Tasty Tidbits

• Somebody’s lying: 56% of consumers who regularly frequent Starbucks claim they also buy coffee from McDonald’s regularly. The figure is up from 51% last August, according to a Morgan Stanley & Co. survey. Nearly 47% of Starbucks customers claim to purchase McDonald’s coffee at least 1x/month, while 42% of the Mickey D customers insist they go to Starbucks the same amount.

• The US convenience store channel is expected to grow 5% annually over the next five years according to a report by research firm RNCOS.

• Organic dairy producer Stonyfield Farm claims adjusting its cows’ diets with more omega-3 feed like flax and grasses has cut greenhouse gas methane emissions from burping by 12-18%. I kid you not.

• With the EU set to ban most synthetic dyes in foods, the rush is on to find natural substitutes. Many food dyes are petroleum-based, and even though they are approved by the FDA, the EU ban is prompting even US companies to find substitutes. The current leading contender? Purple carrots.

• Six German states have banned Red Bull Cola (made in Austria) for minute traces of cocaine. The company denies the charge, saying it uses decocainized cocoa leaves that are safe and a common flavor ingredient.

• Those in the know understand Chinese restaurants offering to prepare dishes without MSG (monosodium glutamate) are really just telling diners what they want to hear. Now those diners can relax and stop worrying after a new study says the flavor enhancer does not cause nor contribute to allergic reactions (the so-called “Chinese restaurant syndrome”).

• A German research team reports finding a genetic link between gum disease (periodontitis) and coronary heart disease (CHD). The University of Kiel group found both diseases showed a common genetic variant on chromosome 9. This digest reported earlier that scientists were unsure why gum disease and heart disease seemed to occur in common, with theories that inflammation in the gums either introduced bacteria into the system, or that inflammation signaled an underlying health problem. The team reports that obesity, smoking and diabetes will all worsen the problem, and that dentists should take more aggressive treatment courses with much younger patients than previously thought. In a related study, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has done ultrasound measures of the carotid arteries of young people and found a link between a thickening of the walls and possible later heart disease, especially for those who are obese or have diabetes.

• Krispy Kreme continues to flounder, posting dismal stats for the first quarter: income off 54%, down to $1.868MM (3¢/share) from $4.034MM (6¢/share) this time last year. The huge drop was explained as due to $2.357,000 in impairment charges and lease termination costs. Sales were off 10% to $93.42MM, though company-owned locations reported a modest 2.1% increase.

• Mountain Dew is licensing the names and artwork for two new flavors from the hugely-popular “World of Warcraft” online role-playing game (11.5 million players estimated worldwide). Limited-edition line extension for the Game Fuel sub-brand will feature flavors Horde Red and Alliance Blue (opposing factions of the subscription-based game).

• Whole Foods Market has signed an agreement with Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms of Florida in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) "penny-per-pound" program which claims it will improve wages for tomato harvesters.

• And celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey has admitted his ego got in the way and nearly cost him his culinary empire (not to mention the bagged prepared meals he was serving in place of fresh-made).

Excerpted from BSLG's weekly subscription news reader service Food Business News. To subscribe or for information about licensing, contact Broad Street Licensing Group (tel. 973-655-0598)