In America we associate McDonald’s with three things, burgers, fries, and self-aggrandizing homogeneity. But the iconic chain is actually quite adaptable to local tastes, flavors and customs as it coats the globe with franchises. [More]
food
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Odwalla, Reducing From 15 To 12 oz
By 5.20.11
Myron Reducto is at it again, turning his Grocery Shrink Ray Gun on Odwalla juice, zapping it down to 12 oz from 15. The price is the same Odwalla has lowered the suggested retail price for the bottles, but some retailers have opted to keep the price the same. Like other food packagers, Odwalla is combining the shrinkage with a packaging redesign that it hopes will get more press. In this case, they are simultaneously rolling out bottles that are made from 100% plant based HDPE plastic. [More]
Mom Sues Four Loko For Teen's Death
By 5.20.11
The parents of a teen who died after drinking two Four Lokos and running onto a highway have sued the beverage maker, reports the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit claims the manufacturer was “careless and negligent” in making a caffeinated alcoholic drink that “desensitizes users to the symptoms of intoxication and increases the potential for alcohol-related harm.” [More]
Is That "Organic" Egg A Good Egg?
By 5.19.11
Not all organic eggs are created equal. While different cartons of eggs might all have the same “Organic! Yay!” label slapped on them, standards for what that means can vary from farm to farm. One might meet minimum USDA or Federal standards while another has no real outdoor access for the chickens to speak of. To help you navigate the bedeviling array of options, The Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Egg Scorecard to rate farms on a 5-egg system. Small farms with lots of pasture for the chickens to frolic in rate highly, while eggs put out by Trader Joe’s, Kirkland, and Price Chopper only get a one egg rating. [More]
Surprisingly, Panera Bread's "Pay What You Can" Model Is Working
By 5.18.11
Panera Bread has been trying out a donation-only “pay what you can” model at three locations for the past year, and says that it’s working. The chain says that 60% of people put in the full retail amount in the box, 20% put more in, and 20% put in less. Panera’s founder says it all works because “people are fundamentally good” but I’d like to see how well one of these stores located in an area where greed, theft, and self-interest above all is glamorized — like Wall Street. [More]
For Variety, Eater Of 25,000 Big Macs "Sometimes Eats Them Upside Down"
By 5.18.11
Yesterday Don Gorske set a new world record by eating his 25,000th Big Mac in his lifetime. The news reports are full of charming anecdotes surrounding this man and his accomplishment. My favorite is the one where his brother recounts how he once asked Don, doesn’t he ever get tired of eating the same thing over and over again? Don reportedly replied, “Sometimes I eat them upside down.” Turning the burger over 180 degrees is enough to rearrange the order in which the flavors enter his mouth. Here are some other fun facts about this story: [More]
Man To Eat His 25,000th Big Mac Today
By 5.17.11
At 4pm Eastern, Don Gorske, 57, will have eaten his 25,000th Big Mac, reports Wisinfo. He has timed the event to coincide with the exact anniversary, down to the hour, of the very first time he ate, and fell in love with, Big Macs 39 years ago. Despite daily doses of Big Macs consisting of “90% of his solid food intake,” Gorske is not obese and he runs in races. How is this possible? [More]
Snake Oil In The Grocery Aisle
By 5.16.11
One of the biggest trends in food marketing are so-called “functional foods.” These days it’s not enough that food imparts nutrition and makes you not hungry, it has to perform jumping jacks. Yogurt for your digestive system, milk for your brain, and crisped rice cereal for your immune system. Food packagers don’t outright say that they cure or prevent disease, they can get away with using words like “supports” and “promotes” to make their claims, as long as there’s a little bit of believable science to back it up. But are they really about health, or hype? NYT investigates. [More]
Make Your Own Veggie Chips At Home
By 5.16.11
Veggie chips are a healthy and tasty alternative to potato crisps but they can be kinda pricey. Not to mention that the ones in the stores are often deep-fried and might not be any better for you than popping open a bag of regular potato chips. But if you make your own veggie chips at home you can have better control over the ingredients and preparation, save some money, and have fun doing it! Chow has got some great recipes for carrot chips, sweet potato crisps and even kale chips. Of course, for an even lower-cal version, it’s hard to beat flavored paper chips… [More]
SNL Spoofs Smarmy Corn Syrup Ads
By 5.16.11
SNL this week parodied those ridiculous and condescending “truth about corn syrup” ads the industry put out last year. You know, the ones where a person tells another person, “oh, that’s corn syrup, you know what that’s about” and then is unable to back up the claim with any data. They then promptly crumble under the other person’s withering logic and stream of facts about how corn syrup is awesome. [More]
There's A New Kind Of Oreo, And It's Coming For Your Face
By 5.13.11
Hear that? That was another one of the seven seals breaking. Nabisco is set to unleash a brand new kind of Oreo this summer, the “Triple Double Oreo.” [More]
Inside A "Big Food" Product Development Meeting
By 5.12.11
Where do they come up with all those great ideas to make 500 different snack foods out of the same four crappy ingredients and then try to trick us into thinking they’re healthy? This amusing xtranormal video takes you inside a hypothetical product development meeting at a “Big Food” company. It starts off slow but then delivers hit after hit as they skewer each of the different labeling and ingredient tactics food manufacturers use, like adding Vitamin D to Cheetos and saying they “support healthy bones.” [More]
Consider The Mighty Coffee Cup Lid
By 5.11.11
For an item so ubiquitous, tossed without a care, and that costs only pennies to make, a ton of engineering and thought has poured into the design of the plastic coffee cup lid. Take a moment to look down the next time you grab a cup of Joe and see which sort you have before you, as there are all manner of species for all manner of purposes. [More]
M&M's Is Really Nice After Accidentally Triggering Your Mint Allergy
By 5.10.11
How do you win over a customer after you’ve just accidentally triggered their mint allergy? M&M’s have figured the answer: lots of apologies and lots of free coupons. [More]
2 Pounds Away From Weight Loss Goal
By 5.6.11
I’m 2 lbs away from my weight loss goal. What’s my secret you ask? An ancient technique passed down to me by visions of an Aztec god: diet and exercise. Specifically soccer. Oodles of soccer. [More]
White Castle Now Taking Online Orders
By 5.4.11
Ever in the technological vanguard — witness the science behind their square burgers and those drop-down ketchup hose thingies — White Castle yesterday announced they are taking online orders. Call it the iCrave? [More]
Do You Live Near A Food Desert?
By 5.4.11
If you’ve ever wanted to find out if you live in a wasteland with a dearth of access to fresh and nutritious food, boy have we got the government-sponsored data mashup for you! The USDA just launched the “Food Desert Locator” which lets you see where it’s hard to get a decent bite to eat in America. A “food desert” (remember: not dessert, that has two s’s because you want more of it) is a low-income area where a most of the people live more than one mile from the nearest grocery store/supermarket. Thanks to this map, now we know why North Dakotans are so sad: no one will make them a sandwich! [More]
Pickpockets Target Starbucks Customers
By 5.2.11
While you’re taking a break with a relaxing Trenta of Pike’s Peak Roast coffee at Starbucks, a thief could be silently snagging your wallet, reports the New York Times. [More]
