Food Stuff June 1 Update

Welcome to Food Stuff for June 1. Another month of higher oil but the more intractable inflation is still working through the supply chains and cost structures. And that’s before El Nino, so hold onto your hats. This week Othorexia (impress your friends), spam sushi, alt cocoa, good for you snacks, good for you trans fats and, as always, good for you coffee. And more. Enjoy!

● Trump Administration decides Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are okay for grocery stores, climate be damned. 

● Food inflation builds and builds. 

● Orthorexia. The unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. 

Retail and consumer 

● Will dynamic pricing avoid regulation? 

● Spam getting into sushi and hot dogs? 

● Grocery stores trying to steal a march on restaurant industry. 

● Discontinued foods no one will miss: Mountain Dew Cake Smash. 

● Discontinued food I am sorry I missed: Ben & Jerry’s Pecan Pie. 

Nutrition and health: 

● Are there any bigger chumps than MAHA voters? The EPA eliminates limits on forever chemicals in drinking water. 

● I love stories about coffee is good for you. I have been a health nut for years with out even knowing it. 

● Natural trans fats do not raise cholesterol. 

● Bad snacks that are good for your health. 

● How additives get into food without governmental scrutiny. . 

● Best fish to eat for your health. 

Restaurant and Foodservice 

● Fast Casual got eaten by slop bowls . Now, nobody wants slop bowls. ● El Califa de Leon, the Mexican street taqueria with the Michelin star, doesn’t have one any more. 

● Should the FTC block the acquisition of Restaurant Depot by Sysco? After their competitors - GFS, US Foods - have been operating cash and carry outlets for years. ● Restaurants are down stream from gas prices but not very far. 

● High end bartenders form a union. 

● Beyond Plastics wanted to see how many of Starbuck’s “Widely Recyclable’ cups made it to a recycling facility. Answer? None.

Food Supply Chain 

● Managing supply when an ingredient demand goes nuts. 

● El Nino looms. 

● Agri Stats was a company that was basically a vehicle for price collusion in the beef industry. The Justice department just settled a price fixing suit with no consequences. ● About alt cocoas. 

● How far will it fall? Plant based meat still taking a beating. 

Drinks 

● The best at the best: star drinks at star bars. 

● Brown Forman stops production at its Irish Distillers as demand fades. ● In a nod to their cultural tradition of contrarianism, the French started drinking more beer. ● Trifurcating mezcal.. 

● The Gin Blossom. The Sawyer. The Cherry Kalimotxo. The John McClane. The Bitter Velvet. 

FoodStuff June 1 Lagniappe 

● Pasteli - honey and sesame snacks from Greece. And, well actually, the Greeks don’t use vinegar in their salad. 

● These appetizers are called retro but in many places, they haven’t gone anywhere. ● About Bologna. The lunch meat, not the city. 

● Tony is a biopic about Anthony Bourdain’s early years. 

● Using an onion to clean your grill. 

● Ethiopian recipes.