The Food Scout

I was food scouting in Chicago recently and ran into a facing of nutrition bars in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Now for me, one of the appeals of nutrition bars is that they can sit in your desk, car, gym bag, pocket or wherever you happen to be that a meal or snack is not readily available. So the idea of a bar you have to keep in the refrigerator seems to kill the convenience of bars a little. At first, I thought this was a Marie's salad dressing or Kraft Velveeta merchandising gimmick, wherein shelf-stable products are sold in the produce section or dairy case to enhance their fresh perception. But after a look at the website I ...

When it comes to quantifying environmental savings, the impact just from food industry changes boggles the mind. But these numbers don't impress everyone, however. The proliferation of Green claims in the media has inspired a term called “greenwashing,” and now sustainability efforts are being measured and judged for their significance and authenticity before being endorsed. The risk that companies now face is potential consumer backlash for efforts that are deemed misleading or unworthy. Here’s the rest of the list of the major types of initiatives and the reactions they have inspired: Recycled News:  It’s getting easier to source cups, napkins and other paper goods that have some recycled materials in them, ...

When it comes to quantifying environmental savings, the impact just from the biggest QSR chains already boggles the mind: Domino’s has saved about 13 million trees—or 800,000 tons of cardboard—since cutting off the corners of its pizza boxes nearly 20 years ago. McDonald’s prevented about 80,000 pounds of pollution from hitting the air last year through its enviro-conscious building efforts. And Starbucks has not only saved more than 62,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions via wind power, but is single-handedly saving village economies and ecosystems from collapse in South America with its ethical coffee-buying policies! These numbers impress not everyone, however. Whereas in recent years a restaurant’s carbon-reduction efforts were ...

Picture this would-be health-conscious business traveler, wandering aimlessly through Dallas Forth Worth airport from one smoothie bar to another over the years in search of a smoothie that’s not made with ice cream or frozen yogurt, and which has more than 2 grams of protein in it. After riding the Skywalk from terminal to terminal looking at menu boards and nutritional cards for The Grove, Smoothie King, Freshens, ICBY, Frulatti, and Camille’s, he finally settles on Smoothie King’s The Hulk Chocolate smoothie with 29 g of protein and a whopping 846 calories—but not without guilt feelings afterwards. The playing field for smoothies in the average market is not much better: Jamba ...

Considering the monster popularity of energy beverages (a $3.2 billion category last year) like SoBe and Red Bull, it was only a matter of time before packaged goods companies started dipping their toes -- or their chips, that is -- into caffeine and other stimulating ingredients. Witness the already prolific gum & candy category, including Jolt, Blitz, Penguin, and Stay Alert gums, Buzz Bites energy chews, Javapops, Bawls Mints, and various brands of chocolate-covered espresso beans, like Crackheads. But until recently, these were the only solid caffeine/energy hit sources (complete with gritty aftertaste), unless you were interested in rubbing it on your lips via Spazzstick lip balm or rubbing it on via Shower Shock Caffeinated Body Wash (no, I’m not making this up).