Study Shows Oreo as Addictive as Cocaine - Food Product Design
Oreo cookies, America’s No. 1 cookie, may be as addictive as cocaine, according to research that will be presented November 13, at the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego. The study was designed to shed light on addictiveness to high-fat/high-sugar foods. A discovery was made that high-fat/sugar food (Oreo cookies) activates more neurons on the brain’s nucleus accumenes, also known as the pleasure center, in comparison to drugs of abuse.
We Live In a World Where Salads Have More Sugar Than Donuts - Huffington Post
You know something is wrong with the food industry when you can buy a salad that contains more sugar than a donut. That was one finding in a recent study conducted by Credit Suisse, which revealed the sugar content of some of America’s most popular foods and drinks:
KrispyKreme Original Glazed Donut – 10 grams per serving
Crunchy Nut, Frosties and Fruit Loops cereal – 16 grams per serving
Subway 6” Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki – 16 grams per serving
Starbucks Grande Caffe Latte – 17 grams per serving
Godiva Truffles (2) – 17 grams per serving
Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Ice Cream (1/2 cup) – 20 grams per serving
Yoplait Original Yogurt – 27 grams per serving
Vitamin Water (20 oz.) – 33 grams per serving
Coca-Cola (20 oz.) – 39 grams per serving
Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake – 45 grams per serving
California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad – 45 grams per serving
Odwalla Super Food (450 ml bottle) – 50 grams per serving
Starbucks Café Vanilla Frappuccino (16 oz.) 67 grams per serving.
FoodNavigator-USA’s 10 hot topics in food and beverage development: Are you up to speed? - Elaine Watson
Is there a natural ceiling to the gluten-free market? Is the party over for energy drinks? Find out in FoodNavigator-USA’s round up of 10 of the hottest topics in US food and beverage development to follow.
The American diet: One long snack? New research suggests that one in five Americans now graze throughout the day instead of eating three square meals or even several ‘mini-meals’ a day.
The American supermarket: Stuck in a timewarp? The hi-lo, be-all-things-to-all-people strategy that made supermarket chains such a success 40-50 years ago is no longer working. This strategy puts supermarkets in direct competition with Club, Wal-Mart, ALDI and dollar stores—with whom they cannot compete on price.
Protein: On the cusp of a renaissance? Protein, so trend watchers keep telling us, is red hot right now, for all ages and both sexes, covering weight management, healthy aging, sports nutrition and general health & wellness.
All-natural claims: Are they worth it? While consumers cannot always articulate exactly what they want, in broad terms they want more foods that are natural, less processed, and made with ingredients that they can recognize and pronounce.
GMO labeling: Right to know or bizarre new precedent? From a legislative perspective the big problem is what precedent might be set if laws are passed to label foods made with certain technologies, even if the end product does not differ in any meaningful way—or present any greater safety concerns—from foods developed by traditional plant breeding methods.
Go veggie: Boost your health and save the planet? Another hot trend: plant-based diets. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that it’s better for your health—and the health of the planet—to reduce meat consumption.
Gluten-free: Is the growth (double-digit) sustainable? There is still a lot of white space in the gluten-free market. And many mainstream retailers are finally waking up to the gluten-free opportunity with dedicated gluten-free sections.
Energy drinks: Is the party over? The explosive growth in recent years is slowing down. Also there is growing pressure from some quarters for regulation of energy drinks and shots, while big players are facing lawsuits alleging serious adverse events can result from their products. Many companies are exploring new ways to deliver energy—minus the caffeine.
Sodium reduction: Is the pressure still on? Many firms are still working at reducing sodium, but if the government does not mandate them and consumers are not demanding action, there is very little incentive to deliver a meaningful reduction.
The diabetes ticking time bomb: How can the food industry help? This trend is not exactly hot right now, but certainly should be. One in three American adults are expected to develop type 2 diabetes by 2050. FDA revised guidelines say that any messaging around foods tackling pre-diabetes or diabetes must be focused on phrases like low-GI (glycemic index) sustained energy or healthy blood glucose, rather than mentioning the “D” word.
The 8 foods that give you the worst breath, ranked with the power of science - Dan Gentile
Aside from tooth decay and gum disease the most common reason Americans go to the dentist is to solve the mystery of bad breath. Some patients genuinely suffer form bacterial halitosis, but most carriers of stank-mouth just forgot what they just ate. Here is a list of the eight foods to avoid (beer excluded) to ensure your mouth is fresh.
Garlic. (Duh) Horrid-smelling enough to turn off even vampires, garlic is traditionally deemed the king of stinky foods. When your body digests garlic, it absorbs allyl methyl sulfide into your bloodstream, which is transferred to the lungs and then to the air immediately surrounding the person you’re talking to. As if that wasn’t enough, the gas is also released through your skin.
Tuna sandwiches. That sour, fishy smell occurs when seafood starts to oxidize, a common result of canning processes. Tuna packed in extra virgin olive oil is the least smelly.
Onions. (Duh, again) Much like its stinky cousin garlic, onions contain the amino acid allin, which turns to propenyl sulfenic acid, which is the chemical responsible for bad breath.
Kombucha. Hippies swear by this fizzy fermented tea, and the acrid stench of kombucha after-burps makes you want to swear at Hippies!
Horseradish. Horseradish gets most of its flavor from isothiocyanate, a chemical compound in the plant with a scent so putrid that it’s a natural defense against animals.
Coffee. Coffee smells great….and then it hits your mouth. At that point, the acidity and natural enzymes in the coffee combine with your saliva in a bad, bad way.
Gyros. This Mediterranean delicacy pairs spitted, high-fat meat like lamb with stinky dairy products (feta, tzatziki), a healthy dose of acidic tomatoes, and the Pig-Pen of the vegetable kingdom: the onion.
Indian curry. Despite some proposed antibacterial qualities, the hard-hitting spice of Indian curry demands a fistful of fennel.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Squash - Emily Saladino
This time of year, pumpkins get all the glory, but pumpkins are not the only gourd in town. ‘Tis the season for squash of all stripes.
Family affair: In pre-Columbus times, indigenous Americans typically planted squash alongside maize and beans. The three worked in harmony: the cornstalk would shade the squash and support the beans, the squash’s vines would keep weeds at bay, and the beans would supply nitrogen for all three.
Pie ministers: European pilgrims made early versions of pumpkin pie by hollowing out a winter squash, filling it with apples, sugar and milk, then putting its stem back on and baking over fire.
Whole foods: We’ve all toasted pumpkin seeds and enjoyed them as a salty snack, but super resourceful cooks use squash shoots and leaves as hearty greens.
To your health: Mineral-rich squash is chock full of carotenes and Vitamins A, B and C. Pumpkin seed oil is a homeopathic superstar that can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
Know your type: There are two basic categories of squash: summer squash has relatively soft flesh, a shorter shelf life, and needs minimal cook time; and winter squash, with harder and tougher skin, longer shelf life, and needs more prep and cook time.
What’s in a name: The fruit is believed to be named for the Narrangansett word askutasquash, which means “eaten raw uncooked.”
Floral notes: All squash have edible flowers, but zucchini blossoms are most common.
Drink up: As cocktailers continue to get crafty with the produce department, squash are the newest barflies on the block.
Get briny: The best squash for pickling is yellow summer squash. If you still have a few summer squash lying around, thinly slice the squash and a sweet onion. Cover both with kosher salt and let sit for an hour. Then pickle.
Always a bridesmaid: Archeologists estimate the earliest squash were grown 10,000 years ago in modern-day Ecuador and Mexico, making it one of the world’s oldest known crops.
Surprises discovered in decoded kiwifruit genome - Melissa Osgood
A new study that decoded the DNA sequence of the kiwifruit has concluded that the fruit has many genetic similarities between its 39,040 genes and other plant species, including potatoes and tomatoes. Kiwifruit has been called ‘the king of fruits’ because of its remarkably high vitamin C content and balanced nutritional composition of minerals, dietary fiber and other health benefits. Kiwifruit originated from the mountains and ranges of southwestern China and was not known to the world until the early 20 century, when farmers in New Zealand discovered the fruit and began breeding it as a commercial crop. It is a form of berry that grows on woody vines, much like grapes, and belongs to the order of Ericales, where blueberries, tea bushes and Brazil nuts are also classified. One of the most remarkable findings of the study was uncovered when scientists observed a high percentage of similarities within the kiwifruit DNA. The data revealed two whole-genome duplication events. When genes are duplicated, the extra genes can mutate to perform entirely new functions not previously present in the organism. This process, called neofunctionalization, can occur with no adverse effects in plants and, in the case of kiwifruit, was quite beneficial. Prior to the study, extensive research on the metabolic accumulation of vitamin C, carotenoids and flavonoids had been reported in kiwifruits but genome sequence data, critical for its breeding and improvement, had never been available.
Alzheimer’s Smell Test Uses Peanut Butter to Sniff Out the Disease - Sara Gates
Detecting Alzheimer’s disease may soon be as easy as testing a patient’s sense of smell. As part of research into methods for early diagnosis of the degenerative brain disease, researchers in Florida devised an Alzheimer’s smell test capable of confirming an AD diagnosis. The key ingredient? Peanut butter. According to the research, recently published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s demonstrated a significant difference between their left and right nostrils in their ability to smell the open container of peanut butter. For this group, the sense of smell in the left nostril was severely impaired; in order to smell the peanut butter through their left side, the container had to be an average of 10 centimeters closer to the nose than it was on the right side. During testing, subjects with other types of cognitive impairment not related to Alzheimer’s either did not show this disparity between nostrils, or their right nostril was the one that was impaired.
Almond Butter Vs. Peanut Butter - Food Republic
Almond butter exists, has exploded in popularity and might just be the smarter choice over peanut butter depending on what you’re doing with it. Baking cookies? Stick to peanut butter. But as far as smearing on an apple or slice of multigrain, which nutty butter should you reach for? Nutrition-wise, the two are very similar. You’re getting around 100 calories and 4 grams of protein, but almond butter is a little better for you, all things considered. Almond butter is higher in Vitamin E, iron, magnesium, protein and fiber than peanut butter. It is also typically less processed with less added sugar, salt and the additives that keep nut butter from separating. Almond butter costs a couple of dollars extra, but think of all that magnesium you’re getting.
Healthful family dinner: Assembly-line soup - Casey Seidenberg
Grandmothers around the world have long extolled the benefits of homemade stock in chicken soup. Stock made from real bones was an ancient cold remedy, and even modern studies have found benefits in chicken soup. If it is so healthful, why not use it to make an easy dinner any night of the week. If you don’t have time to make homemade stock, buy stock made from real bones at a specialty food store or farmer’s market. Homemade stock is not the same as canned or boxed broth, which tends to be higher in sodium and lower in important minerals such as calcium magnesium and phosphorous. This assembly-line meal as quick and has many health benefits:
Step 1. Pour two cups of chicken stock per person into a pot and heat to boil.
Step 2. The prep. Warm leftover meat such as chicken, pork or beef in the oven, Cook noodles or rice according to package directions. Chop vegetables of choice.
Step 3. The assembly line. Create an assembly of individual soup ingredients leading up to the pot of stock. Let each family member select items for his own soup bowl.
Step 4. The soup. Add the vegetables that need to be cooked to the boiling stock. Don’t worry: Nothing takes more than five minutes. Pour hot stock and vegetables on top of each bowl of preferred noodles and meats.
These Elementary School Students Went Vegetarian, and the Results Are Astounding - Ellen’s Good News
In April, 2013, Public School 244 in Flushing, Queens became the first elementary school in the US to offer students a completely vegetarian menu. Instead of chicken fingers and hamburgers, the school offers black-bean and cheddar quesadillas, organic roasted tofu, veggie wraps and falafel. There are no vending machines full of sugary sodas or high-calorie snacks on school property. Students are also required to attend a weekly class about making healthy food choices. The results as reported by school officials: the kids have longer attention spans and better academic scores. The number of students classified as overweight has dropped 2% as well.
Wrap It Up - Bonnie Liebman
Be aware of cues that make you munch. A group of researchers studied roughly 60 female students in their 20s.
Study 1. Reseachers gave each student a bowl of 20 individually wrapped or 20 unwrapped chocolate candies and told her to eat as much as she wanted. After 5 minutes, the students averaged about 5 pieces of unwrapped candy, but only about 3-1/2 pieces of wrapped candy.
Study 2. Similarly, the students ate 5 unwrapped candies that they could grab with their fingers, but only 3-1/2 candies wrapped in transparent foil or unwrapped candies they had to pick up using tongs.
If you are trying not to snack, keep it wrapped up.
Before Marathoners Had Energy Bars - Ian Chillag
In the October/November issue of Running Times, distance running great Bill Rodgers reflected on his life as a runner, including details on his diet while training for the 1976 New York City Marathon. He consumed 4,000 calories a day. He raided the refrigerator in the middle of the night, drank bottles of honey, devoured boxes of Oreo cookies,
scooped out gobs of peanut butter or mayonnaise from the jar and, for the grand finale, submerged the globs in
a bottle of bacon bits. On this diet, Rodgers was a whopping 128 pounds with 7 percent body fat. It is worth noting
that Rodgers was running as much as 180 miles per week, proving the old runners adage, “if the furnace is hot
enough, it’ll burn anything.”
Spices Have Double Salmonella Risk Compared With Other Imported Foods: FDA Mary Clare Jalonick
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that almost 7 percent of imported spices over a three-year period were contaminated with salmonella. A report released on Wednesday (10/30/13) indicated that testing of imported spices between 2007 and 2010 showed that spices were twice as likely as other inspected foods to be contaminated with the pathogen. More than 80 different types of salmonella were detected. The agency notes that when spices are cooked, much of the pathogen is eliminated and the amount of spice generally eaten at a meal is small, reducing the chances of getting sick from a contaminated spice. Even so, the FDA has targeted spices because their route to a diner’s plate is so circuitous and the potential for contamination comes at many different points. Most all of the spices eaten in the US are imported, and most come from small farms in a variety of countries that all have different levels of food safety oversight. Michael Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, says the agency is “not recommending that consumers stay away from spices,” though the chances of someone getting sick can be reduced by adding spices to food before it is cooked.
FLATULENT-FREE COWS? - The Herb Quarterly, Winter 2013
One of the biggest contributors to global warming is methane gas, and scientists believe that a whopping 80 percent of methane comes from animals with (to put it delicately) digestive problems. Dairy cattle are thought to be the gassiest of their hairy brethren. Researchers at Banaras Hindu University in India may have a solution. In a study involving 18 cows, the researchers gave six calves food mixed with herbal medicines, while another six calves received food spiked with allopathic medicines. The final six calves ate food containing no medicine. Researchers found that the cattle in the herb group had a “remarkably lower count of methanogenic bacteria” and better digestion than the cows fed the other diets.
But if you can’t feed your cows herbs, there may be another solution……
Argentine scientists tap cow burps for natural gas - Maximiliano Rizzi
Natural Gas From Cows? Argentine Scientists Tap Methane In Bovine Burps - Huffington Post
Argentine researchers have demonstrated how methane can be separated from other digestive gases produced by cattle. The scientists say that harnessing cow power on an industrial scale could create a new form of sustainable energy while also reducing the carbon footprint produced by cattle ranches. Methane is the main component of natural gas, used to fuel everything from cars to power plants. “Once you get it compressed, it’s the same as having natural gas,” said Guillermo Berra, head of INTA’s animal physiology group. Each head of cattle emits between 205 and 300 liters of pure methane a day, enough energy to keep a refrigerator running for 24 hours. Argentina is one of the world’s top beef exporters, with around 51 million heads of cattle. Gases emitted from those animals account for 30 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The Future of Food (Packaging) - Modern Farmer
Inventor Dave Edwards has the rare ability to conceive futuristic ideas and turn them into reality. His last idea, a breathable drug delivery technology, was acquired for $114 million in 1999. His most recent brain wave, edible food packaging, arrives stateside this month. Edwards’ company, WikiFoods has partnered with various food producers and its first collaborator is Stonyfield Farm. This fall they’ll launch their first product—edible frozen yogurt and ice cream encased in flavored edible skins and sold in biodegradable cellophane bags at two Whole Foods near Boston. Getting customers used to treating ice cream like they would a piece of fruit (namely, rinsing it off before eating the whole thing) will take time, says Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield chairman and founder, whose company has been committed to reducing packaging waste since the ‘80s.
As if Oreo addiction is not enough……
We’re watching you: Mondelez ‘smart shelves’ detect facial features for targeted ads Oliver Nieburg
Oreo maker Modelez International is getting ready to introduce video display units near checkouts that estimate a person’s age and gender so as to deliver targeted advertising. The technology compares a person’s facial features to proprietary algorithms to determine gender and approximate age. According to the company the images are not saved and the smart displays only targets adults.
Food Network 20th Anniversary: How the Channel Changed TV - J.M. Hirsch
When Food Network launched 20 year ago America was sitting at a very different dinner table. After all, this was before we’d learned to fetishize cupcakes, before Instagram made our every mouthful a shared experience, before vegetables had cult followings. But the gamble paid off. Two decades later and the Food Network has morphed into a lifestyle, a marketing behemoth turning chefs—and home cooks—into household names even, if not especially, with people who never cook. When the network launched, Americans did not take food seriously. Less than a decade later, a culinary awakening—fueled in part by the network itself—allowed Food Network to succeed. Food Network didn’t invent the food celebrity—the fame of James Beard, Julia Child and others predate it by decades—but it codified it into an industry. Today, of course, food television is a crowded field. Still, Food Network—one of many lifestyle brands owned by Scripps Networks Interactive—touts enviable numbers. And then there is the profitability algorithm, which goes something like: less cooking equals more viewers and sizzling ad dollars. It actually took years for the network to get profitable. And many say it did so by turning its back on some of its own fans and stars. In the early red ink years, the network was known mostly for food television with a how-to attitude aimed at people who cook. But on television, personality trumps talent, entertainment trounces know-how. Just as MTV was ridiculed for letting videos die, Food Network has been ribbed for favoring reality TV over real cooking. Anthony Bourdain practically launched his post-Food Network career by bashing it. In response, Food Network in 2010 created The Cooking Channel, a back-to-basics, edgier sibling.