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Tag: Food

  • Ice Cream Cone Warehouse Raided Over Rodent Problem

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this weekend announced that U.S. Marshals raided a food storage facility in Waynesboro, Virginia on September 16. The raid was conducted do to FDA inspectors finding “widespread” rodent and insect infestations at the location.

    Two companies, Gourmet Provisions and Royal Cup, used the premises to store food products. Gourmet Provisions manufacturers ice cream cones, branded as “Matt’s Supreme Cones.” Royal Cup provides coffee services and solutions, having clients such as Chick-Fil-A, Cracker Barrel, IHOP, Red Lobster, The Ritz-Carlton, and Waffle House. Products from both companies have been seized.

    “These companies have a responsibility for the safety and quality of their products,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at the FDA. “When firms do not uphold this responsibility, the FDA will take actions that demonstrate its commitment to assuring consumers that foods they buy are prepared, packaged, and held under sanitary conditions.”

    The raid was conducted under warrants issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The warrants were issued after an FDA inspection found the rodent and insect infestations, as well as “unclean equipment” and “structural defects.” The agency asserts that the facility did not take “effective measures” to get rid of the infestations or clean food contact surfaces.

  • Foursquare Now Lets You Search by Specific Foods in Your Area

    Foursquare has just made another small step in their push to challenge Yelp, Google Places, and other local search and discovery apps. Starting today, Foursquare users can now search for specific food items and the app will pull up the various locations in the area where they can be found.

    “Just type what you’re looking for into Foursquare and we’ll show you all the restaurants nearby that serve that dish, with info straight from their menus (and our 32 million tips). It’s this sort of data that powers our new magical proactive recommendations, and which only Foursquare can do,” says Foursquare.

    Not only can you search specific food items like “brisket” or “bulgogi,” but you can also search basic dietary restrictions like “gluten free.”

    Foursquare’s new food search springs out of a recent partnership with Locu, and web menu platform. This allowed Foursquare to expand its database of menus – one that now contains over 43 million food items (according to the company).

    It may not seem like a huge update, but it’s a really interesting way for Foursquare to leverage its data. Sometimes, you just have a hankering for a specific food, and Foursquare is now offering a quick way for you to find every restaurant in the vicinity that features that specific dish.

    This new feature doesn’t require an app update, as long as you have the most-recent version that launched on August 26th for Android and August 27th for iOS.

    Last week, Foursquare announced that they had hit 40 million users – as well as 40,000 “superusers” who help better the location database with their editing privileges.

    Image via Foursquare

  • Less Sleep Leads to More Calories, Shows Study

    For people with more to do and ever less time to do it in, poor sleep habits and a bad diet are almost an inevitability. Now, a new study has shown that those poor sleep habits might actually be driving people to eat higher-calorie foods.

    The study, published in the journal Obesity, showed that people who missed one night of sleep bought more calories the following day than those who got a good night’s sleep. The Swedish researchers behind the study believe that the sleep deprivation could increase hunger while impairing the judgement skills needed to avoid poor food purchasing habits.

    “We hypothesized that sleep deprivation’s impact on hunger and decision making would make for the ‘perfect storm’ with regard to shopping and food purchasing – leaving individuals hungrier and less capable of employing self-control and higher-level decision-making processes to avoid making impulsive, calorie-driven purchases,” said Colin Chapman, lead author of the study.

    Chapman and his colleagues rounded up 14 “normal-weight” men and gave them a fixed budget with which to buy groceries in a mock grocery store. Half of the foods in the store were high-calorie foods, and the other half were low-calorie. When the men had gone an entire night without sleep, they bought 9% more calories than they did after getting a full night’s sleep.

    “Our finding provides a strong rationale for suggesting that patients with concerns regarding caloric intake and weight gain maintain a healthy, normal sleep schedule,” said Chapman.

  • Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk

    Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk

    The common admonishment for children to eat their fruits and vegetables may have more truth behind it than most common food adages. A new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health has partially confirmed the saying, linking fruits to a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes.

    The study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at the fruit consumption habits of 187,382 people from a variety of studies conducted between 1984 and 2008. Researchers found that participants who ate more whole fruits such as grapes, apples, and blueberries were at a lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes than those who ate less whole fruits. The study also found that fruit juice alone was associated with a greater risk for type 2 diabetes.

    “While fruits are recommended as a measure for diabetes prevention, previous studies have found mixed results for total fruit consumption,” said Qi Sun, a co-author of the study and a nutrition professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Our findings provide novel evidence suggesting that certain fruits may be especially beneficial for lowering diabetes risk.”

    The study found that those who ate at least two servings of whole fruits per week reduced their diabetes risk by up to 23% over those who ate only one serving of whole fruit per month or less. Those who drank one or more servings of fruit juice per day had an increased type 2 diabetes risk of up to 21%.

    Researchers stated that the high sugar content of fruit juice could explain its association with diabetes. However, of the whole fruits studied (grapes, grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, pears, apples, bananas, apricots, and cantaloupe) sugar content was not significantly associated with diabetes.

    “Our data further endorse current recommendations on increasing whole fruits, but not fruit juice, as a measure for diabetes prevention,” said Isao Muraki, lead author of the study and a nutrition research fellow at Harvard. “And our novel findings may help refine this recommendation to facilitate diabetes prevention.”

  • Dine & Ditcher Shamed on Facebook, Promptly Arrested

    In the social media age, it’s probably a bad idea to dine and ditch. Ok, it’s always a bad idea to dine and ditch – because if you dine and ditch, you’re an asshole. But if you plan on dining and ditching, make sure that one of the restaurant’s employees hasn’t managed to snap a photo of you before you do it.

    On Wednesday, the Brewers Cabinet brewpub in Reno, Nevada posted an alert to their 2,000+ fans. It was a picture of a man and attached was a warning: this guy skipped out on his check and it’s not the first time he’s done it. What we’re looking at here is a “serial thief,” according to Brewers Cabinet.

    Brewers Cabinet2 days ago

    ATTN RENO: If you know, or see, this dude, please call RENO POLICE DEPT at 334-2121 immediately, and then remind him that his tab at The Brewer’s Cabinet is still waiting to be paid…. and his tab at Campo…. and his tab at Imperial…. and his tab at Chapel… and his tab at many other fine establishments. And, while you’re at it, you could tell him that visiting restaurants/bars with your friends, running up a huge bill, roughing up servers and then bailing is pretty uncool… pathetic, really. Get a life, man. PLEASE SHARE. DOWNTOWN BUSINESS OWNERS: BEWARE.

    Powered by socialditto  302 likes ·  136 comments

    The owners at Campo, Imperial, and Chapel Tavern confirmed that the man, Saul Zelaznog, had also skipped out on tabs at their establishments as well.

    “It’s something you have to deal with, there are certain ways we take precautions for it, however sometimes people are clever and they get away with it,” said a bartender at Chapel Tavern.

    Unfortunately for Mr. Zelaznog, the Reno police (with the help of Facebook) finally caught up to him.

    Brewers Cabinet announced the arrest (for probation violation) early Friday:

    “Thanks so much for your help and overwhelming support in this unfortunate situation. We are excited to announce that Mr. Z has just been taken into custody by the Reno Parole & Probation Department. We hope that all of his outstanding debts are paid in time, but more importantly, that he makes wiser decisions in the future. From this point forward, law enforcement will be handling Mr. Z’s case, and we will get back to brewing amazing beer!”

    Zelznog claims that he was going to go back to take care of his bill.

    Often, Facebook makes it easier to be a dick, but sometimes it helps to thwart dickish behavior.

  • Soft Drinks, Problem Children Linked in New Study

    Soda is ubiquitous in the U.S. Restaurants, gas stations, and vending machines entice Americans with the inexpensive sugary drinks on a daily, if not hourly, basis. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), children and adolescents are particularly fond of soda. Now, a new study by a team of health researchers from Columbia, Vermont, and Harvard universities has linked soft drinks to undesirable behavior in children.

    The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, found that aggression, attention problems, and withdrawal behavior in children are all associated with soda consumption. Those children who drank four or more servings of soda per day were twice as likely to display violent behavior, such as fighting, attacking people, and destroying things that don’t belong to them. These results were seen even when adjusting for different factors in the children’s life, such as jailed fathers, domestic violence, and depressed mothers.

    “We found that the child’s aggressive behavior score increased with every increase in soft drinks servings per day,” said Shakira Suglia, lead author of the study and a professor of epidemiology at Columbia.

    Suglia and her colleagues looked at around 3,000 5-year-olds in Columbia and Princeton University’s Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. 43% of the children in the study were found to drink at least one serving of soda per day. Though the study did not determine exactly how soda may cause children to become aggressive, it’s authors did suggest that reduced soda consumption could mitigate their poor behavior.

  • Gluten Free? Single? There’s a New Dating Site For You

    As far as online dating sites go, you can tackle it one of two ways. Either you can submit to a giant network that uses algorithms to match you with other singles based on a bunch of key personality traits – or you can cut to the chase and go specific. Only want to date Christians? Cool, there’s ChristianMingle. Only want to seek out married people looking to have affairs? OK, try Ashley Madison. There are even sites that match people based solely on their taste in music and movies.

    Now, there’s an online dating site that matches people based on their…gluten intolerance?

    Meet GlutenfreeSingles, a dating site dedicated to those who are gluten intolerant or have simply chosen to lead a gluten-free lifestyle. Maybe you have Celiac disease, or you simply think it’s healthier to go gluten-free. Either way, you’re welcome there.

    If your diet has no room for wheat, barley, or rye, these hot singles are dying to give you a try.*

    “Gluten Free Singles is an online dating, networking, and informative website where you never have to feel alone, awkward, or a burden because you are gluten-free. Our website is a welcoming place where people can find gluten-free dating partners, friends, and activity groups.”

    I cannot express just how much I support this idea. There should be more dating sites specifically for vegetarians, vegans, voracious carnivores, those who like to eat out, those who like to cook at home, and so on and so forth. Seriously, I’m not being facetious. I don’t think people realize just how important food is in any relationship. Just think how much of your daily life is spent eating with your significant other. If you guys don’t meld, food-wise, it can be a huge problem.

    Long live food-oriented dating sites.

    *That’s not an actual slogan. I just had too much caffeine this morning.

    [GlutenfreeSingles via Geekosystem]

  • ‘Gluten-Free’ Defined by FDA For Food Labels

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a new definition for the use of the term “gluten-free” on food labels. The new definition is meant to provide a consistent meaning for those with gluten allergies and the three million Americans estimated to have celiac disease.

    “Adherence to a gluten-free diet is the key to treating celiac disease, which can be very disruptive to everyday life,” said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner. “The FDA’s new ‘gluten-free’ definition will help people with this condition make food choices with confidence and allow them to better manage their health.”

    The new official definition requires that foods labeled “gluten-free” contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten and less than 20 mg of gluten per kilogram. Foods labeled with the phrases “no gluten,” “free of gluten,” and “without gluten” will also have to match the new definition of “gluten-free.”

    Food companies will have one year from the publish date of the new rule to comply and, if necessary, modify their food labels. The FDA stated that many of the foods branded “gluten-free” already meet the standard set by the new rule.

    “We encourage the food industry to come into compliance with the new definition as soon as possible and help us make it as easy as possible for people with celiac disease to identify foods that meet the federal definition of ‘gluten-free,’” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the FDA.

    (Image courtesy Martin Lewison under Creative Commons License)

  • FDA Issues Imported Food Safety Rule Proposals

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today proposed two rules meant to make sure imported foods meet the same safety requirements as food produced in the U.S. The rules would implement provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was passed in early 2011.

    One of the new rules would hold importers accountable for ensuring that their suppliers are “implementing modern, prevention-oriented food safety practices.” Importers would be required to identify hazards associated with their imports, and provide “adequate assurances” that the hazards are being controlled.

    The other rule would, according to the FDA, “strengthen the quality, objectivity, and transparency of foreign food safety audits.” The FDA plans on giving accreditation to third-party auditors for food imports, which could include foreign government agencies or private companies.

    “We must work toward global solutions to food safety so that whether you serve your family food grown locally or imported you can be confident that it is safe,” said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner. “Today’s announcement of these two new proposed rules will help to meet the challenges of our complex global food supply system. Our success will depend in large part on partnerships across nations, industries, and business sectors.”

    The FSMA is meant to update the U.S. food safety systems to prevent food safety problems, rather than react to them. According to the FDA, the U.S. currently imports around 15% of its food supply from 150 different countries around the world. In particular, half of all fresh fruits and one-fifth of fresh vegetables eaten by Americans are imported.

    “FSMA provides the FDA with a modern tool kit that shifts the paradigm for imports, as well as domestic foods, from a strategy of reaction to one of systematic prevention,” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. “Rather than relying primarily on FDA investigators at the ports to detect and respond to food safety problems, importers would, for the first time, be held accountable for verifying, in a manner transparent to the FDA, that the food they import is safe.”

  • Chipotle’s Twitter Hack Was Fake and I Ain’t Even Mad

    In retrospect, we should’ve seen this coming.

    Earlier this week, the official Twitter account for Chipotle spent about an hour making some pretty odd tweets. “Find avocado store,” read ond tweet. “Mittens13 password leave,” read another. Here’s a screencap of the strange tweets:

    Shortly after, Chipotle tweeted out that they “had a little problem” with their account, but they’ve resolved the issue:

    At first glance, it appeared like your typical Twitter hack – albeit a particularly innocuous one. Whoever supposedly hacked Chipotle’s account didn’t really take the opportunity to say anything damaging about the company or cause too much of a ruckus – nothing close to what we saw with the hacks of Jeep and Burger King back in February. Plus, Chipotle left the tweets up (it’s common social media practice to delete any tweets that were sent out during a hack).

    Anyway, the incident was funny and Chipotle seemed to play it off well. End of story, right?

    Well, not really. Now Chipotle is coming clean – they faked the hack. It was just a publicity stunt. And you know what? I ain’t even mad.

    “We thought that people would pay attention, that it would cut through people’s attention and make them talk, and it did that,” Chris Arnold, a Chipotle representative, told Mashable. “It was definitely thought out: We didn’t want it to be harmful or hateful or controversial.”

    The publicity stunt comes at a time that the restaurant chain is promoting their 20th anniversary. Earlier this month, they launched a three-week long online treasure hunt that they are calling “Adventurrito.” It’s a series of internet puzzles that eventually culminates in a bunch of prizes like free burritos for life.

    Apparently, the fake hack helped Chipotle add over 4,000 followers that day, which is a lot considering they usually add about 250 new followers per day. All of the fake hack tweets have been retweeted thousands of time. For Chipotle, it’s nothing but a win.

    Feel free to disagree with me here, but I don’t think we should be mad at Chipotle for this publicity stunt. That’s because it was funny. It’s that simple. Is it really that much different to pull a stunt like this to snag followers than to use promoted tweets, beg for followers, or *gasp*, buy them? This is better, I’ll argue. Because it was funny.

    And it doesn’t reek of desperation and sadness like the MTV and BET fake Twitter hacks that they orchestrated shortly after the very real Burger King hack. I mean, they used hashtags like #MTVhack. Jesus Christ, people.

    Yes, Chipotle did it right. The only drawback here is that more companies are going to be using the fake hack technique to generate buzz. I’ll probably have a problem with it eventually – but as long as they remain generally funny, I think I can deal with it for a while.

  • Facebook Chef Josef Desimone Dies in Motorcycle Accident

    Facebook’s executive chef, Josef Desimone, died in a tragic motorcycle accident on Monday.

    CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared the sad news on Facebook Monday night, saying that Desimone was crucial in defining Facebook’s culture in the early years, and that the company will soon find a way to permanently honor Desimone’s legacy.

    I have some very sad news to share.

    This morning Josef Desimone, our executive chef, was involved in a motorcycle accident and I’m sorry to report that Josef has passed away.

    Josef was a Facebook legend and institution. “Chef Josef” joined us in 2008 and built our culinary team from a handful of employees in a single café into a global team with dozens of world class restaurants. He never compromised on quality while maintaining total attention to detail. Josef played an incredibly important role in defining our culture during those first years and right up to the present.

    Away from Facebook, Josef was just as energetic and driven. Almost every weekend he was volunteering with veterans’ organizations, hosting firefighter breakfasts or supporting some other valuable cause. He had a strong belief in giving back more in life than he took, and it shows in all the people who mourn him today.

    We will find a way to permanently honor Josef’s legacy at Facebook soon. For now, let’s remember and celebrate the passing of a great friend, devoted mentor and inspirational leader.

    Other Facebook execs shared their condolences on the site. Here’s what COO Sheryl Sandberg had to say:

    I am very sad to share the tragic news that our colleague and friend, Josef Desimone, passed away earlier today.

    I had the honor of working with Josef for over the past 11 years, first at Google and then at Facebook. Wherever Josef was, everything was not only delicious, but filled with joy and a love of life. He was a dedicated colleague who cared deeply about all of those around him, a perfectionist who worked hard each day to give his very best to his community, and an inspiration.

    We will truly miss you, Josef.

    And here’s what VP of Communications and Public Policy Elliot Schrage had to say:

    I’m one of many people who’s life was improved by knowing Josef L. Desimone. He was an extraordinary person — passionate, dedicated, inspirational. He helped shape the culture that exists at Facebook today and built a team (indeed, a company) that will carry on his legacy. We’ll miss him greatly.

    Desimone previously worked as the corporate chef at Google, and Facebook poached him back in 2008.

  • Subway Employees Instagram Penis on Bread, Frozen Pee in a Bottle

    Two Subway employees who posted incredibly gross photos of themselves on Instagram have been terminated.

    One photo shows an employee holding a bottle of frozen urine alongside the caption “Today at work I froze my pee.” And the other photo shows another employee putting his penis on an unbaked loaf of Subway bread. The photos have since been deleted, but luckily we have screenshots:

    According to The Huffington Post, our footlong fondler claims that he would never do anything like this to actual bread that people were going to eat, and that he did this at home:

    “I would never do that at work – it was at home,” he said. “This isn’t something I’d ever do at Subway. It was totally a joke.”

    Nevertheless, Subway has responded to the situation in a Facebook comment:

    “This isolated incident is not representative of SUBWAY Sandwich Artists. These actions are not tolerated and the store owner took immediate action to terminate the two employees involved,” they said.

    Both the employee who froze his pee and the one who put his junk on the bread have been fired from their respective Subway restaurant.

    You would think that people would understand that you can’t upload photos of you putting your dick on food and keep your job – but I guess some things are pretty hard to understand. At least we have a new gold standard for gross restaurant behavior. This incident well surpasses our KFC mashed potato-licker and our Taco Bell taco-licker of recent infamy.

  • Arsenic in Apple Juice Limits Proposed by FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today confirmed the safety of apple juice in the U.S. while also proposing limits on how much arsenic should be allowed in the beverage.

    The FDA has proposed a limit of 10 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in apple juice – the same level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set for arsenic in drinking water. This “action level” would be used when considering an enforcement action against apple juice that exceeds it. The agency stated the proposal was made to provide guidance to the apple juice industry.

    “While the levels of arsenic in apple juice are very low, the FDA is proposing an action level to help prevent public exposure to the occasional lots of apple juice with arsenic levels above those permitted in drinking water,” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the FDA.

    Though arsenic is commonly absorbed by plants, some forms of the element are known to be carcinogenic. The FDA stated that it has been testing apple juice for arsenic for 20 years and, with a few exceptions, has always found that samples of the juice are low in arsenic. Last year, 100% of the apple juice sample tested by the FDA were below the 10 parts per billion level for inorganic arsenic.

  • Chipotle Launches ‘Online Treasure Hunt’ and You Should Care Because the Prize Is Free Burritos for 20 Years

    Here’s the number of the day (at least if you’re a fan of burritos): 20.

    Chipotle is turning 20 years old, and in honor of that the company is launching a contest to give 20 grand prize winners free burritos for 20 years. The contest will take place over 20 days and will involve a series of 20 online puzzles. Each day that the contest is held, Chipotle will also give 20 lucky participants free burritos for a single year.

    Billed as a “three-week-long treasure hunt,” Chipotle is calling it “Adventurrito.” There will be a single puzzle to solve every day, all culminating in a final Grand Prize puzzle on August 1st. In order to even unlock the final puzzle and have a chance to win one of the 20 Grand Prizes, you have to solve all of the previous 19 puzzles by August 1st.

    Here’s what Chipotle has to say about the puzzles:

    The first 19 puzzles will vary from quick, easy puzzles to more challenging game play, and will incorporate Chipotle history as well as its commitment to better food from more sustainable sources. Each will be accompanied by a video clue presented by high-profile friends of Chipotle, including celebrities, athletes, political leaders, and farmers who are friends with the company.

    Puzzle hints in the form of haikus, or “Hai-clues,” will also be available to players who need a little extra help solving the puzzle. Hints can be unlocked by visiting any Chipotle restaurant and texting a unique receipt code (found at the bottom of all Chipotle receipts throughout the duration of the contest) to 30364. From there players will receive a hint code that can be entered at Adventurrito.com to reveal the Hai-clue. Once a puzzle is answered correctly the player will earn a medallion and all 19 medallions must be collected to unlock the final puzzle.

    “Twenty years in, we are changing the way people think about and eat fast food,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “That vision has connected with a lot of people and helped to make them very loyal customers. In celebrating this milestone, we thought giving something special to our customers was the right thing to do, since they have given so much to us over the years.”

    It’s a pretty complicated promotion – but it’s also a pretty awesome prize. When Chipotle says “free burritos” they mean one per week. So, if you win a grand prize, you really win 1040 free burritos.

    You can head on over to Adventurrito.com to sign up. The contest begins in two days, on July 13th.

    Eyes on the prize, people:

  • Particularly Lazy Ways to Burn 200 Calories [VIDEO]

    Last month, the simply delightful animators over at AsapSCIENCE showed us what 200 calories looks like (you know, different portion sizes of various foods). The takeaway: fill yourself up with a plateful of broccoli instead of a Oliver Twistian sliver of pepperoni pizza. But we all knew that, right?

    But let’s say you’ve consumed a few too many calories in the day and you’re looking for a particularly strange (or maybe just easy?) way to burn off, let’s say, 200 calories? Well, here’s a video of some weird ways to burn that exact amount.

    I think you should go with the teeth brushing and sex. Not at the same time, of course.

  • Free Slurpee Day! Syrupy Brain Freezes for All!

    Today is July 11th – or 7/11. And in honor of this hot, summer day, convenience store chain 7-Eleven is giving everyone a free Slurpee (as long as supplies last, of course).

    Free Slurpee Day is just about to begin – kicking off at 11 am and running until 7 pm. If you visit a 7-Eleven store in that time frame, you’re entitled to one free small Slurpee. It’s that easy. No coupons necessary, no questions asked.

    Today, 7-Eleven expects to give away 7 million Slurpees or so, which is up a few million from the past couple of years. Free Slurpee Day has become an unofficial national holiday.

    7-Eleven is attempting to spread some viral cheer with a new “Dance Party” promotion tied to this year’s Free Slurpee Day. They’re asking customers (who’ve just scored their free Slurpees, I guess), to create their own dance videos and post them on YouTube, Vine, Instagram, or whatever. They’re also asking that Slurpee dancers share the videos across other social networks and make sure to tag @Slurpee and hashtag #slurpeedance.

    For 7-Eleven, it’s not just about spreading good cheer. Free Slurpee Day has been known to boost sales. Sure, you could go hopping from 7-Eleven to 7-Eleven, scoring free small Slurpees all day – but apparently, people simply like to buy more Slurpees after they get a taste of one.

    Plus, a Slurpee goes down better with a bag of chips, some beef jerky, or another high-sugar treat, right? In the past, Slurpee sales have been known to increase as much as 40% on Free Slurpee Day.

  • Yelp’s New Focus on ‘Transactions’ Starts with Food Delivery

    Yelp, one of the leading places online to find both quick information and reviews for a variety of business types, wants you to be able to do more without leaving its cozy confines.

    To that end the company has just unveiled Yelp Platform, which they say will make transactions easy – and performed directly through Yelp.

    The first step in Yelp Platform involves food delivery. Beginning with a small pilot group of participating restaurants, Yelp will now allow users to order, pay for, and schedule delivery or pickup right from the site. No need to leave Yelp.

    But the food is just the beginning. According to Yelp, they want to be able to provide “transactions” for a bunch of different types of services:

    We’ll be rolling out Yelp Platform category by category, beginning today with food delivery and pickup. Starting now, people can order food directly from a select number of restaurants supported by delivery.com and Eat24, like NYC’s Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar and Layaly Mediterranean Grill in SF. Eventually, consumers will be able to order whatever meal they’re craving for delivery or pickup at thousands of local restaurants across the US, directly from those businesses’ Yelp listings.

    In the coming months, we’ll add categories like spas, yoga studios, salons and dentist appointments starting with Booker, Intuit’s Demandforce and MindBody. Consumers can expect us to add more categories in the future.

    So not only will you be able to order Chinese takeout straight from Yelp, but you’ll also be able to schedule your dentist appointment to clean those cashew chicken-glazed teeth.

    Yelp says that the new transactions (for food) should be ready on the desktop & mobile site plus on Yelp for iOS (Android coming soon).

    Unlike services like Amazon Prime or the new Google Shopping Express pilot program, Yelp isn’t actually delivering anything there. What they are doing, however, is setting up a transaction service that makes it easier for users to buy, schedule, and book directly from yelp.com and from mobile.

  • Golden Corral Can Thank Reddit for This Bad PR Buffet [UPDATED]

    Golden Corral Can Thank Reddit for This Bad PR Buffet [UPDATED]

    Today’s going to be a long day for the public relations team for the Golden Corral restaurant chain. Thanks to some front page prominence on Monday morning’s reddit news cycle, the company is going to have to deal with some pretty disgusting sanitation issues depicted in a few YouTube videos and a series of images posted to the site.

    Posted within a few hours of each other, both a set of images depicting the dishwashing stations at a Golden Corral and a YouTube video showing some unsanitary food practices shot the the top of the front page.

    The images, posted with the title “Just an average day for a Golden Corral Employee, best working conditions ever,” show a kitchen in disarray – with trash and dishes stacked up everywhere.

    “This is how the Golden Corral I worked at was every single day. I feel like more people should see these pics,” says one commenter.

    “I used to work at a Golden Corral in Kentucky and I can confirm this. Ours never got quite that bad but it was still pretty nasty,” says another.

    Alone, these pictures might have been overlooked. But when combined with these videos that just emerged – well, it’s looking like an all-you-can-eat PR nightmare for Golden Corral. There’s even a new subreddit for tracking all the Golden Corral drama. Yes, r/goldencorral now exists.

    YouTube users Ben Jammin actually uploaded these videos earlier this month, but they just found their way to reddit late Sunday night.

    “Apparently, what my company likes to do to get ready for inspections, is put their food by the dumpsters,” says the Golden Corral employee in the video.

    “I’m an employee here, I’ve been working here for a long time – and I don’t feel that this is right.”

    In a followup video, our little Edward Snowden of Golden Corral laments what is happening, expressing concern over the future of his job:

    According to the YouTube uploader, the employee in the video made repeated attempts to turn in statements to management.

    “It’s been over a week now since this has been brought to corporate attention, I contacted the volusia county health dept…..they dont handle it….they gave me a number and a persons name…..said to ask for them in person……the operator didnt know who i was talkin about and didnt seem to care,” they say.

    Golden Corral has yet to respond to any of this on their social media accounts or on their corporate page. But it’ll only be a matter of time, as these images and videos are still holding sway over reddit and are beginning to spread around to other corners of the web.

    If they take their cues from other restaurants that have been “exposed” for unsanitary practices by internet investigators or poor social media decisions (think Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King), Golden Corral will probably just fire whoever was involved and issue a public apology. We’ll have to wait and see how this one turns out.

    UPDATE 1: Golden Corral is beginning to respond on YouTube in the comments section of the above videos:

    “None of these items were served to a single customer. All food items were destroyed within the hour at the direction of management.
    1. Brandon Huber, the employee who made this video, participated in the disposal of the food.
    2. The following day, the father of the employee, posted an offer to sell the video for $5,000, which was not accepted.
    3. The manager involved in the improper storage was terminated for failing to follow approved food handling procedures”

    UPDATE 2: They’re also posting comments to Facebook and Twitter now:

    [via reddit]

  • Eaten in the U.S., but Banned in Other Countries

    In a recent book written by a husband and wife nutritionist team, a list of foods and food ingredients that we commonly eat in the U.S., but that are banned in other countries, was published.

    Rich Food, Poor Food: The Ultimate Grocery Purchasing System, written by Jayson and Mira Calton, highlighted these ingredients as a way to help people keep an eye on potentially harmful chemicals in the foods they buy, prepare and consume.

    These foods and ingredients have been approved for use by the public by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA issued a statement to ABC News in response to the list:

    “As part of FDA’s overall commitment to ensure the safety of the food supply, the agency uses an extensive, science-based process to evaluate the safety of food additives. The law requires that the FDA determine there is reasonable certainty that an additive does not cause harm when it is used as intended. The agency continues to monitor the science on food additives and is prepared to take appropriate action if there are safety concerns. When determining that a food or ingredient is ‘generally recognized as safe’ or GRAS for its intended use in food, the same quantity and quality of evidence is required as is needed to approve a food additive.”

    There is quite a lot of controversy over the list. Some chemists have said that the list is “chemophobic”, and that the science and understanding behind the list is suspect. Food manufacturers have defended the use of these chemicals as harmless, saying that there is gross misunderstanding among the untrained about how these chemicals work in certain combinations and low amounts.

    However this is not just a matter of two people who are nutritionists, not chemists, writing a book that demonizes these chemicals. Entire countries have prohibited the use of these chemicals in the diets of their populace. Those decisions were certainly not made by a couple of authors with limited knowledge.

    One example of a controversial chemical on the list is Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO). This chemical is used in some soft citrus-flavored drinks (e.g. Mountain Dew) to allow the flavoring agents in those drinks to stay blended and not separate as floating solids. Bromine is used as a flame retardant, gas additive, and in pesticides. Manufacturers say that properly bonding the bromine with the vegetable oil makes it harmless. But the European Union has not approved BVO as a food additive. In those countries, the same soda manufacturers use other materials to achieve the same result.

    Other chemicals listed in the controversial book include:

      Blue #1 – a food coloring – banned in Norway, Finland and France

      Blue #2 – a food coloring – banned in Norway, Finland and France

      Yellow #5 – a food coloring – banned in Norway and Austria

      Yellow #6 – a food coloring – banned in Norway and Austria

      Red # 40 – a food coloring – not recommended for children in the U.K.

      Azodicarbonamide – used to bleach flour – banned in Australia, the U.K. and many European countries

      Potassium Bromate – used to strengthen dough – banned in Europe, Canada, and China

      Olestra – an oil substitute used in potato chips; famous for causing anal leakage – banned in the U.K. and Canada

      Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) – waxy solids that act as a preservative – banned in England, and other European countries

      rBGH and rBST – growth hormones used in dairy – banned in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and the European Union

      Arsenic – used in chicken feed – banned in all foods in the EU

  • Walmart Drops Paula Deen: Embattled Chef Loses Another Brand

    Embattled TV chef Paula Deen has lost yet another corporate deal in the wake of revelations regarding her use of racial slurs. The retail giant announced today that it would not be ordering any more of Deen’s branded merchandise beyond orders that have already been placed. Once the merchandise that Walmart has already committed to is sold, they will not be ordering more.

    This announcement follows closely on the heels of announcements by numerous other companies who are practically stampeding away from Deen in the last few days. Food Network announced that it was dropping her show and severing all ties with Deen, while Target has made an announcement similar to Walmart’s. Earlier today, we reported that diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk had “suspended” its partnership with Deen. Earlier this week Smithfield Foods announced they were dropping her as well.

    Deen’s career tailspin started late last week when a discrimination lawsuit was filed against her by a former employee. The suit was brought by Lisa Jackson, a former employee at Paula’s Oyster House in Georgia. Jackson alleged that Deen and her brother Bubba had repeatedly used racial slurs in the Jackson’s presence and had behaved in a discriminatory fashion.

    While the suit in itself might not have been terrible for Deen’s career, the deposition she gave has proven to be the major problem. When asked during the deposition whether she had ever used the N-word, Deen (who was born in Georgia in 1947), replied “Of course.” She went on to clarify that the one instance she remembered was in relation to the robbery of a bank where she worked as a teller in the 1980s, and deny that she had ever used the word with any regularity.

    After companies started cutting ties with Deen she made an appearance on The Today Show, where she discussed the situation with Matt Lauer. Unfortunately for Deen many – including, apparently, some of her sponsors and retail partners – felt that her performance on the show was not sufficient to undo the damage to her brand.

  • Diabetes Drug Maker Novo Nordisk ‘Suspends Activities’ with Paula Deen

    Things have trending downward for celebrity chef Paula Deen in the past week – a lost Food Network contract plus quite a few lost sponsorship deals. I guess that’s putting it mildly. Now, let’s add another to the list – this time it’s a suspended deal with diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk.

    “Novo Nordisk and Paula Deen have mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now, while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed. Novo Nordisk would like to acknowledge Paula’s involvement in our Diabetes in a New Light campaign, where she has helped make many people aware of Type 2 diabetes and the lifestyle changes needed to control this serious disease,” said the company in a statement. In a Twitter clarification, Novo Nordisk US makes a point to say that they haven’t “dumped” Deen:

    Deen’s troubles began after a former employee accused her of using racial slurs as well as participating in active discrimination. A deposition was made public in which Deen admitted to using these racial slurs in the past.

    In the last week, Deen has been dropped by Walmart, Home Depot, and Target. She’s also lost a deal with Smithfield Foods.

    The “suspension” with Novo Nordisk somehow manages to draw a previous Paula Deen scandal into a current one. Back in January of 2012, Deen made a public announcement that she suffered from type 2 diabetes – but that announcement also came with the new that Deen was now a spokesperson for a diabetes drug – Novo Nordisk’s Victoza.

    Of course, the scandal here was that Deen, who had built a career on what most would deem unhealthy eating, was now being paid to market a drug for a condition she’d likely given herself. This sparked plenty of public outrage.

    As Anthony Bourdain once put it,

    “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.”

    Of course, there are also plenty of Paula Deen supporters to match her detractors. She thanked them all in a tweet Thursday afternoon: