Chocolate inhalers, the science of wine pairing, debunking swine flu food claims

• A new inhaler that allows users to taste chocolate without chewing or eating has struck a chord with consumers, having sold out in its first month. The French product known as Le Whif puffs micro-particles of chocolate into the imbiber’s mouth. Inventors say that inhaled chocolate is just the beginning, making us hopeful that a bacon inhaler is on the horizon. Le Whif should be available in North America by 2010. [Reuters]

• CBS interviews Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of Everything Is Illuminated and a new non-fiction book, Eating Animals. Here, he discusses factory farming and the importance of re-examining the way we eat. In writing the book, he found that “misery is built into the system” of factory farming, and that changing the system will require people to eat much less meat. [CBS]

• Critics are lambasting Kellogg’s for taking advantage of swine flu hysteria. The cereal manufacturer has prominently splashed “Now helps support your child’s immunity” on boxes of such sugar-laden cereals as Cocoa Krispies. Of all assertions on cereal boxes, “this one belongs in the hall of fame,” says one food expert. Despite the grandiose claim, Cocoa Krispies was, strangely enough, nowhere to be seen on the Chicago Tribune’s list of top 10 flu-fighting foods. [USA Today]

• Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute found that rats fed junk food (in this case, cheesecake, bacon and Ho Hos) acted similarly to rats addicted to heroin. When the junk food was taken away, the rats refused to eat more nutritious food, starving themselves for two weeks afterwards. We can only imagine the effect of throwing television and video games into the mix. [Toronto Star]

• The tradition of matching fish with white wine now has a precise explanation. Two Japanese scientists have found that the small amount of iron in red wine creates a fishy aftertaste. The more iron present in the wine, the fishier the aftertaste. Good to know, but the combination’s terrible taste was conclusive enough for us. [PhysOrg]