- Toxic Treats For Kids
- Brits Buy Up Big
- A Corker of An Issue
- Good Fish, Bad Fish
- Lean Veggies
- McDonalds Fries
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Toxic Treats For Kids
Lean Veggies
Many of the commonly used good colourings and additives used in kids snack foods have been found to have a neurotoxic effect. Liverpool University in the UK found that additives such as Brilliant Blue and Quinoline Yellow could play a role in stopping nerve cell growth and possibly interfere with neurological signalling systems.
Brits Buy Up Big
Still in the Old Dart, and a new report reveals that organic food sales in the UK have doubled since 2000 and are now worth almost $3 billion annually.
The Mintel report found that increased sales are being driven by consumer concerns about health, food safety and the environment. While spending levels amongst higher-income consumers were found to have remained steady, sales were rising significantly amongst lower-income consumers.
Meat and poultry sales were the biggest movers – up almost 150 per cent between 2000 and 2005.
"Despite the fact that organic products account for little more than one per cent of overall food and drink sales, there is no doubt that these products have joined the mainstream" senior market analyst Julie Sloan told BBC News.
The Soil Association believed growth in organic sales may be even more pronounced than Mintel had suggested.
"In our perception there is a tremendous underlying interest in sustainable production and locally-produced food which are rightly seen as offering potential solutions to current debates about protecting the environment, food security, animal welfare and other issues," Soil Association director Patrick Holden said.
Another Mintel report into the UK free-from market (dairy, gluten and wheat free products) showed similarly bullish projections, with sales of this sector up 300 per cent since 2000. Greater consumer awareness of food allergies and intolerances was found to be the prime factor in the increase.
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As the trend toward screw top wine bottles continues, the cork industry is finally fighting back. APCOR Australia, the Australian arm of the Portuguese Cork Association has launched a PR campaign designed to highlight the "green" credentials of cork and hopefully wrestle back some of that lost market share. Central to campaign is the message that cork, unlike its alternatives is a renewable, natural resource. "Many….thought that trees were cut down to make cork stoppers for the wine industry. In actuality, the Cork Oak is a completely renewable resource with the tree's outer bark stripped every nine years for cork production," said Kym Wilson, chair of APCOR Australia. Cork trees also protect the land against soil erosion, regulate the climate through carbon dioxide absorption and provide home to a vast array of birdlife, he said. "Cork comes from a sustainable resource; it can be recycled to make a range of household and sporting products and, unlike other stoppers, its biodegradable. No other natural or man-made material can replicate cork's environmental properties. It is truly unique." |
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The Australian seafood industry has been weathering some rough seas of late. First, commercial fishing was banned from Sydney Harbour due to the discovery of high levels of toxins in locally caught fish. Shortly after, three NSW fish retailers were caught trying to pass off cheap fish, prawns and scallops as more highly priced seafood. Giving the raw prawn to consumers were Costi Brothers Seafood, Roselands, Penrith Seafoods and the Seafood Factory near Newcastle. The Costi Brothers outlet was fined $6000 for selling cheap Vietnamese catfish as barramundi, and Thai prawns as local king prawns. Penrith Seafoods tried a similar scam with scallops and were fined over $3000. On a more positive note however, Seafood Services Australia (SSA) is trumpeting new medical findings which confirm seafood's reputation as a heart-healthy food. "Drugs designed to lower cholesterol and help prevent heart attacks, principally drugs known as 'stains' are now the most expensive item prescribed in Australia," said Roy Palmer, deputy chair of SSA. "However, research highlighted at a recent international health conference in the United States showed seafood was more effective at preventing sudden death than these anti-cholesterol drugs." "Delegates to the international conference were really excited but hardly anyone in Australia seems to have heard about these results. Well, it is time everybody was told. Think about it: seafood is more effective at preventing sudden death than the most powerful anti-cholesterol drugs alone. That is big news!" he said. Mr. Palmer said that including more seafood on restaurant menus and in the home could make all the difference. "We are just talking about people replacing a few current meals with seafood, simple to do and no extra cost to the economy and yet it could save thousands of lives and at least hundreds of millions of dollars in health costs." |
Lean Veggies
| Meat-eaters who switch to vegetarianism gain less weight than people who make no changes to their diet, a new European study has revealed. After studying the eating habits of 22,000 meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans of all ages over five years, Cancer Research UK found that, on average, people gained tow kilos during the period studies, but that the lowest weight gain was seen in people who changed to a diet containing less animal foods. Keep eating those carrots! |
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McDonalds fries are gluten free after all
First they said they were, then they said they weren't. And now, apparently, they are once more. The strange case of McDonalds and the gluten free status (or otherwise) of its fries appears to have finally been resolved. Or not. After initially declaring their fries were gluten free, McDonalds in the US apparently retracted the claim. This unsurprisingly led to lawsuits, including one from the parents of an autistic child, who claimed that their child had become seriously ill as a result of unknowingly consuming gluten. In response, McDonald's have issued a statement from a food allergy expert claiming that their chips are indeed, gluten and allergy free after all. The company says that based on this analysis, the lawsuits are without legal merit.
