Here we go again gang! For your reading pleasure on this lovely Sunday evening, I present a few culinary newsbits from around the world!
- Another day, another recall! Nestle Prepared Foods Company announced a recall on Friday of over 200,000 pounds worth of frozen stuffed pepperoni pizza sandwich products – more commonly known as Hot Pockets! It seems the recalled sandwiches may contain foreign material “such as hard red plastic as well as clear flexible rubber-like material”. A Hot Pocket person yourself? You can click here for more information on the affected batch numbers.
- The BBC reports that France has started a ‘summer crackdown’ of restaurants with health violations, noting nearly 1000 people have been stricken with food poisoning over the last year. Authorities hope to curb food hygiene issues, as well as restaurants with fraudulent claims, touting farm-raised fish as wild caught, etc. Check out the video coverage here.
- Oh no! My favorite brewery in the world – Coopers Australia – is being investigated for ‘greenwashing’, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian consumer group Choice has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to look into ‘green’ claims that the brewery is making in recent ads, touting “big beer, tiny footprint”. With the increase in ‘greenwashing’ across industries, some environmentalists are concerned that the reputation of true ‘green’ products may be tarnished. Says Murray Hogarth of the environmental consultancy firm Ecos Corporation: “There is a danger that consumer cynicism will restrict the market. But there’s another risk and that is companies that have the money to invest in the development of [green] products will say ‘this is dangerous territory and we are not going to go there’.”
~Jennifer Heigl