food news - Articles and Posts from Slashfood

Posts with tag food news

Vegemite Gets Makeover - You Pick Its Name

Posted Jun 15th 2009 11:00AM by Alex Van Buren
Filed under: On the Blogs, New Products

Vegemite -- the yeast-based savory spread that is a distant cousin of Marmite, and beloved by Kiwis and Aussies -- is getting a makeover for the first time in 85 years, the Times Online reports.

Kraft Foods surveyed hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and Australians to find out how they took their morning dose of Vegemite, and found that many wished it was more easily spreadable, or paired it with cream cheese on toast. Thus, the new incarnation incorporates cream cheese and one other secret ingredient.

It remains to be seen whether those who love it will appreciate this new incarnation -- early indicators say "no" -- but the company is cleverly reaching out to those who love it to give this new Vegemite product a new name. Early submissions include "I Just Mite," indicating that rabid fans might just adopt this newcomer.

[Via Times Online]

Craziest Food Stories from 2008

Posted Jan 3rd 2009 3:00PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Newspapers, On the Blogs, Food News

Just how tumultuous a year was 2008 when it comes to food news? In November, a man in India died at a company-sponsored pastry eating contest. That same month a couple sued McDonald's. For what? Philip Sherman left his cell phone at a McDonald's in Fayette, Arkansas, and he claims that employees found naked pictures of his wife Tina and posted them online.

Alright, what's so new about McDonald's being sued? Fair enough. Perhaps, one of the craziest news in food for 2008 is the world's largest fruit mosaic created by over 1,000 students from Pingyuan Middle School in China. The mosaic consists of 349,200 navel oranges, 18,172 apples and 5,153 pomelos. And, it made the Guinness World Record being 60 m (196 ft 10 in) long and 37 m (121 ft 4 in) wide, with a total area of 2,220 m² (23895 ft²).

This past summer, CNN posted a story online of the world's priciest foods. And, apparently gold is an edible mineral. Companies, such as Fancy Flours, are selling edible gold leaves for approximately $15,000 per pound. Now, one of my favorite food stories from 2008 comes from Wacky Archives: creative food sculptures. These adorable and insane food creatures are hilarious, especially the one of the egg shell transformed into a baby carriage carrying its yolk. And, there's the anthropomorphized roll of bread, seen above, biting onto its knife.

What are some of your favorite crazy food moments from 2008?

Coke Products Sweetened With Stevia?

Posted Dec 19th 2008 12:00PM by Emily Matchar
Filed under: Science, Business, Artificial Sugars, Soda, Food News

Coca-Cola will begin selling products made with Stevia, a zero-calorie sweetener derived from an herb that's gained a following in the heath food community despite not yet being approved by the FDA. Three flavors of Odwalla juice sweetened with a Stevia product called Rebiana are expected to hit the market this week.

Pepsi also has two Stevia-sweetened drinks ready for the market, but they say they won't start selling them until FDA gives Stevia the official OK. The FDA is expected to approve Stevia as "generally regarded as safe" any time now.

Coke hopes that Stevia, which is often described as "all natural" (whatever that means), will help reverse the decline in sales of soft drinks.

I've had Stevia sweetener before, and it didn't taste a whole lot different to me than other artificial sweeteners. But then, I'm a die-hard Diet Coke drinker, so I may not be the target audience.

Has anyone else tasted Stevia? Thoughts?

Common food myths busted!

Posted Oct 23rd 2008 2:00PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Magazines, Food News

I recently read a revealing article from Parade magazine that uncovers common food myths. Some of them were shocking. Do people really think that margarine is healthier than butter? Although butter contains saturated fats that raise cholesterol, margarine is loaded with trans fats. Unfortunately, my parents believed this myth; and, just recently, over the past few years I have begun to discover the many different delicious creamy butters that exist.

A myth that I believed prior to reading this article was that fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier than frozen ones. In some cases, you can get more nutrients from frozen fruits and vegetables. This depends on how old the "fresh" produce really is. After being harvested, fresh fruit can spend many days being sorted through and shipped to markets. Fluctuations in light and temperature affect the nutrients in produce. On the other hand, the negative effects of canned and frozen produce have to do with its taste, texture, and additives.

Another revealing myth is that decaf coffee has no caffeine. There are plenty more! For example, people actually believe that bananas are fattening. Many people argue that cooking vegetables destroys their vitamin content. What do you think about these busted food myths? And, which ones do you think are less obvious?

Central America turns to genetically modified crops

Posted Aug 12th 2008 12:04PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: South America, Farming, Trends, Food News

Last week, I listened to a story on NPR about countries in Central America, notably Honduras, that are turning to genetically modified crops as the global food crisis worsens. Honduras is the only country in Central America that has embraced genetically engineered corn.

Genetically engineered corn is against the law in most of Central America where the crop has been grown for thousands of years. They ban genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to protect their many diverse varieties of corn from contamination. But with the price of corn doubling, Honduras has recently decided to use GMOs.

The food crisis is bringing about a new trend towards genetically modified crops. Egypt just approved GMO corn, and China increased its funding in research on GMO foods. However, this may be a destructive temporary solution. Environmentalists are concerned that biotech crops could damage the natural diversity of plants. These crops are made by injecting new genes that were found in other species. In essence, they're getting rid of previous natural varieties and creating new ones.

What do you think? Should countries view GMO foods as a solution to the current food crisis?

A round-up of weird food news and stories

Posted Mar 6th 2008 5:04PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Food Oddities, Newspapers, On the Blogs

A word to the wise. If you've just stolen the box of doughnuts you're eating, it is probably not particularly smart to offer said doughnuts to the officers who are investigating the robbery.

If you're planning on having a heart attack, doing so in a restaurant where a college student majoring in cardiovascular technology works is probably a good way to go.

The 85 chickens that were let loose in a Philadelphia high school have found a home at the Fox Chase Farm, where they'll be able to graze for bugs and lay eggs to their hearts' content.

Two German airmen are being court-marshaled after trying to start a sausage-making company in which they used human blood. They were found out when one of their fellow soldiers inquired to a superior as to whether the venture was permissible or not. [via Yumsugar]

A new grocery store in the Giant chain opened Willow Grove, PA yesterday that is the size of two football fields and has a babysitting center, a cooking school, an on-site nutritionist and valet grocery pick-up. Who knew that grocery stores were becoming the next place for family entertainment.

All things ketchup on the new Netscape channel

Posted Jun 15th 2006 9:41AM by Andrew Barrow
Filed under: On the Blogs, New Products

I have just been playing with the new netscape (read more at download squad) and ran across this story on the Food and Travel page.

It is for a competition to design a tomato ketchup bottle label. "Oh fun!" I thought - I always enjoy tinkering with Photoshop and thought I would give it a go, especially as it kind of ties in with my foodography theme of Brand Awareness over on flickr. Some great designs have already been submitted and it certainly got the creative juices flowing (not to mention the gastric juices so I am off to make some burgers).

Then I re-read the comprtition guidelines to see that it closed in October last year. Ho Hum. Perhaps this new netscape channel needs more input from users. So I settled on reading a post about the correct way to pour ketchup instead!

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Slashfood Editor	47	0
2	Alexa Weibel	36	2
3	Sarah LeTrent	34	1
4	Monika Bartyzel	22	0
5	Hanna Raskin	22	0
6	Sara Bonisteel	16	0
7	Emily Farris	11	0
8	Jennifer Lawinski	11	0
9	Lisa Schweitzer	9	0
10	Jennifer Iserloh	9	0
11	Kat Kinsman	8	2
12	Michael Thomas Hastings	8	0
13	Mike Pomranz	5	0
14	Joshua M. Bernstein	4	2
15	Erin Meister	4	0
16	Jose Ralat Maldonado	4	1
17	Max Shrem	4	0
18	John Devore	3	0
19	LeNell Smothers	3	0
20	Brent Ridge	2	0

Reviews: What's New This Week Jim Carrey's "A Christmas Carol" Creepy in a Good Way Twitter Follow Friday on ParentDish!	Jon Gosselin Hits the Yoga Mat World Run Day 2009 is This Sunday! Mariah Carey Flaunts A Fuller Figure
DIY Design: Go With the Grain Cameron Diaz Pulls a Janice Dickinson Victoria's Secret Angels Update - Are There Five New Winged Wonders?	Can 2022 be the 'Year of the Tiger' if the Tigers are all Gone? Eco-Beat, 11/5 Does Humane Veal Exist?
Ellen Degeneres Dances Her Way to Real Estate Riches Get the Look for Less: House Beautiful Foyer Paint Trends: Predicting Next Year's Hottest Colors	Freaky Ferrets; Bionic Bowser The Penguin and the Zoo-Keeper: A Love Story Dog Bone Recipes

Vegemite Gets Makeover - You Pick Its Name

Craziest Food Stories from 2008

Coke Products Sweetened With Stevia?

Common food myths busted!

Central America turns to genetically modified crops

A round-up of weird food news and stories

All things ketchup on the new Netscape channel

Tip of the Day

Slashfood Features

RESOURCES

Featured Stories

Slashfood bloggers (30 days)

Most Commented On (60 days)

Updates From

Sites We Love