How big is China's counterfeit wine problem? and other food and drink news

How Big Is China's Counterfeit-Wine Problem? French Report Calls It An Industry - China's thriving counterfeit wine sales have pushed advisors at the French Foreign Trade Advisory Board to quietly leak a controversial report on fake wines in the Asian nation, despite opposition by French government officials. The report details the depth of the counterfeits problem, showing that fake wines are not just the work of a few criminal rings but a sizable underground industry.

Restaurant owners want ACCC to examine Menulog's grip on market

Congress takes aim at the science behind the government’s nutrition advice - The quality of the evidence supporting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the influential nutritional advice from the federal government, came under steady attack at a Congressional hearing Wednesday, with representatives complaining that the credibility of the national advice has been eroded by shifts in science. Salt? Saturated fat? Eggs? Meat? Opinions about each of these were aired as members of Congress directed their skepticism at the two cabinet secretaries who oversee the development of the nutritional guidelines, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Diane Keaton launches 'red wine best served over ice', saying 'It's not fancy but neither am I'

Is the chilli pepper friend or foe? - The potential for both health and harm has always been a defining characteristic of chilli peppers, and among scientists, doctors and nutritionists it remains a matter of some dispute which prevails. A huge study, published this summer in the British Medical Journal, seemed to indicate that a diet filled with spices - including chillies - was beneficial for health.

Budapest Foodies Hope Cuisine Can Help Heal Anti-Migrant Prejudice

Used coffee grounds provide business opportunity for mushroom moguls

EFSA report considers risks of eating insects - The European Food Safety Authority has published its initial risk assessment of using insects as a source of protein for human consumption and animal feed.
It concluded that risks to human and animal health depended on how the insects were reared and processed. The UN suggests that "edible insects" could provide a sustainable source of nutrition for a growing population.

USDA: We will not steer people away from meat to protect the environment - To some, the idea sounded like a fringe notion promoted by environmentalist vegetarians.  Where it came from, though, was an expert panel advising the federal government on how to write the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and its prominence provoked immediate controversy. People, the advisory panel said, ought to eat less meat in order to protect the environment. On Tuesday, though, that proposal appears to have failed, handing the disgruntled meat industry a major victory.

For decades, the government steered millions away from whole milk. Was that wrong? - U.S. dietary guidelines have long recommended that people steer clear of whole milk, and for decades, Americans have obeyed. Whole milk sales shrunk. It was banned from school lunch programs. Purchases of low-fat dairy climbed. “Replace whole milk and full-fat milk products with fat-free or low-fat choices,” says the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's influential advice book, citing the role of dairy fat in heart disease. Whether this massive shift in eating habits has made anyone healthier is an open question among scientists, however. In fact, research published in recent years indicates that the opposite might be true: millions might have been better off had they stuck with whole milk.