Category Archives: Food

Coffee, eggs and white rice linked to higher levels of PFAS in human body

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Study that researchers say highlights chemicals’ ubiquity also shows PFAS association with seafood and red meat

New research aimed at identifying foods that contain higher levels of PFAS found people who eat more white rice, coffee, eggs and seafood typically showed more of the toxic chemicals in their plasma and breast milk.

The study checked samples from 3,000 pregnant mothers, and is among the first research to suggest coffee and white rice may be contaminated at higher rates than other foods. It also identified an association between red meat consumption and levels of PFOS, one of the most common and dangerous PFAS compounds.

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US inspections of Mexican avocados to resume after suspension over assault of inspectors

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US agricultural department employees were attacked and detained earlier this week in Michoacán state

US government inspections of avocados and mangoes in the Mexican state of Michoacán will gradually resume, the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, announced on Friday, a week after they were suspended over an assault on inspectors.

The US agriculture department inspectors “will gradually begin to return to the packing plants following recent aggression against them”, Salazar said in a statement. “However, it is still necessary to advance in guaranteeing their security before reaching full operations.

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Restaurateur Jeremy King continues comeback with opening of the Park

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After losing his empire in 2022, the lauded host is opening a ‘new world grand cafe’ in London’s Bayswater

This month, Jeremy King will open the Park, an all-day restaurant in Bayswater. It is the second of three big 2024 openings for the lauded restaurateur, who was behind the heydays of some of London’s most celebrated restaurants such as Le Caprice, the Ivy and the Wolseley.

It follows the launch of Arlington in January, King’s modern reboot of Le Caprice, once a favourite with the stars from Diana, Princess of Wales to Mick Jagger. Later in the year he’ll be reviving another stalwart, Simpson’s on the Strand.

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Some takeaway meals contain more calories than daily limit, UK study finds

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Cafes, fast-food outlets, restaurants, bakeries, pubs and supermarkets accused of fuelling the obesity crisis

Some takeaway meals contain more calories in one sitting than someone is advised to consume in an entire day, a study of British eating habits has revealed.

Cafes, fast-food outlets, restaurants, bakeries, pubs and supermarkets are fuelling the UK’s obesity crisis because so many meals they sell contain dangerously large numbers of calories, it found.

Supermarket meal deals – usually comprising a sandwich, snack and drink – contain on average 780 calories, more than the 600 advised.

Burgers are the most popular takeaway dish in England, Scotland and Wales, followed by chips, fries or wedges.

People consume an average of 300 calories a day in takeaway food and drink.

Non-alcoholic drinks, especially coffee and fizzy soft drinks, contribute 12% of all the calories consumed by people in out-of-home premises.

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US pauses avocado and mango inspections in Mexico after attack

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Two officials assaulted and held while inspecting avocados in Michoacán in incident ‘unconnected to industry’

An attack on two employees of the US agricultural department prompted a temporary suspension of safety inspections on avocados and mangoes in Mexico, potentially disrupting a $2.4bn industry between the two countries.

Ambassador Ken Salazar said in a statement that the two officials were assaulted and temporarily held by assailants while they were inspecting avocados in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

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Third UK sandwich maker recalls product, saying it is a precaution

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Plant-based food company This has not detected E coli in the wrap but is concerned about possible contamination

A third sandwich and wrap manufacturer has recalled one of its products after an E coli outbreak that has left 67 people in hospital and more than 200 in total seriously ill.

On Sunday evening the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said This had “taken the precautionary step of recalling its This Isn’t Chicken and Bacon wrap because of possible contamination with E coli”.

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‘Gutted’: champion eater Joey Chestnut excluded from New York hotdog-eating contest

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Nathan’s Famous, sponsor of event, had no stomach for Chestnut’s sponsorship by plant-based meat company

America’s top professional eater, Joey Chestnut, has been excluded from entering New York City’s annual hotdog eating competition after he signed a deal with a plant-based meat company.

Chestnut, 40, the defending champion, said on X that he “was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years” he had been “banned” from the competition, held every summer on Independence Day at Nathan’s Famous original hotdog outlet in Coney Island. “I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title,” he added.

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Big Mac v Supermac’s: McDonald’s loses EU trademark fight

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Ruling by European court of justice ends 17-year legal tussle between Irish chain and global rival

The small Irish takeaway chain Supermac’s has won a David v Goliath court battle with McDonald’s over the use of the Big Mac trademark, paving the way for it to open outlets across Europe.

The ruling also means the US-founded fast food multinational has lost the right to use the name “Big Mac” in the EU in relation to chicken burgers.

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Orange-juice makers consider using other fruits after prices go ‘bananas’

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Global industry ‘in crisis’ as fears about Brazilian harvest help push wholesale prices to record highs

Orange-juice makers are considering turning to alternative fruits such as mandarins as wholesale prices have “gone bananas” amid fears of poor harvests in Brazil.

Prices of the citrus drink reached a new high of $4.95 (£3.88) a lb on commodity markets this week after growers in the main orange producing areas of Brazil said they were expecting the harvest to be 24% down on last year at 232m 40.8-kg boxes – worse than the 15% fall previously predicted.

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World’s largest food awards move judging panel from UK to Ireland to avoid Brexit red tape

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Due to new import controls, a judging session for the Great Taste awards is being held outside the UK for the first time in 30 years

The Great Taste awards are a British success story – the world’s largest food awards, celebrating the best products on the planet. But new post-Brexit import controls have forced the organisers to hold a judging panel outside the UK for the first time in the awards’ 30-year history.

On Sunday, judges from the Guild of Fine Foods panel will travel to County Tipperary in Ireland to spend three days tasting products that have become much harder to bring to the UK.

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‘History is written at the dining table’: what 4,000 menus tell us about royals, politicians and society

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The bills of fare for dinners with kings, presidents and dictators show how tastes have changed over 150 years

On Friday, 22 May 1896, guests of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle had a lot on their plates. A handwritten menu shows “Her Majesty’s Dinner” offered soup with vermicelli, trout meunière, boudin (black pudding), quails, ducklings and spinach with croutons followed by peaches and cream, then cheese. For those still peckish, hot and cold meats including pork tongue and beef were laid out on a side table.

The finely decorated card is one of 4,600 menus in a unique collection being sold in Paris on Friday, spanning 150 years of high-society dining from the late 19th century.

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‘A catastrophe’: Greenpeace blocks planting of ‘lifesaving’ Golden Rice

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Thousands of children could die after court backs campaign group over GM crop in Philippines, scientists warn

Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue.

The Philippines had become the first country – in 2021 – to approve the commercial cultivation of Golden Rice, which was developed to combat vitamin A deficiency, a major cause of disability and death among children in many parts of the world.

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Saint Peter: Sydney eatery that cooks ‘most fascinating parts’ of fish makes World’s 50 Best Restaurants long list

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Chef Josh Niland ‘quite emotional’ to learn his seafood spot named in extended list of restaurants ranked 51 to 100

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has released its extended list – and the Sydney seafood spot Saint Peter has become the only Australian restaurant to make the cut, receiving praise for spearheading a movement.

In a tweet this week, World’s 50 Best described Josh Niland’s Saint Peter as a “ground-breaking” restaurant that “takes the great Australian seafood tradition to previously unexplored heights”.

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Fans queue round the block as tiny Mexican taco stand wins Michelin star

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There was more business than usual and some bemused regulars after El Califa de León was rewarded for its ‘exceptional’ offering

El Califa de León, an unassuming taco joint in Mexico City, measures just 3 metres by 3 metres and has space for only about six people to stand at a squeeze. Locals usually wait for 5 minutes between ordering and picking up their food.

All that changed on Wednesday, however, when it became the first Mexican taco stand ever to win a Michelin star, putting it in the exalted company of fine dining restaurants around the world, and drawing crowds like it has never seen.

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‘Bloody £9 for two’: TikTok twins rage at ice-cream van prices

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Eight-year-olds’ video, which racked up 14m views, hits a sore point for mobilers who have struggled with the cost of living

Like the totemic £8 pint or £5 coffee, the cost of a Mr Whippy ice-cream has become a barometer of a world gone mad. But really, nine quid for two ice-creams? Bloody hell.

That was the damning verdict of an eight-year-old whose TikTok rant over the cost of two screwballs from an ice cream van in the park has racked up 14m views at the time of writing.

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Brexit border IT outages delay import of perishable items to UK by up to 20 hours

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Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some orders

Lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK’s busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government’s IT systems delay imports entering Britain.

Businesses have described the government’s new border control checks as a “disaster” after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders.

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More than a third of children’s restaurant meals still exceed salt target

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Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Prezzo and Wetherspoon’s among worst offenders, Action on Salt survey suggests

More than a third of children’s main meals sold in restaurants still exceed the government’s maximum salt target, with Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Wetherspoon’s and Prezzo among the worst offenders, a survey suggests.

Action on Salt found that 37% of children’s main meals sold in the “out of home” sector exceeded the government-set maximum target of 1.71g of salt, to be achieved by the end of the year.

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Sake takes UK by storm as Japan’s national drink goes mainstream

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No longer just drunk for courage at karaoke clubs, the ‘food-friendly’ rice spirit is becoming a first choice of connoisseurs

When sommelier Erika Haigh opened the UK’s first independent sake bar, in London’s West End in 2019, passersby would wander in and try to order milkshakes, bewildered by the unfamiliar drink advertised in the window.

“Today, that confusion has largely disappeared,” said Haigh, who has since opened Mai Sake, a shop offering tasting events and meals. “You can now go on a sake bar crawl across London, and you’ll find it featured on the beverage lists of many restaurants – including non-Japanese establishments.”

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Methane emissions: Australian cattle industry suggests shift from net zero target to ‘climate neutral’ approach

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The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C

Cattle Australia is lobbying the red meat sector to ditch its net zero target in favour of a “climate neutral” goal that would require far more modest reductions in methane emissions.

The $75bn red meat industry, led by Meat and Livestock Australia, announced a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 seven years ago, in an attempt to maintain its social licence and drive investments in emissions reduction technology.

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Scottish salmon industry challenged over move to drop ‘farmed’ from labels

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Fish welfare campaigners say Defra decision facilitates greenwashing and will mislead consumers

Animal welfare campaigners are challenging the decision to allow producers of Scottish salmon to drop the word “farmed” from labelling.

An application by the industry body claimed changing the protected name wording on the front of packaging from “Scottish farmed salmon” to “Scottish salmon” made sense because wild salmon was no longer sold in supermarkets, which consumers were aware of.

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