► Chicago Sun-Times
Ingredient in chocolate may double as cough syrup
Maybe one day the doctor will prescribe a Hershey bar for your cough. An ingredient found in chocolate appears to help stop persistent coughs better than codeine and without that drug's sleep side effects, a small new study has found. Codeine is the standard for suppressing coughs. But it works on the brain and can make you sleepy -- a side effect that theobromine, a chemical component of cocoa responsible for chocolate's mild stimulant effect, doesn't have.
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► Food Ingredients First
Food trends forecast cheese growth
The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), a dairy-farmer-funded organization, predicts another banner year for the food that everyone seems to love ..... There's no end in sight for Americans` love affair with cheese, and the passion for specialty cheeses made in the U.S.A. is being fired by food trends in general. Cheese - especially artisan, farmstead, ethnic and organic types - is winning the hearts and palates of American consumers and chefs.
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France (Food Ingredients First)
French eating styles seem to be changing
Sudden popularity of soup and sandwich bars, sushi-to-go, and bistros with speedy set menus suggests that Parisian eating habits are being shaken up ..... The times are a-changing, even in uber traditional Paris where food on the go is overtaking leisurely lunches.
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► Lompoc Record
Thirty-six percent of students are overweight
Thirty-six percent of students in the Lompoc Unified School District are overweight ..... Even more alarming is the increase in overweight students within LUSD in the last six years. Since 1998-99, the earliest scores available, the percentage of students deemed overweight by the Body Mass Index exam has grown steadily from 24 percent to the current 36 percent. State levels have stayed consistent at about 32 percent.
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► Milwaukee Journal
Is the Wienermobile headed for a new garage?
There is speculation that Madison-based Oscar Mayer Foods Corp. is being shopped around as parent Kraft Foods Inc. refocuses its businesses. Fueling the rumors is the Nov. 15 deal in which Kraft agreed to sell its Altoids and Life Savers businesses to Chicago-based Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $1.5 billion in cash. Some analysts think Oscar Mayer could fetch a better price than the candy business.
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► NAMC Worldwide Newsroom
Vitamin E Study Shows the Overreaction Dangers
Natrol Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of nationally branded nutritional supplements, today expressed concern about the findings of a new poll that shows one in five Americans may stop using Vitamin E. The new national poll, commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, demonstrates that 18 percent of Americans are less likely to take vitamin E based on the news suggesting high doses “may increase risk of dying” among older, high-risk patients.
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► New York Post
Pathmark to put TVs at checkouts
Pathmark Stores plans to install TVs at its checkout lines that will broadcast the latest celebrity gossip and offer food tips, part of a growing retail trend to market to customers while they shop. The PRN Corp., owner of Premier Retail Networks, installs the TVs and customizes programming for individual retailers. Wal-Mart Stores, Costco and Best Buy are already on board, and shoppers in those stores account for a large chunk of PRN's 150 million viewers per month, as measured by Nielsen. "People want to learn about products when they're in stores shopping," said Charles Nooney, PRN's chief executive and chairman.
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► PRNewswire
Interstate Bakeries to Close Florence, South Carolina, Bakery
Interstate Bakeries Corp. announced plans to close its bakery in Florence, South Carolina ..... The 85-year-old facility makes bread and rolls, sold under several IBC brand names, including Wonder and Merita. Production capacity at the Florence bakery will be transferred to IBC bakeries in Charlotte and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
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► PRNewswire
Nearly One-Fourth of Americans Follow Popeye's Lead When Eating Spinach
A national poll recently revealed some surprising information showing that, when it comes to healthy eating, Americans regularly take the advice of a 75-year-old cartoon hero. The national Harris Interactive poll (September 2004) reported that an unexpected 24 percent of U.S. adults follow Popeye the Sailor Man's lead and eat canned spinach at least once a month.
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► PRNewswire
Survey Reveals One-Third of Dieters Cutting Dairy, Missing a Key Weight-Loss Tool
A new survey by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) shows that 95 percent of American dieters claim they know which foods to avoid when trying to lose weight. However, while recent studies show that calcium from dairy foods can actually help people lose weight, dieters are either unaware of the research, or ignore it. In fact, 33 percent of dieters are eliminating dairy products rather than maintaining or adding them as part of their weight-loss regimen.
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► RedNova
Milk Vending Machines Installed in Schools
In schools across the country, milk is replacing sodas, and nowhere is it more popular than in America's Dairyland. Two-thirds of Wisconsin's high schools have milk vending machines. That's a higher percentage than anywhere else in the country, said Laura Wilford, director of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's state Dairy Council. The state has 365 milk vending machines in high schools; elementary schools generally don't have vending machines.
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► RedNova
Heart Risk Factors for Obese Kids Murky
More of America's young people are getting fat, but the results aren't showing up consistently in obesity-related risk factors for heart disease, U.S. researchers report. While the results from a new study don't show any smoking gun finding cardiovascular problems in kids, another expert says this is no cause for complacency.
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► USA Today
Jack Daniels will sponsor a Nextel Cup race car
The company that makes Jack Daniel's said the whiskey will be the primary sponsor of a car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series beginning in 2005. The Tennessee whiskey shares its Bourbon Belt past with stock-car racing, said Mike Keyes, global general manager for the brand. "Fifty-five percent of our volume is in markets where NASCAR races," Keyes said.
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► UselessKnowledge.com
Fast Food Consumers Should Practice "Portion Control"
In the fast-food industry, from the customer's perspective, it's all about speed. We don't expect the kid flipping our Whoppers to be wearing a Chef's hat and we don't expect our sodas to be served in crystal glasses. We just want our burgers and fries to be handed to us as quickly as possible. McDonald's should replace their iconic Golden Arches with fallen arches because their customers feet can't support their super sized bodies. From the fast-food titan's perspective it's all about portion control. To maintain high profits, a fast-food joint has to know precisely how much grub it is giving to each customer.
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► Wichita Eagle
State churns out more cheese
Cheese, one of Kansas's newest value-added agricultural products, is also proving to be one of its fastest-growing. Prairie Pride Cheese Factory, based in Potwin, opened a retail outlet in Wichita last week after brisk sales at farmers markets convinced owner Wayne Matlock of the demand.
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► Yahoo – Reuters
Wendy's and the French Fries Option
Wendy's International Inc. said it will allow customers to forego French fries included in its combo meals in favor of chili, a baked potato or a salad, at no extra charge, as it works to regain market share. "We believe this approach will help Wendy's stand apart from the competition," Wendy's North America President Tom Mueller said in a statement.
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