Branding that’s targeted at children can make healthy food a more attractive option than unhealthy food, according to a new US study. Researchers from Cornell University found that a sticker of the popular…
Health claims are commonly exploited to promote the consumption of highly processed foods.
Flickr / ajleon
Australian and New Zealand ministers responsible for food regulation last week bowed to lobbying from processed food manufacturers and agreed to permit them to market products with general level health…
Samples of Lipton teas in China contained up to 13 pesticides, including banned substances.
Paul Watson
Anyone care for a cup of Methomyl? A recent investigation by Greenpeace East Asia has uncovered a catalog of banned and highly dangerous pesticides in Lipton tea products sold on Beijing supermarket shelves…
Men generally prefer higher concentrations of sweet compared with women.
Ethan
My wife says she has a sweet tooth. But doesn’t everyone? It’s universal to the human condition (as well as the human palate) to like something sweet. It may even be an evolutionary advantage to seek out…
One in four Australians are now obese. But when – and how – did we gain this weight?
Kyle May
OBESE NATION: It’s time to admit it - Australia is becoming an obese nation. Today we launch a series looking at how this has happened and, more importantly, what we can do to stop the obesity epidemic…
There’s no evidence to show chocolate causes acne but milk may play a role.
anjuli ayer
Outbreaks of pimples, blackheads and cysts are a cause of enormous anxiety and embarrassment among teens and young adults. If you’re part of the 20% of Australians who have experienced severe acne, you’ve…
The research has found no causal relationship between food additives and behavioural disorders in children.
Brit
Contemporary processed foods contain many additives, largely to meet consumer expectations for great tasting products that are aesthetically pleasing, all year round. If we didn’t have all these expectations…
When cooked food falls below 60°C, it’s in the temperature danger zone.
riebschlager
Food poisoning doesn’t just come from dodgy kebabs, under-cooked chicken and restaurants with poor hygiene practices – it can also occur in the home. And anyone who has suffered a bout of food poisoning…
Feeding the world is entirely feasible, but food distribution remains a significant challenge.
edwin van buuringen
The Economist has its critics, but it still delivers lots of interesting data. I just found this table (published by EconomistDailyChart) of annual meat consumption per person by country. The data set…
As a food microbiologist, I have always been amazed at people’s belief in the three- or five-second rule. It goes something like this: if you retrieve food dropped on the floor or another surface within…
Hospitals provide a regular flow of captive customers for fast food outlets.
Roslyn in Starfish Island
A number of commentators have raised concerns recently about the increasing corporate presence in Australian schools. At a time of burgeoning rates of obesity and chronic disease, the increasing presence…
Sugar doesn’t play a greater or lesser role in obesity than fat and other carbohydrates.
Esther Gibbons
The debate about the health implications of sugar consumption began back in 1972 when Professor John Judkin, from the University of London, published Pure, White and Deadly, which linked sugar intake to…
The obesity epidemic is creating panic in the community, with media commentators expressing outrage at our widening waistbands and academics raising alarms about the health implications of carrying excess…
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is currently revising the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Yet, despite expert advice from public health and environmental sustainability groups…
Neither organic nor conventional food is nutritionally any better or worse for you.
Smaku
Across the world, outbreaks of food-borne illness, contamination and environmental scares have generated a lot of media attention and plenty of fear around food safety. Think of the recent E. coli outbreaks…
There’s no biological evidence to show that chocolate can affect your libido.
Roxanne Cooke
There are many ways to a woman’s heart. But is a box of chocolates really one of them? What makes chocolate romantic is entirely contextual. Valentine’s Day is traditionally the time for couples to profess…
If you’re not meeting your weight-loss targets, you need to eat less or move more.
Flickr/lism
People who struggle to lose weight often blame their difficulty achieving a healthy weight on their “slow metabolism”. So is this a real barrier to weight loss, or is the real culprit an excess of food…