When food is what makes you sick

This year one in six Americans will get sick from eating contaminated food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

"The most troublesome combination is campylobacter-laden poultry, which sickens more than 600,000 people annually, resulting in nearly 7,000 hospitalizations. Next on the list, which was based on a decade’s worth of data about disease outbreaks, deaths and costs and a peer-reviewed survey of experts, were pork contaminated with toxoplasma and deli meats tainted with listeria. 

"The most problematic pathogen was salmonella, which appeared four times — in combination with poultry, complex foods (i.e., non-meat dishes composed of multiple ingredients), produce and eggs — and caused just over 250 deaths and nearly 16,000 hospitalizations."

“'At the end of the day, you can make sure you cook everything thoroughly and be ultra-careful about cross-contamination, but this issue won’t go away just by keeping your kitchen clean, or being vegetarian, or even purchasing local meat or vegetables and buying organics,' says Jessica Liebler, a research scientist at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services who specializes in infectious diseases in food systems.  'This is a problem for everyone who eats.'”

50 most important women in food from Gourmet.com

"Men have the big toques, but when you think about it, it’s women who may have exerted the most influence over our foodways—especially since there’s been mass media to record their feats."  With how many of the 50 women are you acquainted?  Who's missing?

Generation trends to dictate future eating patterns in Canada

"The market research organization The NPD Group said in its latest report, A Look into TheFuture of Eating – Canadian Marketplace, that eating patterns over the coming ten years will be influenced by generational preferences, as well as differences in eating habits that come with age. For instance, it is likely that Canadian Baby Boomers will seek out more convenience foods, while Canadians currently aged 18 and younger will skip more meals . . .

" . . . Two of the top food groups forecast to gain in importance in Canada are salty and savory snacks, and easy meals such as yogurt and snack bars, NPD said. Two of the food groups expected to lose importance are heat and eat breakfasts and combination dishes."

Kids' food market set to boom with products for generation XL

According to a new report from the marketing research firm Packaged Facts, the next five years will see manufacturers portraying themselves as the solution to the childhood obesity problem.

"While the bulk of packaged retail products targeting kids (a $10 billion market in 2010) were in ‘traditional’ categories such as cereals and ice cream, 40 percent had some better-for-you element, with claims such as ‘made with whole wheat’ or ‘lower sugar’, it noted."

The best baguette in Paris

" . . . It's surprising to discover that the world's leading expert on French bread—and the baguette in particular—is not a Frenchman, but an American, born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn."

Taste buds are just one reason why we love some foods and hate others

"Sweet means energy; sour means not ripe yet. Savory means food may contain protein. Bitter means caution, as many poisons are bitter. Salty means sodium, a necessary ingredient for several functions in our bodies. (By the way, those tongue maps that show taste buds clumped into zones that detect sweet, bitter, etc.? Very misleading. Taste receptors of all types blanket our tongues — except for the center line — and some reside elsewhere in our mouths and throats.)"

Coconut Oil Charms

Coconut oil "has recently become the darling of the natural-foods world. Annual sales growth at Whole Foods 'has been in the high double digits for the last five years,' said Errol Schweizer, the chain’s global senior grocery coordinator. 

It turns out that most of the 1990's studies used partially-hydrogenated coconut oil.  While coconut oil is saturated, nutritionists are rethinking whether saturated fats clog arteries, as was previously thought. 

What the FDA menu-labeling regs really mean

"Don't want to struggle through all 183 pages of the proposed federal menu-labeling regulation? Don't worry. National Restaurant News did. Check out some frequently asked questions and answers."

Austin, Tex., keeping it weird

IACP member and The Washington Post Food Editor, Joe Yonan, shares some of his favorite spots in Austin, Texas, a city known for its quirky, independent spirit.  

This weirdness is directly tied to the city’s two major employers, the University of Texas and the state government.  According to Red Wassenich, 60, the Austin Community College professor who ten years ago coined the phrase Keep Austin Weird, “You've got underpaid, highly educated people, and that makes for a breeding ground for weirdos."

Weirdness requires cheapness: The kind of folks who can produce the city's unique culture - all the live music, the oddball art - need to be able to afford to live there. "Now we have the highest cost of living in Texas," he says. "Most weirdos don't have a lot of money."

Austin’s cost of living may be high, but Joe’s article shows that it’s still possible to have a lot of fun there without breaking your budget.

Alliance to Feed the Future informs opinion makers about conventional food production

"A new alliance comprised of multinational U.S. food and biotechnology trade groups has formed to 'balance the public dialogue on modern agriculture and large-scale food production.'"

"The Alliance to Feed the Future said 'in an effort to meet the world’s increasing food needs responsibly, efficiently and affordably,' its members want to 'tell the real story of' and dispel 'misperceptions about modern food production and technology.'"