Archives

Feds Fail on Killer Food


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, January 30, 2009 - 12:04pm
(Photograph of peanut butter by Digital Vision/Getty Creative Images)

As so often happens with food-borne-disease outbreaks, the news about salmonella-tainted peanut butter circulating through our food system has gotten worse and more disturbing every day. Hundreds of products have now been recalled. More than 500 people have gotten sick. At least eight have died.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Bribery You Can Eat


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 2:43pm

Buyers from a couple of the world's biggest food companies have either pleaded guilty or soon will plead guilty to accepting bribes from suppliers as a result of a massive federal probe of the industry that prosecutors say is continuing.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Please Don't Eat the Blowfish Balls


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 12:07pm

If you're seeking "thrills," it's probably best to avoid eating blowfish testicles. Try snowboarding. Or skydiving. Even having your friends push you off a roof in a shopping cart, Jackass-style, would be better: It's more thrilling, and, more to the point, it doesn't involve eating blowfish testicles.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

More Layoffs at Starbucks?


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Monday, January 26, 2009 - 12:15pm

The Seattle Times reported on Saturday that it had gotten a hold of a memo from a local stock brokerage advising clients that Starbucks was planning another massive layoff, this time of 1,000 workers.

The move will reportedly eliminate the jobs of about one-third of Starbucks' headquarters employees and will hit some workers in the field, though no baristas will be laid off this time.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Recession: McDonald's Is Lovin' It


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, January 23, 2009 - 12:12pm

As the recession takes its toll on nearly every sector of the economy, McDonald's is continuing to clean up. Forbes reported Friday that the chain plans to spend $1.1 billion in Europe this year—half of its total capital allocation—on new restaurants and upgrades.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

No Controls on Frankenfood Imports


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 1:49pm

In a little-noticed audit report issued last month, the Agriculture Department's inspector general warned that unapproved genetically modified crops and livestock could easily make their way into the U.S. food supply because of the USDA's lack of import controls.

If that happens, the report warned, it could cause a scare and disrupt commerce.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Where Deadly Peanut Butter Comes From


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 4:45pm

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed Wednesday that the salmonella outbreak that has killed several people and sickened nearly 500 in 43 states has been traced to Peanut Corp. of America's Blakely, Ga., plant and did not occur further along the supply chain.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Are Girl Scout Cookies Safe?


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 12:26pm

Over the past few days, the nation has been gripped by a single question: will Girl Scout Cookies be affected by the latest salmonella outbreak, which has companies pulling peanut-butter-based products from shelves across the country?

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

The First Luncheon


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 8:26am

Earlier this month, when the menu for Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon was still super-secret, Florida State University professor Elizabeth B. Goldsmith offered an "educated guess" on what might be served. "I assume we'll see American Midwestern cuisine traditionally associated with Chicago," she said.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Cola We Can Believe In


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, January 16, 2009 - 2:58pm

PepsiCo is far from alone in exploiting Barack Obama's ascendancy for commercial gain. Hennessy has named a new brand of cognac "44." And Ben & Jerry's has a new, clumsily named ice cream called "Yes Pecan!" (Get it?)

There are lots of others, but no company is laying it on thicker than Pepsi:

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Want Attention? Sue Coke


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 1:52pm
 (Photo of Vitamin Water by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Given our crowded, noisy media, sometimes the only way to get attention is to sue somebody.

That explains the suit filed Wednesday by the Center for Science in the Public Interest against Coca-Cola claiming that the beverage giant is being "deceptive" in marketing its Vitaminwater as nutritious. Given how right the center is when it says that Coke's claims "shock the conscience," you almost can't blame it for suing. Almost.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Cargill's Market Medley


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 3:01pm

Ann Davis of the Wall Street Journal snagged a rare interview with Greg Page, CEO of the notoriously closed-mouthed, somewhat mysterious Cargill, the closely held food giant.

Somewhat predictably, the piece is mostly laudatory. That's how these things go, of course: landing such an interview is bound to color the resulting coverage and to create hopes for more access. But Cargill has turned in stellar results even as the economy has tanked.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Wendy's Retreats in Breakfast War


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 2:01pm

In 2007, Wendy's International announced big plans to take on McDonald's in the mornings. The company began adding breakfast offerings in hundreds of its fast-food outlets across the country, describing it as a necessary step to stay competitive. At the time, USA Today declared that fast-food chains were engaging in a "breakfast war."

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Trading on Trader Joe's Trademark


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Monday, January 12, 2009 - 2:26pm
(Photograph of Trader Joe's by Michael Nagle/Getty Images)

Three blocks from a Trader Joe's market on 14th Street in Manhattan, a new store is slated to open this week: Trader John's. It looks—inside and out—a lot like the Trader Joe's that is just down the street. Even the sign's typeface is similar.

Trader Joe's, a national chain, has filed a lawsuit against the company that owns the new store, Gristede's Foods, alleging trademark infringement.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Whopper Facebook Weirdness


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, January 9, 2009 - 12:17pm

"When will the madness end at Burger King?" asks Nancy Luna of Fast Food Maven, a blog by the Orange County Register.

It's a good question. The chain's marketing campaigns are becoming more obnoxious all the time. The latest promotion, "Whopper Sacrifice," offers a free Whopper to anyone who deletes 10 Facebook friends.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Predicting Obama's Food Policy


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Thursday, January 8, 2009 - 2:17pm
(Photo of Tom Vilsack and Barack Obama by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On Monday, the New York Daily News blog Mouth of the Potomac passed along a rumor that President-elect Obama was thinking of moving Tom Vilsack, Obama's pick as Agriculture secretary, over to the Commerce Department.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Spelt It Out


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 1:41pm

Spelt is not wheat, or maybe it is, but what's important to food marketers is that the Food and Drug Administration calls it wheat. So it's wheat.

The FDA has demanded that Newman's Own Organics state clearly on its packages of spelt pretzels that they contain wheat. The company has agreed to comply.

Currently, the packages say that spelt is "an entirely different species" from wheat. That is 100 percent accurate.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Pricey Tuna Stinks


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - 1:12pm

A Japanese bluefin tuna was sold at auction Monday for more than $100,000, which drew predictable "wacky story of the day" treatment in the media.

Late in some (but not all) news accounts of the sale, we learn that bluefin tuna is an endangered species because it is, as the Monterrey Bay Aquarium puts it "severely overfished" and hence "should be avoided."

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Tyson CEO Takes Wing


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Monday, January 5, 2009 - 12:42pm

Did Tyson Foods' lenders force the company's chairman and CEO, Richard Bond, to resign in return for renegotiating the company's debt?

It's a good bet, though nobody's saying so. Tyson, which announced Bond's departure on Monday morning, didn't comment on the question when asked by the Wall Street Journal.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.

Ethanol and 'Intellectual Honesty'


By Dan Mitchell
Posted Friday, January 2, 2009 - 2:03pm

A War of Letters has broken out between the ethanol-loving Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the ethanol-hating Grocery Manufacturers Association. Most recently, Grassley wrote to the GMA demanding to know when the food industry is going to lower prices now that input costs like farm commodities and energy have fallen so far, so fast.

  • Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The MInneapolis Star-Tribune and Wired.