A fine, international spread of topics this week:

  • The Olympic athletes’ menu at the world’s culinary capital gets mixed reviews.
  • Salmonella, Trichinella and Listeria sweep food safety headlines.
  • Nutritional breakthroughs abound at the annual IFT show. 

Silver Medal Buffet

How are Olympians fueling themselves in Paris, and are the organizers Paris equipped to feed 15,000 athletes? From the dining hall in the Olympic village to sponsorships, food and beverage is in the spotlight. 

  • The New York Times reported that 13 million meals are expected to be prepared in the Olympic Village, with 2,000 baguettes made fresh daily. The vision is a culinary dream featuring six restaurants with a focus on sustainability and plant-based ingredients.
  • Olympians are reviewing meals on TikTok, giving the public behind-the-scenes insight on what it looks like to stay at the Olympic Village. Eater highlighted reviews that range from subpar to universal love of the chocolate muffins. 
  • In particular, the British Olympic team picked a food fight with France, with many U.K. athletes choosing to dine at Britain’s athletic center, which has a private chef. The Wall Street Journal noted hiccups in the quantity and quality of food at the 2024 Olympic Village and how it hasn’t met Paris’ lofty French cuisine standards.
  • Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee has received pressure from public health groups to break off legacy sponsorship from Coca-Cola. Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) argued the effects of sugary drinks on public health can’t be overlooked.
  • Back in the United States, the USDA teamed up with Team USA fencer Kat Holmes and rower Justin Best to learn their favorite produce to lean on for nutrients when training and how USDA research has helped innovate produce flavor and quality.

Our Takeaway: At an event this big, you can’t please everyone. “Good food” has many definitions to a crowd of global athletes.

2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

Serious business kept food safety conversations going: a deadly outbreak, a success story decades in the making and two prime examples of the deep regulatory scrutiny involved in keeping food safe.

  • An outbreak of Listeria, originating from several varieties of Boar’s Head deli meats, has killed two and hospitalized at least 33 people in 13 states. More than 7 million pounds of product were recalled. The Washington Post covered background and facts current as of July 31. 
  • Food Safety News described how the bacteria was first detected by the Maryland Department of Health in a product collected from a retail store. 
  • On a more positive note, Science Direct published a USDA study that concluded the pork industry’s biosecurity measures have been successful. National Hog Farmer summarized the study: “Zero Trichinella positives in more than 3.2 million pork samples, demonstrating to domestic and global consumers the safety of U.S. pork.”
  • USDA is reviewing a rule that would limit the amount of Salmonella bacteria present in chicken and turkey and keep contaminated meat off of grocery shelves (The Associated Press). Poultry industry groups opposed the rule, saying that it will increase prices (Agriculture Dive).
  • Amid budget negotiations, the Safe Food Coalition, which includes Consumer Reports and CSPI, petitioned Congress to maintain funding for a key traceability provision in the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act.

Our Takeaway: Anyone who feeds the public must make food safety their top concern. We can thank new technologies for better detection and appreciate the gravity with which issues are addressed. 

The Tastiest Science

Food innovation touches all the bases: taste, texture, color, smell. With the annual IFT First expo recently in Chicago, the most influential industry publications focused on showcasing food production innovation and trends. The headlines mostly center on taste and nutritional breakthroughs, though a few are all about fun. We never imagined we’d read about a collab between Hostess and Dude Dad, but here we are …

Our Takeaway: Ingredient innovation often predicts food and beverage trends. In particular, shows like IFT FIRST provide good insight into which ingredients have the scalability to meet label claim needs.

Worth Reading

A Holiday for Everyone

Foodservice Director senior editor Patricia Cobe questioned the wealth of national holidays for food items: “Why is there a stupid day to honor something that is so popular anyway?” The answer, like many things we cover, is marketing. Cobe chronicled how celebrations of National Fry Day, National Tequila Day and National Ice Cream Day have boosted loyalty program membership, store traffic and even philanthropic donations. What can we say? We’re food enthusiasts.

Big Words About Small Things

Feedstuffs reported a type of nanoscale particles known as “nanocarriers” could make crop agriculture more sustainable and resistant to climate change. An interdisciplinary team recently reviewed the possibility of nanocarriers in precision delivery in plants, how to deliver nanoparticles to the proper locations within plants, and how nanotechnology differs in plants and animals. If successful, nanocarriers could deliver precise amounts of nutrients to plants, reducing waste and improving yields.

Portion Predicament

Despite Chipotle’s dominance in the fast-casual space, The New York Times highlighted a recent social media controversy regarding how the burrito chain’s portion sizes left loyal diners outraged. Chipotle’s CEO firmly denied that the company’s serving sizes changed and confirmed the company identified “outliers that needed to be retrained.” According to the chain, customers can rest assured their beloved burritos are not shrinking on purpose and will return to dumbbell-sized soon. 

Yes, There Certainly Are Bad Ideas

You probably didn’t wake up thinking you need to read 2,700+ words on how the federal government nearly introduced African hippos as American ranch animals, but this article penned by Chris Bennett of Farm Journal is worth your 20 minutes. The wild story involves meat shortages, a Cajun congressman known as “Cousin Bob,” Nazi spying and a litany of colossally wrong-headed assumptions about animal behavior, all in the twisted hope of finding an endless supply of “lake cow bacon.” Strap in and hold on …

Cropped ‘n’ Dropped

Bloomberg analyzed the financial impact federal crop insurance is having on farmers using “climate-smart” and regenerative practices. Current coverage restrictions have complicated the efficacy of such farming programs, leading many U.S. farmers to drop their crop insurance policies entirely. While the USDA has introduced reforms, expanded coverage offerings and alternative programs in an effort to accommodate regenerative farming practices, advocacy groups continue to push for legislative change.

Umlauts for GLP-1

Johan Jörgensen, the founder of Sweden Foodtech, a think tank on the future of food, posted a humdinger of an opinion on GLP-1 drugs in AgFunder News. Jörgensen describes his own experience using Wegovy and predicted the future of the snack and fast-food categories: “My basic conclusion is that the shift is going to be profound, relatively quick and seriously affect a long range of players both within and outside the current food value chain. Because when I and my soon-to-be-former fat friends shift our business, profits will turn to losses and there might be a need for massive write-downs and/or shut-downs. We will not shed a tear. You will not be missed.” Yes, we believe he is pro-GLP-1. 

Artificially Illustrated
AN AI-GENERATED IMAGINING OF THIS WEEK’S TRENDING TOPICS
The brave new frontier of farming at nanoscale.

Midjourney illustration by Aadi M.