Welcome to Food Week December 13. Lots of activity with the FDA these days. Examining ultraprocessed foods, dyes in products and reduction of food waste, which all have the potential for positive progress. However, the return of polio, measles, rubella etc. kind of cancels out the good vibes. This and a lot more. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Stocks dipped this week but not Tech stocks, which climb inexorably.
- Bloomberg comes out hard against a Bitcoin reserve.
- Why hasn’t Avian Influenza become an epidemic among humans yet?
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- It appears the Kroger Albertson’s merger is finally dead, frankly to my surprise. And delight. We don’t need more consolidation. And while Hershey’s rejected a Mondelez acquisition bid, it may just be negotiation.
- This guy says there’s no difference between US Coke and Mexico Coke by using chemistry. I use my taste buds. In other news, Coca Cola backslides on environmental commitments.
- If nothing else, the discussion over ultraprocessed foods reveals the scope and the depth of added ingredients on many food categories.
- FDA and USDA trying to reduce food waste by improving public’s understanding of expiration dates on packaging.
- The secret reason for food deserts is… lack of enforcement of Robinson Patman. Yes, consolidation is the flip side of loss of competition but letting large businesses run smaller competitors out of business is another result.
- Meijer is expanding home delivery. This may be a result of understaning its Midwest base more than a better mosetrap for delivery.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Marketing your Michelin stars to grocery consumers.
- The restaurant industry seems to be believe that deportations aren’t going to happen.
- How much transparency do Ghost Kitchens owe patrons?
- Malls are making a comeback. And with them food courts.
- The Italian village is a 100 year old restaurant tradition in Chicago that needed refreshing. It is getting a new concept though the Parmesan infused espresso martinis have me…concerned.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- Community action is helping Lake Mead regain water levels, which is really important for the Colorado Basin.
- More children working in slaughterhouse stories.
- Fighting invasive carp in Midwest waterways by, among other things, figuring out how to eat them.
- FDA may outlaw food dyes in a matter of weeks. American groceries will look very different right away.
- Commercially grown tomatoes for a dryer world.
DRINKS
- Is mixing becoming more important than sourcing for craft cocktail bars?
- As dismissive as we have been about IPAs, Michelob Ultra is worse. And it is now the number one tap beer in the US.
- The Evangeline Swamp Room sounds like the kind of bar I could warm up to.
- Ina Garten comes up with a great way to tell if your bartender is serious: order a whiskey sour. It is a very common drink that is really good when done right but rarely is.
FOOD WEEK December 22 LAGNIAPPE
- The best butters.
- Yes you should probably throw out your black plastic spatula
- Ultra processed foods and colon cancer. And if you want to live longer cut down on Isoleucine, an amino acid found in soy and animal proteins
- 25 most influential cookbooks over the last 25 years
- Chicago Kristkindlmarkt has a cheese sandwich that is like durian. Smells terrible, tastes great,