The Juicy Bits
If you love grapefruit, now is the time to enjoy it. Not only is February peak citrus month: grapefruit prices may soon go up. Thanks to this month's devastating winter storms in Texas, a big citrus state, analysts expect grapefruit prices to rise about 10% over the next month. February is also Black History Month, and Kingsford is celebrating it with a new scholarship program. The charcoal giant's Preserve The Pit program is helping Black Americans start new barbecue businesses. Note: The application deadline is March 1. For existing restaurant owners just trying to stay afloat, another country-wide allocation of money may be imminent: the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill making its way through Congress includes $25 billion earmarked specifically for small and mid-size restaurants. Elsewhere in Congress, lawmakers have been busy investigating the health aspects of baby food. A House Subcommittee recently found that several popular baby food brands contain high levels of arsenic and other toxic metals. Maybe it's time to start making your baby food at home. And if you're concerned about the environmental impact of eating meat, or just want to try something new, get ready for eco-friendly 3D printed ribeye steaks. The world's first cruelty-free cuts of lab-grown beef (can they even be called cuts?) were recently unveiled by Israeli startup Aleph Farms. Even animal fats will soon be produced in labs instead of feedlots: London-based Hoxton Farms just received £2.7 million ($3.7 million USD) in funding to develop lab-grown animal fats for the plant-based meat industry. It's a brave new world of food and drink out there. Distillers are hacking the whiskey aging process, and the environmental benefits of mushrooms are being reconsidered. In the name of sustainability, engineers are using mycelium, the root system of edible mushrooms, to create alternative building materials. Check out the video below to see just how durable and flame retardant mushroom bricks can be. Maybe one day instead of inhabiting apartments and townhouses we'll all be living like woodland gnomes in little mushroom homes.
Cooking
Kingsford Charcoal Launches Scholarship To Promote Black Americans In Barbecue
Image Source: Kingsford
Kingsford's new "Preserve the Pit" program gives aspiring Black barbecue professionals a chance to train and network with some of America's top pitmasters. The program runs throughout 2021 and includes an undisclosed capital investment to kick-start the businesses of program participants. Mentors include barbecue historian Howard Conyers, chef Kevin Bludso, FoodLab executive director Devita Davison, and pitmasters Bryan Furman, Rashad Jones, and Amy Mills. Kingsford is accepting applications through March 1, and the inaugural class will be announced in April.
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Restaurants
Here's A Closer Look At The Federal "Restaurant Rescue Plan" Advancing Through Congress
Image Source: AP/Mary Altaffer
The latest $1.9 trillion COVID relief aid package includes $25 billion to help America's ailing restaurants stay afloat. About $5 billion of that amount is earmarked specifically for smaller restaurants with less than $500,000 in 2019 revenues. Overall, the Restaurant Relief Fund would provide grants of up to $5 million per restaurant with few spending restrictions. For multi-unit operations, the grant goes up to $10 million total with up to 20 locations eligible to receive aid. The relief bill is expected to pass through the House of Representatives this week and then head to the Senate.
Beverages
New Generation Of Distillers Attempts To Hack And Shorten The Whiskey Aging Process
Image Source: Joe Buglewicz
Nearly a dozen new spirits companies are speeding up or bypassing the traditional process of aging whiskey in wood barrels. Bespoken Spirits uses heat and pressure to force alcohol in and out of small pieces of wood, giving the spirit its characteristic flavor and color in days instead of years. Endless West reverse-engineers whiskey by analyzing its molecular components then infusing those components into an alcohol base. The company has received nearly $13 million in funding to perfect its process. While these upstart whiskeys lack the complexity of traditionally matured spirits, industry analysts believe they will find a market among lower-shelf spirits and ready to drink canned cocktails.
Supply Chain
Grapefruit Prices Expected To Rise As Texas Citrus Industry Faces $300 Million Loss
Image Source: Dale Murden
In the aftermath of an unusual winter storm, Texas faces crop losses of at least $300 million, according to industry association Texas Citrus Mutual. "It was turning fruit on the trees into slush," said association president Dale Murden. Texas is the No. 2 producer of US grapefruit, and market analysts expect prices to jump 10% over the course of the next month. Grapefruit prices were already up 7.7% from this time last year, according to research firm Nielsen.
More Supply Chain News
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Agriculture
Black Farmers Drop To 1.4% Of Total US Farming Population
Image Source: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
In 1910, Black farmers made up 14% of the US farming population, but today they account for just 1.4%, according to the US Department of Agriculture. "There has been a lot of Black land lost in Kansas in these last 21 years — and it is devastating,” said JohnElla Holmes, executive director of the Kansas Black Farmers Association. The number of Black farmers in the US has dropped from about a million in 1920 to less than 50,000 today. Since 2017, the USDA has received more than 3,700 racial discrimination complaints about restricted access to credit, which farmers say has kept them from obtaining funds to modernize equipment and buy more land. New legislation in Congress aims to remedy what many see as historical inequities in federal farm programs.
Regulations
High Tariffs On European Wine And Food To Remain Despite US Restaurant Industry Lobbying
Image Source: Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Responding to a long-running dispute over aircraft manufacturing, the US government imposed tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of European wine and foods like cheese and olives in late 2019. By the end of 2020, Washington had stepped up sanctions, placing a 25% tariff on virtually all French and German wine imports. Despite persistent lobbying from the US restaurant industry, the new administration has said that it will not end the tariffs anytime soon. US restaurants, which are already struggling to survive through the pandemic, will ultimately pay the price. According to Ben Aneff, president of the US Wine Trade Alliance, more than 80% of the tariff burden is absorbed by US businesses and consumers rather than European ones.
Food Processing
World’s First 3D Printed Ribeye Steak Makes Its Debut
Image Source: Aleph Farms
Israeli startup Aleph Farms aims to shift the global paradigm of meat production and consumption. The company's pioneering bioprinting technology cultivates living bovine cells in a lab to replicate the shape and texture of beef steak. Aleph’s chief executive Didier Toubia says the process is similar to the vascularization that occurs naturally as cattle grow and develop muscle. Toubia claims that Aleph's ribeye tastes, chews, and cooks much like a conventional steak. The company also says that it can tailor steaks to consumer preferences, increasing or decreasing factors like tenderness and leanness. Aleph's first products will reach the US market in the second half of 2022. However, the US Food and Drug Administration has yet to grant regulatory approval for the sale of cultivated meat.
Health
Congressional Investigation Finds High Levels Of Arsenic And Other Toxic Metals In Major Baby Food Brands
Image Source: Chris Tobin/Digital Vision/Getty Images
A new US House Subcommittee report found that popular baby food brands like Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth's Best, Enfamil, and Similac contain high amounts of toxic metals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium. These metals can remain in the environment for decades from past pesticide and herbicide use, according to Michael Hansen, senior staff scientist at Consumer Reports. The Food and Drug Administration considers these metals harmful to human health, and babies are particularly vulnerable due to their developing brains. The subcommittee's report said Earth's Best Organics used ingredients that tested as high as 309 parts per billion for arsenic, while Beech-Nut used ingredients testing as high as 913 ppb for arsenic, well over the FDA's 100 ppb limit. The companies claim the report cites outdated data, but Hansen recommends that concerned parents switch to fruits, vegetables, and grains pureed at home.
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Science
UK Startup Raises £2.7 Million To Engineer Animal Fat Without Animals
Image Source: Kyle Mackie/Unsplash
London based Hoxton Farms has raised £2.7 million ($3.7 million USD) to develop lab-grown animal fat. The primary market for the product is plant-based meat alternatives, which co-founder Ed Steele says still aren’t good enough. “They don’t taste right and they aren’t healthy," says Steele. "They are missing the key ingredient: fat.” Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods currently use canola oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil for fattiness in their products, but it does not taste or perform the same as animal fat. Hoxton Farms extracts fat cells from living animals without harming them, then cultures the cells in a bioreactor to create fat that is identical to animal fat. The company aims to have a scalable prototype available within 12 to 18 months.
Last Bite
VIDEO: One Day, Your Home Could Be Made With Mushrooms
Image Source: The Verge
Mushrooms are helping architects and engineers create more sustainable building materials. Construction accounts for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, more than the global shipping and aviation industries combined. Compared to traditional building materials like cement, those made with mycelium, the fungal network from which edible mushrooms grow, produce far less carbon dioxide. Mushroom construction materials are still in the early stages of research and development, but they are showing potential as insulation and a possible replacement for concrete blocks. Check out the video to see how durable a mushroom brick proved to be in several tests, including a flame retardant test.