06/15/2008
While we’re far from inventing everything ever invented in the food industry, if you’re not paying attention—or just lacking in imagination—you’re not likely to come up with anything new. And even if you come up with something new, a number of scenarios can keep it from catching fire. One of these is making things too complex.Back in “the day,” we held a focus ...
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06/08/2008
Today’s commentary is from Brent T. Frei, Frei & Associates, a colleague from the foodservice end of the business. He discusses what two facets of the sustainability movement—organic and local—really mean.—Lynn A. Kuntz Is a food superior because it’s “organic”? And if farmed salmon is “sustainable,” does that imply that wild salmon is ...
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06/03/2008
In the midst of a growing consumer demand for all things natural, I was reminded today that—in addition to the inherent dangers of many natural products as typified by ma huang (ephedra)—natural doesn’t always guarantee a better, safer food product.A new study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has found that levels of mercury and trace metals in both wild and ...
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05/19/2008
Editors note: Another guest has decided to take the podium―Lyn O’Brien Nabors, president, Calorie Control Council takes issue with a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association that implies low- and no-calorie sweeteners are making us fat. It is most disconcerting that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) would publish an article such as “Sugar ...
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05/15/2008
One of the more-noteworthy ingredient developments in the last year or so was the announcement that Cargill Inc. and The Coca-Cola Co. were joining forces to develop and market a stevia-based sweetener. The Wall Street Journal online is reporting that a series of scientific studies regarding its health effects may soon be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This could be a significant step on the ...
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05/08/2008
Anyone who uses sweeteners has to be aware of the ongoing battle for market supremacy between sugar and corn syrup―particularly HFCS. And now, the battle has taken an unexpected shift given the current market.Sugar took the first hit with Corn’s pricing and the more-convenient liquid syrup form. Sugar fired back in quick succession with the specter of health: The pro-Sugar contingent noted ...
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04/30/2008
Editor’s note: As promised, our first guest commentary is from Bill Baugher, president of Blue Mountain Flavors, Blue Mountain Enterprises, Inc, Kinston, NC. He offered this perspective, originally published as a letter to the editor in the Kinston Free Press newspaper, Kinston, NC, regarding New York’s–and more recently other municipalities’–decision to ban restaurants ...
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