Welcome to Food Week for October 25, 2024. Yeah, things aren’t great but you could be working public relations for McDonald’s this week. This Halloween the food supply is what’s scary; more outbreaks to report. But it isn’t all gruesome. You can lose weight with resisitant starches, you can use stevia without fear, you don’t have to take your vitamins any more and you can have pants filled with candy. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Businesses are finding it harder to raise prices which tells you the Fed’s interest rate medicine worked. Target announces it is lowering prices on over 2000 items.
- No you aren’t imagining it; there are more foodborne illness outbreaks than ever.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- The final plea from Kroger Albertson’s to keep their merger plan alive.
- Kroger and Walmart now have digital price tags that can be changed in a moment and remotely. Analysts say this could result in lower prices in a competitive environment. Uh huh. See the story above this one. Also concerns about this technology using facial recognition.
- Grisly: a 19 year old Walmart employee found dead in walk in oven.
- Multi-vitamins won’t prevent death and statistically may hasten it.
- Chilean Sea Bass Goldfish crackers.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Lawsuits start coming in over McDonald’s e. Coli outbreak. Seems it was the onions, hence the quarter-pounder link. Other chains pulling the onions out. And McDonald’s corporate trying to distance it self from franchisee campaign stunt with Trump.
- The story of Mama Ninfa, the founding mother of Tex-Mex cuisine.
- Fast food spending by political party.
- Tavern style is Chicago’s favorite type of pizza. Here is a list of the best with a couple of my old south side haunts.
- Boba tea is huge at Colleges.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) is found in many consumer products, including food packaging, . Studies have shown that BBP interferes with hormones and affects human reproduction.
- The language of soil.
- Koshihikari is the most sought after rice in Japan. But it is being threatened by climate change.
- A big picture look at the safety of the food supply. The US among the best countries but isn ‘t making any substantial progress.
- Stevia is actually pretty harmless and great if you are trying to lose weight, as long as it isn’t mixed with anything.
DRINKS
- Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City voted best bar in the world.
- Cheese curd vodka. Guess what state it comes from?
- Rye whiskey is liquid barbecue, says guy who oughta know.
- A pho cocktail (The recipe looks better that its name.)
FOOD WEEK October 25 LAGNIAPPE
- You’ll be hearing a lot about resistant starches. Apparently carbs that are cooked and then chilled are less easily digestible and therefore before for gut bacteria and less easily absorbed. So pasta and chill. Or just eat sauerkraut.
- Ethnic foods that are actually American in origin.
- Hello candy pants. Werther’s candy jeans. With 30 pockets of one caramel each.
- The low FODMAP diet could use a plant-based milk but the producers have got it right yet.
- Election cake. And before you bake, get smarter about butter here.
- Egg creams. No egg, no cream. Never had it.