Busting the bubbly, how not to be a “label whore,” suing Seinfeld
• It’s been a bad year for champagne: global sales fell by 19 per cent in the first half of this year. As a consequence of the reduced demand, grape growers have been forced to leave vast amounts of perfectly ripe grapes to wither on the vine. Philippe Gué, who supplies grapes to Veuve Clicquot, says he will be abandoning a third of his crop–enough for 20,000 bottles of champagne. [Independent]
• The Canadian government is set to abandon a plan that would have allowed the food industry to imbue junk food with vitamins and minerals. While the prospect of transforming Mars bars into superfoods is appealing, public health officials were apparently concerned that the move could instigate an increase in junk food consumption. On the bright side, we’ll be spared the predictably cheesy marketing slogans touting the health benefits of unhealthy snacks. [Canwest]
• Deciphering the pros and cons of a food item by its label can be a tedious process, so the National Post’s Meghan Telpner has a simpler solution: skip foods that have a label at all. You can’t go wrong eating whole, natural and unprocessed foods, she says, and label-free food will often have the added bonus of being free of packaging. [National Post]
• An eatery at a shopping mall outside of Madrid claims to be the first restaurant with a specific plan to protect against the H1N1 virus. Food servers have their temperature taken before starting each shift, menus are washed after each use and restrooms are rigged so that customers don’t have to touch knobs, switches or faucets. The endeavour is either a groundbreaking preventive measure or a groundbreaking publicity stunt. [Food Service World]
• Cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine’s case against the Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld has been dismissed, the L.A. Times reports. Chase claimed that a cookbook written by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, contained portions plagiarized from her, and that Jerry had slandered her by calling her a “nut job” and a “wacko” on national television. [L.A. Times]
