Fraud factor

What I talk about when I talk about the coolness of Sriracha, Not Beer, and how safe are future foods really?

Hello! I’m Larissa, and this is Technically Food, an independent publication about how technology is changing the foods we eat. Every other Friday, I send food stories, tidbits and news to your inbox. You’re on the free plan, join other happy paying subscribers and support my work with a paid subscription.

Today is my monthly paid newsletter and it’s a Q & A with Karen Constable who writes a Substack I read called “The Rotten Apple.” Karen is one of few food fraud specialists. Before I jump into our conversation, here are some interesting tidbits I found this week to rev up your food engines.

This used to be me, but these days you’ll find me using salsa macha more often.

Today’s tidbits:

1. Is sriracha no longer cool? The LA Times suggests it’s an “old lady condiment.” I used to date my bottles to see how fast I ran out. I don’t do that anymore, maybe since it became harder to find? But maybe also because there are so many other condiments to try! Listen to the episode here.

2. Looks like Liquid Death is getting some marketing competition from Not Beer, a new canned beverage that is…just water! I’ll definitely buy it no more than once for the experience. Are they going to have problems with their SEO? Yep.

3. Longtime readers know that I want more people to care about wasted food. I just learned via this NYT story cheekily titled, “A.I. is spying on the food we throw away,” that several large retailers care about it too. This includes Albertsons, ALDI, The Kroger Co., New Seasons Market, PCC Community Markets, Raleys, Sprouts, and Walmart. (Way more than I thought, but do they really really care? I hope so.)

4. The anti-wrinkle straw? Is this a made up problem? I do have more wrinkles these days, and I do use metal straws to keep coffee and tea off my teeth. (HT Feed Me.)

5. For anyone here bowing out after the free links, you can read Karen’s very diligent notes on cultured meat that includes: Four Surprising Facts About Cultured Chicken and More surprising facts about cultured chicken.

Comments? I love to hear from you!