named for commentator Don Cherry, with grape juice for his nickname Grapes and Canadian pilsner for his dog Blue.

"My whole thing is that recipes are guidelines and I encourage everybody who gets this book to take the recipes in there and make them their own. There's lots of tips and variations and ways to play around. ...

"Cooking is really popular and people are starting to branch out and not necessarily follow the recipe and kind of get creative on their own. So I think it only makes sense that cocktails would follow the same way and everybody in Canada knows the caesar so they're more likely to play around with the caesar than they're probably more likely to play around with the mojito or a manhattan or any of those other classic drinks."

If you make a mistake, simply drink it and tweak the recipe the next time you concoct it.

All the drinks can be made alcohol-free.

Pattemore, also chief mixing officer for Mott's Clamato, suggests two ways to approach a gathering. Mix up a punch bowl full of the classic recipe, minus alcohol, then let guests add their own liquor and garnishes.

Or set up a do-it-yourself caesar bar. The host provides a selection of juices including clamato, hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and garnishes. Guests can bring an ingredient to try, such as a juice, vegetable, fruit or garnish.

It's no coincidence that the chefs who created the food recipes are from Calgary, where the iconic drink was reportedly mixed for the first time in 1969 by Walter Schell, manager at the Owl's Nest Bar in what was then the Calgary Inn and is now the Westin Calgary, to celebrate the opening of the hotel's new Italian restaurant. DeSousa, a finalist and a judge on "Top Chef Canada," and Jackson are co-owners and chefs of Charcut Roast House in Calgary.

Pattemore has suggested cocktails that complement their food. He also ties the flavour of his suggested garnishes back into each drink.

He drapes a poached lobster tail over the edge of a glass of a caesar with lobster broth and threads jerk chicken on a skewer to complement the jerk sauce in a Jamaican Jerk Caesar.

"If you're serving chicken wings, why not put some of that hot sauce you put on the wings in the caesar and serve the chicken wings as a garnish? There's lots of opportunities to tie it back into the food, for sure."

During his travels around the country, he's noticed "bigger and better" garnishes on caesars, with the ultimate, perhaps, being the $60 Checkmate Caesar at the Vancouver establishment Score. It has the usual vodka and clamato. But it ditched the celery garnish in favour of a whole roast chicken, a cheeseburger, a pulled pork slider, a mac and cheese hot dog, onion rings and chicken wings. It even comes with dessert: a brownie topped with whipped cream.

"It fed four of us," he says with a laugh.

When rimming a glass, Pattemore uses citrus — lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit. "You never want to use water. Water doesn't have any sugar content or anything in there to stick to the glass; it just runs down."

To mix, stirring is easiest, whether it's with a spoon or celery stalk. He also likes rolling, which means pouring the drink from one glass to another, back and forth.

He doesn't recommend shaking. "When you shake cocktails you infuse air into the mixture, which then creates bubbles and effervescence. If you've ever had a properly made whisky sour, it has that nice thick foam on top. When it comes to presentation I don't know if anybody wants to be drinking caesars with foam on top."

In his quest to create new recipes he's experimented with an extensive list of ingredients and flavours, including lychee, Szechuan and green tea. But he advises drawing the line at milky or creamy ingredients.

"I would never use coconut milk or coconut cream in a caesar. I tried it and it did not look tasty at all. ... It turns almost like a Pepto-Bismol colour and separates. Coffee is another ingredient that I've tried to put into a caesar and still haven't found a way to make it work."

Follow @lois_abraham on Twitter.

Here are a couple of caesar recipes that are sure to wow your guests this summer. Clint Pattemore, author of "Caesars: The Essential Guide to Your Favourite Cocktail," has created the Peachy-Keen Caesar and the Thai Mango Caesar, both of which are a sweet-savoury variation on the classic caesar cocktail.

Calgary chefs Connie DeSousa and John Jackson, co-owners of Charcut Roast House, have accompanied Pattemore's cocktail recipes with 20 seasonal dishes. Following are a couple of summer dishes to entertain guests at a backyard picnic or barbecue.

Peachy-Keen Caesar

This recipe was created as part of Pattemore's quest to use every possible fruit in a caesar. It's another great option for those who don't like the more classic versions, as the peach nectar is vibrant and bright and complements the savouriness of clamato cocktail. The bitters help unite the flavours. He gives it a kick with Thai chili hot sauce.

Have extra peaches but no peach nectar? Slice them up and muddle them in for a peachy flavour. If you don't have peaches, substitute nectarines or apricots.

Rim: Fresh salt and pepper with toasted citrus zest

30 ml (1 oz) blue agave tequila

30 ml (1 oz) peach nectar

1/4 bar spoon Thai chili hot sauce

1 dash Angostura Bitters

3 grinds fresh cracked salt and black pepper

125 ml (4 oz) clamato cocktail

Garnish: Peach slices dusted with fresh cracked salt and black pepper

Rim a highball glass with citrus and rimmer. Fill glass to top with ice. Add ingredients in the order listed. Stir well to mix cocktail and garnish.

Makes 1 serving.

———

Thai Mango Caesar

Mixing fruit juices into a caesar is great for people who don't like the taste of more traditional caesars, as it sweetens the clamato cocktail. The other barrier to cross with non-caesar fans is texture, and mango helps ease people's minds, as it has a thicker mouth feel, similar to tomato juice. This recipe calls for sriracha, a popular Thai hot sauce. This caesar is one of my favourites to make for other people as it always gets a hugely positive response.

The flavour of mango pairs well with many different and diverse ingredients, so it's fun to experiment. A rimmer of lemon pepper seasoning always brightens the mango flavour of the drink.

Rim: Fresh cracked salt and black pepper

30 ml (1 oz) white rum

1/2 bar spoon sriracha hot sauce

2 grinds fresh cracked black pepper

45 ml (1 1/2 oz) mango nectar

75 ml (2 1/2 oz) clamato juice

Garnish: Mango chicken chunks on a skewer (or just mango chunks for ease)

Rim a highball glass with citrus and rimmer. Fill glass to top with ice. Add ingredients in order listed. Stir well to mix the cocktail and garnish.

Makes 1 serving.

———

Summer Melon and Marinated Feta Skewers With Mint

This party appetizer combines sweet, refreshing watermelon and salty feta cheese. Cherry tomatoes or bell peppers make a great addition or alternative to the cucumbers — in fact, whatever fruits or vegetables are best at the market when you go grocery shopping should make an appearance on these skewers.

500 g (1 lb) feta cheese

2 lemons

1 orange

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh oregano

625 ml (2 1/2 cups) olive oil, divided

50 ml (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1 small seedless watermelon (about 500 g/1 lb)

3 Persian cucumbers or other thin-skinned cucumbers

1/4 bunch fresh mint

12 bamboo skewers (15 cm/6 inches)

Cut feta into 1-cm (1/2-inch) cubes and place in a non-reactive container. Using a vegetable peeler, peel rind off 1 lemon and orange.

Layer citrus rind, thyme and oregano in among cheese cubes. Pour 500 ml (2 cups) olive oil over the cheese, making sure cheese is completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove rind from remaining lemon in ribbons.

In a small pot, bring vinegar, lemon rind and bay leaf to a simmer. Remove from heat and strain out rind and bay leaf. Let vinegar cool, then whisk in remaining olive oil, salt and pepper.

Using a serrated knife, cut rind off watermelon: cut ends off first, then stand watermelon up on one end and remove rest of rind, starting from top down to bottom. Cut watermelon and cucumbers into 1-cm (1/2-inch) cubes and place in separate large bowls. Pick 24 mint leaves and place in a separate bowl.

Onto each bamboo skewer, skewer ingredients in following order: watermelon, mint, cucumber, feta, mint and watermelon, pushing them to near bottom of skewer but leaving 2.5 cm (1 inch) handle space.

Whisk dressing to re-emulsify it and pour enough over skewers to lightly coat. Serve immediately.

Both marinated cheese and dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The skewers can be made up to 6 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Pour dressing over top just before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

———

Heirloom Tomato "Gazpacho" Salad With Spicy Caesar Vinaigrette

DeSouza and Jackson have put a fun twist on the cold soup gazpacho by not blending the garden-fresh vegetables into a soup but instead keeping them largely intact as a salad. Almonds are a traditional ingredient in true Spanish-style gazpacho, and they give the salad a nice bit of crunch. This recipe works best with tomatoes or you can use only red bell peppers or watermelon.

Don't be afraid to taste the jalapeno pepper as you prepare the salad, so you know its heat level and can adjust the amount as you like.

125 ml (1/2 cup) extra-spicy clamato cocktail

125 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil

50 ml (1/4 cup) sherry vinegar

15 ml (1 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and black pepper, to taste

125 ml (1/2 cup) salted, roasted Marcona almonds

1 kg (2 lb) red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1 English cucumber, cut in large dice

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (or to taste)

1 medium red onion, diced

2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded, cut in medium dice

12 fresh basil leaves

In a bowl, whisk together clamato cocktail, olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

In a food processor, pulse almonds until coarsely chopped.

Place chopped vegetables in a large bowl and toss to mix. Tear basil leaves and sprinkle on top.

Whisk dressing to re-emulsify it. Pour just enough dressing over vegetables to lightly coat them. Toss vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle chopped almonds over top of salad and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: "Caesars: The Essential Guide to Your Favourite Cocktail" by Clint Pattemore with food recipes by chefs Connie DeSousa and John Jackson (Appetite by Random House). Copyright 2014 by Canada Dry Mott's Inc.

• A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.


• At home, off-duty, I wear T-shirts from Fruit of the Loom but I have them tailored -- if the sleeves are cut over the tricep your arms look much better.


• Keep your jacket buttoned. Always. It's just really flattering -- it will take pounds off you.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Matt Lauer has responded to criticism for asking General Motors CEO Mary Barra if she can be both a good parent and a good executive by saying he'd have asked a male CEO the same question.

Barra was interviewed on Thursday's "Today" show and replied she believes she can be a good parent and a good CEO.

Lauer took heat from dozens of Twitter contributors who said he wouldn't have questioned a male CEO like that. He insists he would have.

Lauer notes on his Facebook page Barra addressed the difficulty of balancing her work and home lives in a Forbes magazine article. He says if a man in a high-level job had publicly discussed the issue he'd have "asked him exactly the same thing."

Lauer calls work-life balance an important topic and says he's familiar with it personally.

MEXICO CITY - The small audience claps as Alex Fuentes dances to Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean," as he does every night. His lacklustre moves wouldn't get much attention were it not for his partner — a 300-pound Bengal tiger perched on two paws bobbing alongside him.

Armed with a whip, Fuentes coaches his five tigers through a series of surreal acts as parents and children ooh and aah.

For five generations, Fuentes' family has been running the Fuentes Gasca Brothers Circus in Mexico City, but a new law has him worried about its future. Last week Mexico City's legislative assembly banned the use of animals in circuses, responding to months of pressure from animal activists.

The law is set to take effect a year from now, and it promises steep fines for noncompliance.

Anima Naturalis, one of the groups supporting the measure, say the exotic animals used in the circus are often exposed to long periods of uncomfortable transport, along with small enclosures and aggressive training methods.

Mexico City and six of Mexico's 32 states have now banned circus animals. Nationwide bans on circus animals have swept through Latin America recently, and Fuentes, along with other performers at his family's circus, fear a Mexican federal law is sure to follow the capital's law goes into effect.

Fuentes says he worries people won't come to the circus just for their acrobatic, trapeze and clown acts.

"It's the circus, it's magical," the 32-year-old Fuentes said. "It's what I've dedicated my life to since I was 15 and now they want to take away from me."

With all due respect to vegetarians, Fourth of July grub at my house has to hit several key criteria.

It must be meaty. It must be bold. It must pair nicely with beer and wine and cocktails. It must easily feed a crowd. It must be easy to prepare. It must be easy to eat outside. And did I mention it has to be meaty?

Which is why my July 4 gatherings always involve an array of burgers and sausages and hot dogs, as well as some assortment of steak tips and pulled pork. All big and bold and meaty and do-ahead-easy.

But this year I wanted to throw something new into the mix, something that still hit all my must-haves, but that's a little outside the usual. And that's how I came up with this recipe for sweet-and-tangy chili grinders. It's a basic beef and bean chili with a rich-and-sweet sauce that's spooned onto slabs of baguette, then topped with cheese.

What I particularly like about this recipe is that the chili can be prepped the day before, then simply reheated just before serving. And since I already have the grill going for the rest of the meal, I like to assemble the grinders, then set them over the flames for a few minutes to toast the baguette and melt the cheese.

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SWEET-AND-TANGY CHILI GRINDERS

Can't fine Peppadew peppers? Substitute mild banana peppers, which are sold jarred near the pickles.

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)

Servings: 8

14-ounce jar mild Peppadew peppers (drained)

12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

6-ounce can tomato paste

2 medium yellow onions, quartered

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks

Two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained

1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, diced (seeds removed, if desired)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and ground black pepper

Four 18-inch baguettes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a blender, combine the Peppadews, red peppers, tomato paste, onions, Worcestershire and sugar. Blend until smooth, then set aside.

In a large pot over high, heat the oil. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, add the beef and cook until browned on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beef to a plate while browning the next batch. When all of the beef is browned, return it to the pot.

Pour in the blended sauce, kidney beans, jalapenos, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, chili powder and smoked paprika. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Partly cover the pot and cook for 1 hour. Taste a piece of the beef; it should be fork tender. If not, continue cooking until the beef is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut each baguette in half crosswise, then split each half lengthwise. Spoon the chili into each baguette half, then top with cheese.

Nutrition information per serving: 740 calories; 200 calories from fat (27 per cent of total calories); 22 g fat (9 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 105 mg cholesterol; 74 g carbohydrate; 11 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 61 g protein; 1700 mg sodium.

___

J.M. Hirsch is the food editor for The Associated Press. He blogs at http://www.LunchBoxBlues.com and tweets at http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch . Email him at jhirsch@ap.org

Pink wines are white hot right now, and there's never been more to choose from.

"It's really amazing how people are drinking rose so much," says Michael Madrigale, head sommelier at New York's Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud restaurants. "Before, two men sitting at a table would never be caught dead drinking rose and now you see it all the time. The stigma of rose being a wimpy wine and rose being white zinfandel and therefore a bad wine is gone and I think the European attitude has really taken hold."

And while sunny Provence is the traditional home of rose (pronounced ro-ZAY) wines, they're now being made — and deliciously so — all over the world.

Take the Languedoc, which neighbours Provence in the South of France, and can be relied on for value roses. Wines to look for include the 2013 Domaine Fontsainte "Gris de Gris" Corbieres rose (Corbieres is an appellation in the Languedoc region) — "It is just dynamite," says Madrigale — and the 2013 Chateau Viranel "Tradition" Saint Chinian rose.

Most roses are made with red grapes, but the skins have been in contact with the fermenting juice for only a short time, hence the pink colour. Syrah, grenache and cinsault grapes are typical in rose wines from the South of France, but all kinds of grapes can be used.

In Washington state, where interest in roses is growing, winemakers are using grape varieties that originated in the Rhone region of France, including cabernet franc and merlot. A respected producer is Gramercy Cellars, while Treveri produces a sparkling rose.

And how about a splash of New Mexico wine country? Gruet Winery in Alburquerque sells a nonvintage sparkling rose for under $20; the more expensive 2010 Grand Rose also is worth trying.

In Spain, where a rose is a rose is a rosado, Freixenet, the sparkling wine company, is launching a new line of wines under the label Mia that includes a fresh rose wine made from red bobal grapes grown south of Barcelona, as well as a sparkling moscato rose.

Winemaker Gloria Collell tasted wine from all over the world to find out what people want and came up with the answer of something fresh and fruity with a touch of sweetness, but not cloying. "People are looking for roses to enjoy on the terrace, to enjoy on the patio," she says.

Meanwhile, back in Provence, producers continue to turn out delicious wines with some newcomers in the mix.

That includes producers like Stephen Cronk, who moved with his family from London to a small town in Provence five years ago and put together a team, including an Australian winemaker, another innovation, to produce a rose under the name Mirabeau.

Now available in 10 countries, the crisp and refreshing wines have won wide acclaim.

Cronk's nontraditional approach extends to marketing. You may have seen his YouTube video of how to open a wine bottle with a shoe.

"One of the big things that I believe in is trying to de-snob, or de-mystify wine," says Cronk, who has scores of other videos on his website, many of them meant to be fun ways to learn about wine. "Most consumers love the product but are slightly intimidated by it. Wine shouldn't be at all intimidating."

After all, who can be anxious when they're drinking in the pink.

___

Online:

Cronk's shoe video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1wROm-OF9w

VICTORIA - Opening a bag of sugar to find ants crawling about is an experience no one wants to have, yet ants are a common pest many householders battle annually.

Jennifer Murphy, a Victoria resident, had just moved into her new home when she started to think there might be a pest problem. First she found ants in a large bag of sugar, and then while her husband was chopping vegetables he was bitten by an ant, and the pain was so intense he cut himself.

"We were annoyed," says Murphy. "But we knew that because we live in a warm climate, bugs were bound to come around. We had just moved in so we needed to figure out where they were coming from."

The potential entry point and cause of what Murphy believes was a carpenter ant problem was a disconnected dryer vent and a woodpile stacked against the outside wall of the house.

"We moved the woodpile away from the house and connected the vent," she says. "We squished all the ones we found in the house, and that seemed to get rid of them pretty quick."

Kurtis Brown, technical supervisor at Victoria Pest Control, says the nesting structure of carpenter and odorous house ants, the two most common types, means there is only so much people can do to avoid a problem.

"Many ants are seeking moisture. Making sure our homes are in good repair, where we fix leaks and we aren't piling soil over our foundations and on to our siding," says Brown.

To deter ants, avoid planting anything in the garden that will attract aphids. Brown says ants are aphid farmers and will move them from around plants to feed on their droppings.

"If you are going to plant something that are prone to aphids, it's important to make sure the aphid population doesn't get out of control," he says. "The relationship between ants and aphids is important, and it is important to avoid planting vegetation right next to our houses where aphids and ants can be found."

Carpenter and odorous house ants are particularly problematic because of the way they develop their nests and colonies. Brown says carpenter ants, which have one queen, develop satellite colonies where they move larva, which is what is normally found in a home.

"It's a nest, but there is just no queen," says Brown. "That is where the problem lies with carpenter ant control. You're not only dealing with the ants in the house, but also the constant threat of a parent colony re-establishing a satellite colony in the house. They essentially become a problem because they walk up to the house and walk into it. They walk under the siding, or a power line or up the siding on the outside."

If left unchecked, carpenter ants can eventually cause severe structural problems to load-bearing beams and other parts of the home.

Like carpenter ants, it is the nesting structure of the odorous house ant that makes them a concern for homeowners.

"They have a multiple queen and multiple nest site structure," says Brown. "There can be anywhere from one nest with one queen to a colony taking over 60 hectares and one million workers."

While odorous house ants don't cause any physical damage to the home, Brown says they can be a serious nuisance as they forage for food in cupboards and drawers.

As their name suggests, odorous ants can also stink. They release a pheromone that smells similar to rancid butter or rotten coconuts. The smell is used to protect the nest and is most often smelled when a creature is crushed.

According to Brown, people who live in areas with a large odorous ant colony often have a recurring problem.

"It's really tough to stop odorous house ants," he says. "They have the widest nest site tolerance out of all the native ant species, so they can nest almost anywhere. I've found nests in toilet lids, in kitchen cupboards, typical spots like crawlspaces and attics, even in a radio. That is what really adds in what makes them so successful."

When dealing with a persistent ant problem, Brown advises avoiding pesticides as they aren't very effective. If a homeowner suspects carpenter ants have taken up residence he recommends contacting a pest expert. Baiting through ant traps can be successful for odorous house ants.

A line of devices used to puncture a hole in a wine bottle cork are being recalled because they can cause the bottle to burst or crack. Other consumer products recalled this week include faulty bicycles and air conditioning systems with improper grounding.

Here's a more detailed look:

WINE ACCESS SYSTEMS

DETAILS: Coravin 1000 Wine Access Systems, which use a hollow needle to penetrate a wine bottle cork and allow wine to be dispensed without removing the cork. The Coravin name and logo appear on the front side of the tube. The system comes with a silver storage base and two argon gas capsules. They were sold at Coravin.com and other online retailers and at wine shops from July 2013 to June 2014.

WHY: The system can cause wine bottles to break during pressurization, posing a risk of lacerations.

INCIDENTS: 13 reports of bottles breaking, including one in which a bottle burst into four pieces and resulted in an injury involving two chipped teeth and a laceration that required stitches, four in which the bottles cracked and leaked, and eight in which bottles broke into two pieces.

HOW MANY: About 65,000 in the U.S. and about 640 in Canada.

FOR MORE: Call Coravin at 844-267-2846, send email to update@coravin.com, or visit www.coravin.com, and click on "Important Safety Announcement - Recall to Repair" for more information.

BICYCLES

DETAILS: Link Uno, Link D7i, Link D8, Link P9, Link P7i, and Link P24h models of Tern brand adult folding bikes. "Tern" is printed on the front end of the top tube and on other portions of the frame. The model name is printed on the middle of the top tube. Recalled bicycles have a 10-character alphanumeric serial number that begin with either AI1133 through AI1137 or AI1151 through AI1213 stamped on the bottom bracket shell of the bike. An alphanumeric service tag number is located on the front of the seat tube and this number can be used to determine if the bicycle is affected by going to the firm's website. The bicycles were sold from November 2011 to April 2014.

WHY: The bike's frame can crack at the hinge on the top tube, posing a fall hazard.

INCIDENTS: No incidents or injuries reported in the U.S, but there have been 11 reports of the bicycle frames cracking including five reports of minor scrapes and bruises from outside of the U.S.

HOW MANY: 650 in the U.S. and about 20 in Canada.

FOR MORE: Call Stile Products at 888-570-8376 or visit www.ternbicycles.com and click on "Product Recall Information" for more information.

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

DETAILS: Trane XB300 and American Standard Silver SI Air Conditioning Systems. This recall involves 37 models of Trane XB300 and American Standard brand Silver SI split system outdoor cooling units. They were sold at Trane and American Standard independent distributors and dealers nationwide from February 2010 to March 2014. The Trane or American Standard logo is affixed to the front and model numbers are printed on the silver nameplate on the back of the unit. Information on the models included in the recall can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/Recall-Alerts/2014/Trane-Recalls-Air-Conditioning-Systems/

WHY: The ground screws used in some units do not have the two threads required to provide sufficient grounding, posing a shock hazard to consumers.

INCIDENTS: None reported.

HOW MANY: About 100,600.

FOR MORE: Call Trane at 888-731-7561 or visit www.trane.com/residential and click on "XB300 Product Recall" for more information. Consumers can also log onto www.americanstandardair.com/residential and click on "XB300 Product Recall" for more information.

BICYCLES

DETAILS: SR Suntour forks on model year 2011 through 2013 Scott and Trek bicycles. They were sold from May 2010 to November June 2014. The Scott bicycles have 700c wheels, disc brakes and one of the following Suntour front fork models: NEX or NCX. Bicycle model names and numbers are on the main frame of each bicycle in a location that varies by model. The model year can be identified by the colour scheme of the bicycle frame. The fork's model name is printed on the outer sides of the fork. Model information on the recalled bicycles can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/Scott-Trek-Recall-Bicycles-with-SR-Suntour-Front-Forks/

WHY: The front fork can break, posing a crash hazard.

INCIDENTS: One report of a broken SR Suntour fork. No injuries were reported. Trek has received 28 reports of broken forks. Five injuries have been reported, including minor bruises, a separated shoulder and broken bones.

HOW MANY: About 5,200 forks on Scott bicycles and about 120,000 forks on Trek bicycles.

FOR MORE: Call Scott USA at 888-607-8365, ext. 2012, or visit www.scott-sports.com and click on Safety and Recalls at the bottom of the page for more information. Call Trek at 800-373-4594 or visit www.trekbikes.com and click on the Get Support button at the bottom of the page, then click on Safety & Recalls under Owner Resources for more information.

WOMEN'S SCARVES

DETAILS: Julie Vos women's scarves, which are 100 per cent modal fabric, a type of rayon, and were sold in two prints, Anchor and Sierra. Anchor was sold in three colours, including blue, green and orange. Sierra was sold in four colours, including raspberry/magenta, orange/peach, cream/grey and blue/purple. Julie Vos is printed on a tag sewn into the back of the scarf. They were sold at specialty boutiques nationwide and online at www.julievos.com from January 2014 through February 2014.

WHY: The scarves fail to meet the federal flammability standard for wearing apparel and pose a risk of burn injuries.

INCIDENTS: One report of a shawl catching fire. No injuries have been reported.

HOW MANY: About 324.

FOR MORE: Call Julie Vos at 646-448-4345, send email to info@julievos.com, or visit www.julievos.com and click on "Recall" for more information.

PROPANE GAS FIREPLACES

DETAILS: Napoleon GD3200-P and GD3200B-P Propane Gas Fireplaces. The model number GD3200-P and GD3200B-P can be found in the centre of the rating label. The rating label is located on the base of the fireplace behind the lower louvered access door. They were sold at hearth Fireplace specialty stores nationwide from August 1992 through May 2001.

WHY: The pressure from the ignition of the propane gas can cause the glass front to break, posing a laceration hazard.

INCIDENTS: One incident report occurring in Canada where the glass shattered resulting in cuts to the face and neck that required medical attention. No incidents were reported in the U.S.

HOW MANY: About 600 units in the U.S. and 2,400 in Canada

FOR MORE: Call Wolf Steel at 866-539-2039 or visit www.napoleonfireplaces.com and click the SUPPORT tab listed as the first item in the left side FAQ column.

ELECTRIC PIANOS

DETAILS: Roland model RD-800 Electronic Digital Pianos. Pianos within the following serial number ranges are being recalled:Z6D0015 to Z6D0019, Z7D0174 to Z7D0423, Z8D1 056 to Z8D1255, Z9D2131 to Z9D2333. The model number is on the front left of the piano. "Roland" and the model number are in large type on the back of the piano. The serial number and model number are on a data plate on the right side of the rear of the piano between the XLR output connectors and the AC IN connector. They were sold from January 2014 to April 2014.

WHY: The AC power cord can be connected to the XLR output jacks, posing an electrical shock hazard.

INCIDENTS: One report of a consumer connecting the power cord to an XLR output jack. No injuries have been reported.

HOW MANY: About 640.

FOR MORE: Call Roland at 877-339-5492, send email to rd800update@rolandus.com, or visit www.rolandus.com and click on"RD-800 Recall Notice" under Support at the bottom of the page for more information. Or call the Consumer Product Safety Commission toll-free hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

FIREWORKS KITS

DETAILS: Contraband 24 fireworks kits with canister shells and firing tubes that are designed to be used multiple times. The kit came in a brown cardboard box about 28 inches tall, 9 inches wide and about 5 inches deep. The front of the box has the words "Contraband 24," ''24 Cannister Shells," ''Maximum Powder Load" printed in black and red. The front also has a warning stating the product should only be used under close adult supervision and outdoors. Model number JP-933 is printed on the left front of the box above the warning. The back of the box has colour photos and descriptions the effect each shell should create. They were sold from February 2014 to June 2014.

WHY: The shell can blow up in the tube during firing, posing impact and burn hazards to the user and bystanders.

INCIDENTS: Two reports of the firing tubes being too narrow, including one report of a shell blowing up in a tube and causing minor burns and cuts to the legs of a store employee.

HOW MANY: About 4,500 kits.

FOR MORE: Call Winco at 888-697-2217 or visit www.wincofireworks.com then click on the News tab at the top of the page, then click on Contraband 24 Artillery Recall.