Japan's Worst Rice Shortage In Years Exacerbated By Sushi-Hungry Tourists
Image Source: Food Institute
Japan's rice stocks are at a 25-year low, according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MFAA). Demand has outpaced production, and MFAA points the finger at Japanese consumers stockpiling rice ahead of typhoon season (and a major earthquake) as well as a summer influx of tourists hungry for sushi and other rice-based dishes. By August, prices had risen to an 11-year high of $111.24 per 60 kilograms, and supermarkets limited rice purchases to one bag per person. Japan's 2024 rice harvest should ease the squeeze but some analysts predict a supply-demand imbalance continuing through 2025. Rice fans take note: Prices may not come back down.
Boar's Head Adds 7 Million More Pounds To Deli Meat Recall
Image Source: Mike Kline/Getty Images
At least two people died and nearly three dozen others in 13 states have been sickened in a listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head sliced deli meats, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new recall follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds and now totals 7 million pounds, including 71 products such as ham, bologna, beef salami, and liverwurst made under the Boar's Head and Old Country brands. The products were manufactured between May 10 and July 29 at the firm's Jarratt, Virginia, plant and distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said. Details at the Boar's Head website here.
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Extreme Weather Stymies Global Food Supplies Again
A Cup Of Coffee Is Already Expensive—It’s About To Get Worse
World Central Kitchen Resumes Gaza Operations After 7 Workers Killed
Image Source: Mohammed Abed/AFP - Getty Images
Early last month in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed 7 workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK), the humanitarian food aid organization founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. Before the strike, which halted WCK's operations, the organization had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza, accounting for 62% of all international non-governmental aid in the region. Analysts say the Gaza hunger crisis remains dire, so WCK has swung back into action, resuming its Gaza operations to deliver almost 8 million more meals on 276 trucks to nearly 70 community kitchens. Someone has to keep feeding the needy.
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New Study Reveals The Planet's Most Sustainable Animal Meat: Snake, Specifically Python
Feds Increase Testing Of Cows And Milk Products Due To Avian Flu
100,000 Live Salmon Spill Off Truck Into Wrong Oregon River
AI Documents Americans Throwing Away Food To Improve Food Waste Initiatives
Kroger And Albertsons Continue Merger Bid, Sell Off Stores To Satisfy Regulators
Pandemic Price Gouging Ran Rampant Among Food Retailers, FTC Report Finds
Image Source: Hiroko Masuike
Are skyrocketing food prices simply a result of retailers' rising costs? A new Federal Trade Commission report says no. “Some firms seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices to increase their profits," the report reads, "and profits remain elevated even as supply chain pressures have eased.” Profit margins for food retailers peaked in 2015 at 5.6%; that is, until the pandemic, when profit margins rose above 6% in 2021, then above 7% in 2023. The investigation also found that retailers like Walmart and Kroger pressured suppliers to favor them over smaller rivals, bolstering the FTC's challenge to Kroger's proposed acquisition of Albertsons. Time to rein in the price gouging.
Image Source: New York Times
Between 2016 and 2022, investors poured nearly $3 billion into lab-grown meat and seafood companies, including major meatpackers like Tyson, Cargill and JBS. CEOs of cultured meat startups like Josh Tetrick (Eat Just/Good Meat) and Uma Valeti (Upside Foods) breathlessly prophesied a 50% market share within 20 years. While a handful of cultured meat products have been approved for sale in the U.S., Israel, and Singapore, it's become abundantly clear that the cost to produce them at scale is, according to Tetrick himself, insurmountable. Despite government approval and nearly a decade of work, the cultured meat industry has hit a wall.
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FDA Investigates Recalled Applesauce For Intentional Lead Contamination
Food Companies Claim Food Prices Are Stabilizing
Cocoa Prices Skyrocket, Prompting Hershey And Mars To Reduce Chocolate In Products
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Falls Out Of Favor
Shrinkflation Continues Despite Consumer And Retailer Outrage
