There was a lot of food weirdness in the news this week.

Let’s see… “pink slime”, ground up bugs, strange movie star mom behavior… need I go on? And the FDA has finally ruled on the BPA issue.

 

Not everyone hates pink slime… oops, I mean finely textured beef. The governors of five states and the beef industry are desperately fighting a consumer campaign that has forced a ban on the use of the government approved ammonia-treated hamburger filler in school lunches, fast food joints and supermarkets. As grilling season approaches, meat producers say you can expect higher hamburger prices because they can’t mix the filler with better-quality cuts of beef.

 

Starbucks has it’s own “pink slime” issue to deal with. The company disclosed this week that cochineal beetles are used as food coloring in their Frappuccinos and Crème beverage and even in some of their pastries. While the food coloring is government approved, some (vegan) consumers still weren’t too happy to hear about its use. Funny enough, Starbucks began using the dried beetle extract as a way get away from artificial food coloring.

Even though research has linked BPA (bispehnol-A) to obesity, neurological problems, early puberty and infertility… the Food and Drug Administration says there isn’t enough compelling evidence to ban the chemical. BPA is used in plastic drinking bottles and as a lining for cans.

“Mad Men” actress January Jones says she ate her newborn’s placenta as part of a healthy post-partum regime. There’s a lot of debate as to whether this is strange behavior or not… but placenta-dining goes on regularly in a lot of countries. Like in South Africa. Where Mama’s son, Carlos was born. I’m just saying.

I’m sorry, but this IS strange… and weird… and, well, I just don’t get it. Alicia Silverstone blogged this week that she regularly shares whatever she’s eating with her son… “from my mouth to his” is the way she put it. You need to see the video to really appreciate her methodology.

That’s this week’s round up of news you can use. Now, go whip up that popcorn recipe from yesterday and pass it around during tomorrow’s Final Four games … but please don’t share it à la Alicia!

 

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