Food Fraud

Portland Monthly Magazine reports that Trigger, the Tex-Mex restaurant from Tommy Habetz and company will close, to reopen as another Bunk. This isn't exactly a surprise: the location under the Wonder Ballroom was a bit strange and frequently competed with the ballroom and Toro Bravo for neighborhood parking spaces. That, coupled with a kitchen that never seemed to get its feet … [Read more...] about Trigger, Pasta Allegro Close; Little T Bakery Opening New Store

Because of the 2012 drought in Spain and Southern Europe, followed by an unexpected frost during olive flowering season, wholesale olive oil prices have taken a significant jump. In Spain alone, oil output is expected to drop by 40 to 50%. World production leader Andalusia is reporting the 2012 harvest to be the worst in 13 years.According to The Olive Oil Times, prices on … [Read more...] about Global Olive Oil Prices Soar

Widespread Seafood Labeling Fraud A report last week released by Oceana shows that seafood mislabeling has become a huge problem. DNA tests have found that 55% of the seafood sampled by Oceana in the Los Angeles area was mislabeled based on federal law.In May and December of 2011, Oceana staff and supporters collected 119 seafood samples from grocery stores, restaurants … [Read more...] about More News From Around the Web

I've written many times about food fraud, but don't think I've mentioned the July 2010 report by UC Davis, which determined that "Extra Virgin" olive oil often fails international and USDA standards. 69 percent of imported olive oil samples and 10 percent of California olive oil samples labeled as extra virgin olive oil failed to meet the IOC/USDA sensory (organoleptic) … [Read more...] about A Virgin? Really? Double-Check Your Olive Oil