The Juicy Bits
To kick off 2022, the US Department of Agriculture has some good news about our food supply. The agency has committed at least $5 million to build a new California shipping port. The funding was sparked in part by the unavailability of US grocery items climbing up to 15% last year. Unavailability rates usually hover around 5% to 10%. The USDA has also introduced a new food label this year. As of January 1, "GMO" or genetically modified food labels must be replaced with "Bioengineered" labels instead. You know what else is new? French salad dressing. The US Food and Drug Administration recently deregulated French dressing, dropping the requirement that it contain at least 35% vegetable oil and at least some vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice. Who knows what will be in a bottle of French dressing from now on? And who knows what will be in a bottle of fancy bourbon, either. Lab tests show that coveted bottles of Pappy Van Winkle, Double Eagle and other rare bourbons increasingly contain counterfeit booze. Buyer beware.
Cooking
VIDEO: Watch How A Master Pizzaiolo Pumps Out 600 Pizzas A Day
Image Source: Eater
Chef Dan Richer doesn't just sling pizzas. He makes his own sourdough, his own mozzarella, and his own fermented tomato sauce. He's a serious chef with a passion for pizza. Go behind the scenes to see how how Richer serves up to 600 pizzas a night from the wood-fired oven of his popular New Jersey restaurant, Razza.
Restaurants
The Great Resignation Has Hit Restaurants Harder Than Any Other Industry
Image Source: Michael Browning
Quit rates in the hospitality industry grew from 4.8% in 2020 to 7% in 2021. That's more than in any other industry, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past year, while other industries have seen modest hiring growth, restaurant job growth has remained stagnant at 8%. Restaurant workers often cite factors like low pay, long hours, poor benefits, and increased potential exposure to COVID. To help retain staff, restaurateurs are beginning to offer higher pay, better benefits, and flexible scheduling. Will it be enough?
More Restaurant News
Vogue Profiles America’s Most Anticipated Restaurants Of 2022
Diners Turn To Reddit To Sell Their Pricey Restaurant Reservations
National Restaurant Association Pleads To Congress For Additional Funding
Restaurants Adapt To Meet The Demand For Plant Based Food
World’s First NFT Restaurant Sells $14 Million In Memberships
Beverages
It's Increasingly Likely That Your Fancy Bourbon Is Counterfeit
Image Source: Getty Images
In 2018, lab tests showed that more than 30% of rare Scotch on the market is fake. Now counterfeiters have jumped on the bourbon bandwagon. Buffalo Trace, maker of coveted bourbons like Pappy Van Winkle, Blanton's, and Double Eagle, issued a statement warning customers be on the lookout for fakes. The company hopes to avoid scams like the one that befell Acker Wines, America's oldest wine shop, which unwittingly sold a fake bottle of Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain bourbon for $1,000.
Supply Chain
Unavailability Rate Of Groceries Rises to 15%
Image Source: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
US grocers usually have 5% to 10% of their items out of stock at any given time. During the pandemic, unavailability rates grew to 15%, according to Consumer Brands Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. The big reason? Consumers have been buying more groceries while eating and living at home. The omicron variant has also worsened ongoing supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortfalls, causing temporary shortages of meat, cereal, and other items.
Agriculture
The US Corn Belt Has Lost 35% Of Fertile Top Soil Since The 1600s, Scientists Say
Image Source: Dale Strickler
Midwestern corn belt states produce 75% of US corn. In a long-term study, scientists found that this region has lost 35% of fertile topsoil since European colonization. They estimate that the 6% annual reduction in crop yields has resulted in economic losses of $2.8 billion a year. Due mostly to erosion, this soil loss has also resulted in increased water pollution, dust pollution, and carbon in the atmosphere. The study authors say that improved technology and farm practices may help reverse this long-term trend.
More Agriculture News
Florida Property Owners Get $42 Million For Citrus Trees Destroyed By State
Fossil Fuel Emissions In East Asia Cause $63 Billion In Annual Crop Losses, Scientists Say
China Approves Gene-Edited Crops In Push For Food Security
Nestle Will Give Cocoa Farmers Cash To Keep Children In School
Regulations
New US Food Labels Replace "GMO" With "Bioengineered"
Image Source: Mehrad Vosoughi
As of January 1, food manufacturers, importers and retailers in the US must comply with new national labeling standards for genetically modified organisms. Some common genetically altered foods include corn, canola, soybeans and sugar beets. Instead of calling out their "GMOs," food labels will now include text that says "bioengineered food" or "contains a bioengineered food ingredient." Manufacturers may also display the "Bioengineered" or "Derived From Bioengineering" logos shown here.
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Science
Polyphenols In Rosemary Can Remove Fishy Odors, Study Says
Image Source: Adam Rhodes
Fishy smells can overpower and persist in a dish, a room, or even a pan. A new study in the Journal of Food Science has found a potential solution: rosemary. Researchers tested the deodorizing effects of rosemary, ginger, garlic, angelica, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaf. Rosemary was the most effective, reducing fish aromas by 58%. The scientists isolated three phenolic compounds in rosemary responsible for neutralizing fishy aromas: rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol. All three will be in my dinner tonight.
Last Bite
VIDEO: Here's How Saffron Is Harvested - And Why It's So Expensive
Image Source: Eater
Saffron is the world's most expensive spice, ranging from $500 to $5,000 an ounce. Each saffron thread is the stigma of a particular crocus flower, and each flower contains only three stigmas. It takes about 15,000 stigmas to equal just 1 ounce of saffron, and the stigmas are so delicate they must be collected by hand. Watch how Gulzar Ahmad Kuchay and his family harvest high-quality saffron in Kashmir, India, demonstrating the harvest, sorting, drying, aroma, and color that make saffron so valuable worldwide.
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