Hacker News with Generative AI: Food Industry

How corn syrup took over America (thehustle.co)
Corporate welfare has propped up high fructose corn syrup for decades. It’s unlikely to end anytime soon.
The Rise of the French Fry Cartel (jacobin.com)
After decades of consolidation, just four firms now control at least 97 percent of the $68 billion frozen potato market, the antitrust cases reveal. These four companies participate in the same trade associations and use a third-party data analytics platform — PotatoTrac — to share confidential business information. The lawsuits allege the firms’ collusion has driven french fries and hash browns to record-high prices.
PlasticList's Advice for Food Companies (twitter.com)
The chocolate of the future will have less cocoa or none at all (swissinfo.ch)
The high price of cocoa beans along with consumer concerns and government regulations surrounding deforestation and child labour have sparked a hunt for new chocolate ingredients.
USDA locks barn door after Listeria escapes (efoodalert.com)
Five months after the CDC posted the initial notice of a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak ultimately traced to Boar’s Head deli meats, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a series of “…stronger measures to protect the public from Listeria monocytogenes.”
Factory Farming Is Better Than Organic Farming (theness.com)
Some narratives are simply ubiquitous in our culture (every culture has its universal narratives). Sometimes these narratives emerge out of shared values, like liberty and freedom. Sometimes they emerge out of foundational beliefs (the US still has a puritanical bent). And sometimes they are the product of decades of marketing.
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation admits to hole in security (theregister.com)
Doughnut slinger Krispy Kreme has admitted to an attack that has left many customers unable to order online.
Sold-out farm shops, smuggling, safety warnings: US battle over raw milk grows (theguardian.com)
Unpasteurised milk, seen as both anti-government and anti-corporate, soars in popularity among conspiracy theorists and new agers
US Food and Drug Administration moves to ban red food dye (theguardian.com)
A red food dye that is ubiquitous in American drinks, snacks, candies and cereals may finally be banned by the federal government after years of concern that it has adverse health impacts, particularly upon children.
Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain (theguardian.com)
The World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.
A 'potato cartel' conspired to make your frozen fries 47% more expensive (yahoo.com)
Multiple proposed class-action lawsuits filed this week allege that four frozen potato producers—Cavendish Farms, Lamb Weston, McCain Foods, and the J.R. Simplot Company—conspired and shared trade information to coordinate price increases in 2021.
As Ozempic turns consumers off processed foods, junk food industry fights back (nytimes.com)
As revolutionary new weight-loss drugs turn consumers off ultraprocessed foods, the industry is on the hunt for new products.
Wonder is acquiring Grubhub (grubhub.com)
Wonder, a new kind of food hall that is revolutionizing the food industry by creating the super app for mealtime, announced that it is acquiring Grubhub, a leading food ordering and delivery platform with more than 375,000 merchants and 200,000 delivery partners across the United States.
Soda Is Making a Comeback (cnn.com)
50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Paid Scientists to Point Blame at Fat (2016) (npr.org)
In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, according to a newly published article in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Restaurant Portions Are About to Get Smaller. Are Americans Ready? (nytimes.com)
The towering burger and ballooning bagel have withstood public health campaigns, but a new movement to shrink servings is finally gaining traction.
US Copyright Office "frees the McFlurry," allowing repair of ice cream machines (arstechnica.com)
Consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge today hailed a decision by the US Copyright Office to "grant an exemption specifically allowing for repair of retail-level food preparation equipment—including soft serve ice cream machines similar to those available at McDonald's."
McDonald's and supermarkets failed to spot slavery (bbc.com)
Signs that modern slavery victims were being forced to work at a McDonald’s branch and a factory supplying bread products to major supermarkets were missed for years, the BBC has found.
Boar's Head closing Virginia plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak (apnews.com)
Boar’s Head said Friday it’s closing the Virginia plant tied to a deadly listeria outbreak.
After 155 years, the Campbell Soup company is changing its name (cnn.com)
Could Listeria Take Down the 100-Year Boar's Head Empire? (nymag.com)
Blood puddles, mold, tainted meat, bugs: Boar's Head inspections are horrifying (arstechnica.com)
Bugs, mold, mildew found in Boar's Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak (cbsnews.com)
I Reviewed Restaurants for 12 Years. They've Changed, and Not for the Better (nytimes.com)
Food as You Know It Is About to Change (nytimes.com)
What the Supreme Court's Nix on the Chevron doctrine means for food regulation (foodpolitics.com)
Chipotle staff are sick of TikTokers trying to catch them 'skimping' (theguardian.com)
McDonald's ice cream machines are always broken and now the feds are involved (qz.com)
Ultra-processed foods need tobacco-style warnings, says scientist (theguardian.com)
FDA warns top U.S. bakery not to claim foods contain allergens when they don't (npr.org)