A new study finds that Americans have different ideas what “Use by” dates on food products mean.
Some see them as indications of deteriorating quality while others think they indicate the safety of consuming the food involved, found The International Food Information Council (IFIC) in a study released this June.
“When survey takers were asked what “Best by,” “Best if used by,” and “Use by” dates mean to them, 48% of survey takers say the date labeling indicates when a product begins to lose quality.
“Another 29% believe the dates signal when the food is no longer safe to eat, while 17% think they indicate when the product should be discarded. Just 5% say they do not know the purpose of date labeling on food packaging,” the IFIC says in a PowerPoint presentation it issued on the survey.
Are Americans so worried about their stomach health that they’re willing to spend more than three-quarters of a billion dollars a year on gut-health-promoting sodas?
That might be too simple an explanation for the rapid growth of competitors Olipop and Poppi, according to a fascinating analyst in the Food Institute site by Dr. James Richardson is the founder of Premium Growth Solutions,rt a strategic planning consultancy for early-stage consumer packaged goods brands.
My dad loved Boar’s Head cold cuts. Glad he can’t see what’s happened to the brand lately.
Boar’s Head cold cuts were always my dad’s favorite. He was old-school when it came to food — he believed in the promise major brands made in those days, namely that they sold superior products. He would tell anyone who would listen at family parties that Boar’s Head was the best.
So I’m glad he’s not around today to see how the mighty have fallen. Not only did Boar’s Head have a major recall last year after a listeria outbreak was linked to products from a factory it runs in Virginia. But now a new report details sanitation issues at several other Boar’s Head plants, reports The Patch and other sources.
Many Americans have resolved to lose weight in 2025, often turning to weight loss supplements for support. While certain botanical ingredients may aid appetite control, metabolism, and health goals, experts advise caution when choosing supplements.
Here, Dr. Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk, assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and CEO and co-founder of Canomiks, shares key tips to help consumers make informed choices.
A new year usually starts with new diet resolutions. This is the year you’re going to eat right, and drop some pounds in the process. But then…reality hits. Most of us fall off the food wagon pretty quickly. Lose It, the diet tracking app, recently wrote about the seven main reasons why and what to do about them
The new year is normally new diet time. Read here how to do it right.
The first tip, set realistic calorie goals.
“If your calorie budget is unrealistically low, it won’t be long before you blow it. “Eating too few calories when trying to lose weight can be counterproductive and harmful,” says Theresa Gentile, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who is based in New York City,” Lose It writes.
“Gentile says that extreme calorie restriction can slow your metabolism and alter hormones related to hunger and appetite, making it harder to lose weight.”
The piece goes on to talk about emotional eating as well as sleep habits and water consumption, among other tips. Give it a read and get back on that diet today.
A fan of cold cuts? Check what you bought, Boar’s Head has a major recall underway.
A major recall of deli meats has accounted for two deaths and put 33 people in hospitals, reports Patch.com. Products involved are from the Boar’s Head brand, with cases of people being sickened by the products reported in 13 states as of late July.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” health officials said in a news release. “This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported, as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak,” Patch reports.
Boar’s Head already is facing at least one lawsuit. The recalled meats are thought o be causing listeria in people who eat them.
“The company last week announced a recall of several types of deli meats, including all liverwurst products, as well as some types of ham, salami and bologna.
“The recall includes 207,528 pounds of products that were shipped to retail locations nationwide. See the full list of recalled products,” Patch reports.
Finding a non-sugar sweetener for food and beverages, one without it’s own unwanted side-effects, has been the holy grail of food processors for as long as I’ve written about the food business (40 years). A new possibility, brazzein, is getting some positive attention now.
Another, Xylitol, long used in sugar-free candies and elsewhere, is getting negative attention, however.
“A new study linking the low-calorie sugar substitute xylitol to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke,” reports The New York Times.
“For the new study, the researchers measured the levels of xylitol in blood plasma samples of over 3,000 participants who had fasted overnight. They found that people with the highest xylitol levels had roughly double the risk of heart attack, stroke or death within the next three years compared to people with the lowest levels,” the Times reports.
Xylitol, also known as sugar alcohol, has never been something I could eat much of without becoming bloated and…well, you know. So this study isn’t worrying me so much.
But I am interested to read a company has received permission to use brazzein, a sweet protein produced through fermentation, reports The Food Institute.
The term prebiotics has been part of the yogurt landscape for years but now prebiotic sodas are getting some attention. But there are obstacles that may keep more brands from moving into the category, notes a recent report.
To define, first, a prebiotic is “a nondigestible food ingredient that promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the intestines,” according to a Google definition. That usually means fiber and, sure enough, prebiotic sodas have fiber in them.
“Prebiotic sodas have become a phenomenon, even if their ingredients remain a mystery to most consumers. Many industry insiders feel brands like poppi and OLIPOP are here to stay,” reports The Food Institute, an industry news site.
“Prebiotic sodas have substantial long-term potential,” Todd Redmon, partner at PA Consulting, told The Food Institute. “Scientific research continues to uncover the benefits of prebiotics for digestive health, immunity, and even mental health.”
Poppi (it may spell its name in all lower-case but here sentences start with capital letters) is the leading brand in the $100 million-in-annual sales category which has about a dozen brands already, the Food Institute reports.
But consumers largely don’t know what’s in these drinks and their price is relatively high, so experts wonder how popular they will become.
There also seems to be something intrinsically odd about drinking a carbonated beverage to keep regular.
Britain has been much more active that the United States in acknowledging, and trying to curb, the daily intake of salt. But this report on FoodNavigator.com notes what I see as a disturbing trend there.
Rather than eliminate sodium completely from food items, the article touches on the substitution of potassium chloride for sodium chloride by food processors.
I’ve tried so-called potassium salt. It tasted a bit different. But that’s not the major issue. The danger is that too much potassium can have its own dire consequences.
“If you have too much potassium in your body, your kidneys may not be able to remove all of it, and it can build up in your blood. Too much potassium in your blood can damage your heart, make you feel palpitations and even cause a heart attack. You can’t always tell when your potassium levels are high,” notes the Cleveland Clinic.
The Food Navigator article notes Britain has cut salt consumption and seen positive health results for its population. But my advice for individuals would be simply cut salt, don’t use a substitute that could cause you more harm than good.
I recently heard a doctor speak very enthusiastically about Ozempic use by heart patients such as myself. Ozempic and similar drugs now on the market cut your appetite (to put it very simply) and you drop pounds. That in turn helps heart health.
Would I stop loving Italian food if I took Ozempic?
Being able to take a pill (or an injection in Ozempic’s case) while still eating whatever you want sounds like the American dream doesn’t it? There are side-effects. A friend taking it for her diabetes tells me she throws up from it but finds it a small price to pay for dropping pounds.
And what about the price — more than $1,000 a month? Medicare won’t pay for it, although lobbying is underway to change that. Private insurance may or may not, enjoy the fight (that will probably make you nauseous too).
So should I ask my doctor to prescribe it (wonder if he would)? This all comes at a time when I’m feeling particularly frustrated by my weight.
After my first stent in 2012, I lost 30 pounds in about a year because I stopped eating everything I liked. But I could only stay hungry for so long and, after needing a second stent in 2017, I began wondering how much losing weight really impacted my arteries which seem determined to clog every few years.
Fast-forward to 2020 and Covid. Worrying about what I was eating went out the window at a time when a new virus could kill me in a matter of days.
I ate whatever we could buy in depleted stores or from restaurant takeout windows. And I started getting deliveries from a local bakery which had never delivered before.
The result — I’m now 14 pounds heavier than when Covid hit four years ago and 31 pounds heavier than my lightest in 2013. And I feel it every day. Exercise? I walk and ride an exercise bike. And for the past year and a half I’ve been taking a weekly boxing class. Punching the big bag is a great way to face my weight-loss frustration. But it hasn’t helped me lose any weight.
So is an Ozempic injection the answer? The idea of having medicine take away my appetite seems a bit big brotherish to me, a little too controlling. But am I just looking for an excuse? What would you do?
The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal 