Information about the Aspen Ideas Festival is here. I am scheduled for a session, The American Wellness Paradox, currently scheduled from 11:00-11:50 a.m., at the East Lawn Tent. This will be a discussion with senior HHS policy advisor, Calley Means. Here’s the blurb on it: “Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, supplements, wellness trends, and “clean eating,” yet rates of chronic disease and metabolic illness continue to climb. As skepticism fuels the rise of movements like MAHA, debates over what Americans should eat have become deeply cultural, political, and economic. Two influential voices with sharply different perspectives on nutrition and food science explore how food systems, farming practices, consumer culture, and the wellness industry collided to create one of the defining public health debates of our time.”
by Marion Nestle
Sep
30
2021
Recent food items of interest
Here is my latest collection of accounts of unusual or unexpected food items. Ice creams are high on the list.
- NPD Trend Tracker: From ice cream made with baby milk to energy boosting powders: In this week’s new product development gallery, we spotlight a new ice cream targeting adults but made from infant formula and energy boosting powders for endurance athletes and others seeking an energy lift…. See more
- Lithuania tempting tourists – with smoked mackerel ice cream? Lithuania Travel, the national tourism development agency, is hoping in a post-Covid world tourists will be attracted to the Baltic country to experience some of its, shall we say, more unusual cuisine, which includes some ice cream flavors many might find a little strange…. Read more
- Nine new bizarre ice cream flavors from Lithuanian chefs: They’re at it again. It wasn’t that long ago we revealed some more ‘interesting’ ice cream flavors from Lithuanian chefs who were experimenting with some new and unusual flavors…. Read more
- The critical role of the humble PB&J: With the world still in various states of lockdown thanks to COVID-19, bread’s rise in popularity continues to thrive as people seek out comfort and nostalgia. The demand for the classic all-American peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich – while harking on a retro trend that spiked last year – also proved to be a life saver for many…. Read more
- Leftovers: Jelly Belly chews its way into a new category; Campbell brews up a pretzel-infused beer: The colorful candy brings some of its flavors to a gum, while Reese’s sweetens up International Delight’s ready-to-drink iced coffee.
- ‘A major milestone for the food industry …’ FDA approves Sensient’s ‘exceptionally heat-stable’ natural blue food color from butterfly pea flower: The FDA has approved an aqueous extract of the blue petals of butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) – a plant native to Southeast Asia – as a color additive exempt from certification following a petition from Sensient Technologies, which described the approval as “a major milestone for the food industry” that “closes an important gap in the natural color palette.”.. Read
You are wondering what Clitoria ternatea looks like? Good enough to eat, I guess.


