Although there is no money in Amazon’s community banana stands — where the company has been offering free fruit to both workers and locals in Seattle since 2015 — the tech giant’s largesse is changing the banana landscape for some nearby businesses. [More]
fruit
Farmers Hope New ‘Cosmic Crisp’ Will Be America’s Next Top Apple
By 5.3.17
Move over, Honeycrisp and Red Delicious: Farmers have a new apple they hope will be the next big fruit in the produce aisle, and it’s called the Cosmic Crisp. [More]
Dressing Marijuana Up As Fruit Is Apparently The New Trend In Illegal Drug Shipping
By 2.8.17
Drug-busting has had a particularly fruity theme in Texas lately, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have recently uncovered large loads of marijuana disguised as innocent produce. [More]
Customer Sues Krispy Kreme Over Lack Of Real Blueberries And Raspberries In Donuts
By 11.15.16
It’s difficult to grow up and learn how the world really works. For example, learning that Honey Nut Cheerios don’t actually contain nuts is a shock to many people. So is learning that the “blueberries” in many blueberry-flavored baked goods are really globs of flavoring and food coloring, and are not genuine blueberries. One Krispy Kreme customer was so upset to learn this that he sued the company over a lack of fruit. [More]
Science Explains Why Refrigerated Tomatoes Lack Flavor
By 10.17.16
From the dawn of time, food enthusiasts, chefs, and people who eat have been arguing on exactly where their produce should be kept. While experts have previously told Consumerist that keeping tomatoes in the refrigerator isn’t a good idea, that recommendation has been confirmed through the power of science. [More]
People Aren’t Buying Groceries Online Because They Want To Squeeze Their Own Fruits And Vegetables
By 10.17.16 — Updated: 10.19.16
Do you trust someone else, even a full-time order-picker working for a grocery store or delivery company, to pick out your fruit and vegetables? Resistance to having someone pick out your fresh food is apparently the main thing keeping most consumers away from grocery shopping online, either for pickup or delivery. [More]
Dole Slapping Disney Branding On Fresh Produce Line Aimed At Kids
By 10.14.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Will Princess Elsa’s face on a bunch of broccoli make more kids want to eat their vegetables? That remains to be seen, but Dole and Disney are willing to try, with a new line of co-branded produce featuring Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel characters. [More]
Why Do Purple Skittles Taste Different Outside The U.S.?
By 9.9.16
The idea that purple Skittles could taste like anything other than grape is not one familiar to folks who are used chomping on the candies in the U.S. — what else could it possibly be, after all, with that color? But outside the U.S., the purple part of the rainbow tastes completely different. [More]
Walmart Piloting Program To Sell “Ugly Produce” At A Discount
By 7.21.16
Not every apple is a shiny, smooth round orb of deliciousness. Some come with little dents or a few off-colored spots, but that doesn’t make those pieces of produce any less delicious. Still, you might be hard pressed to find those imperfect apples, pears, tomatoes, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables at your local store. That’s about to change for some Walmart customers, though. [More]
Today’s Children Don’t Remember Happy Meals Without Apple Slices
By 6.3.16
It’s not often that we use the phrases “McDonald’s” and “healthy” in close proximity, but the fast-food giant has one thing that it can brag about: putting billions of bags of apple slices in the hands of children. Yes, billions: this week, McDonald’s marked the two billionth bag of the fruit given out with Happy Meals. [More]
Del Monte Recalls Granny Smith Apples Sold At 7-Eleven And Coremark
By 10.15.15
Fruit in convenience stores is a healthy snack option, but maybe not such a healthy option when potentially contaminated with bacteria that could make you sick. Del Monte Granny Smith (green) apples distributed to convenience stores in the central and mountain regions of the country may have Listeria bacteria, and have been recalled. [More]
Federal Program To Feed Poor Kids Fresh Fruit And Vegetables Is Actually Controversial
By 9.23.15
The federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program means that kids in high-poverty schools receive cups of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, starting kids on what program boosters hope will be a lifelong habit of thinking of fresh produce as valid and delicious snacks. Who could possibly object to that? Lobbyists for the frozen, canned, and dried fruit industries. [More]
Experimenting With New Ingredients Isn’t So Easy For Fast Food Chains
By 8.18.15
When I want to make a kale salad, I go to the grocery store and buy a bundle of kale. When McDonald’s wants to make some kale salads in their restaurants, they have to set up an entire supply chain for millions of pounds of kale. As fast-food customers are demanding that restaurants use recognizable, pronounceable ingredients, that makes it difficult to mass-produce food that doesn’t seem mass-produced. [More]
Groupon’s Post About Banana Case Turned Into A Festival Of Dignified Lewd Jokes
By 3.27.15
Let’s be honest: the Banana Bunker, an adjustable plastic tube meant to protect your banana from bruising or other damage when you carry it as a snack, is a hilarious piece of snack equipment that looks like a space-age sex toy. It just does. That’s why we have to commend Groupon’s Facebook team for not only making sure to highlight the Bunker’s availability, but responding to all jokes that potential customers and Facebook jokesters made. [More]
5 Food Prep Tips For Reducing Pesticide Risks
By 3.20.15
When you buy a sack of potatoes with dirt still clinging to the spuds, you know they’ll need a wash before going into your dinner. But those completely clean-looking apples, peaches, and strawberries may carry a less-visible danger in the form of pesticide residues. [More]
CDC Links Listeriosis Illnesses To Fruit Recalled In July 2014
By 3.19.15
Last summer, a California-based fruit packing company recalled all fruit that had passed through their plant during a six-week period, since they were potentially contaminated with Listeria bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have definitively linked fruits from the Wawona plant and cases of Listeriosis in different parts of the country, but what does that mean? should people who are pregnant or frail avoid fresh peaches and nectarines? [More]
McDonald’s Adds Clementines To The Happy Meals Menu
By 12.1.14
As adult consumers increasingly lean toward the healthier items on restaurant menus, so it goes that the offerings for their children are also heading in the more nutritious direction. To that end, McDonald’s is rolling out the new option for whole, fresh fruit in its Happy Meals, with the introduction of clementines to the kids’ menu. [More]
Great Fruit Recall Of 2014 Expands, Becomes Even Greater
By 8.4.14
Wawona Packing Company in California has expanded its recall of fruit that it processed and packaged during the months of June and July that may be contaminated with the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. The company has alerted consumers and retailers that all fruit packed at the facility between June 1 and when it shut down operations on July 17 are potentially contaminated, and that all fruit that has passed through the plant is potentially contaminated. [More]
