Ellen’s blog: New foods, health/buying food news

By Ellen Schuster, MS

New foods include more than one cereal, an update: Panera’s Charged Lemonade is the target of another lawsuit; now has less caffeine  https://thetakeout.com/panera-charged-lemonade-menu-third-lawsuit-caffeine-mg-1851192476. In health news, anti-obesity drugs continue to be in the news and in buying food, will the Kroger-Albertsons merger happen? And just in, 2 senators introduce legislation to ban cultivated meat from school lunches https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/25445-proposed-legislation-would-ban-cultivated-meat-from-school-lunches.

New foods…

**Cereals: Kellogg cereal high in protein, low in sugar aims @ Gen Z retails for $8.36 for less than 8 oz.  https://www.fooddive.com/news/wk-kellogg-co-breakfast-cereal-eat-your-mouth-off-launch-2024-nutrition-protein/703576/ ; Mouth Off cereal targets Zillenials  https://www.supermarketguru.com/the-lempert-report/kelloggs-vegan-cereal/; Dr. Marion Nestle compares Veggie Blends Cheerios to regular Cheerios https://www.foodpolitics.com/2024/01/misleading-product-of-the-week-veggieblends-cheerios/.

**Subway leans heavily into ‘footlong’ items w/Sidekicks menu @ https://thetakeout.com/subway-new-footlong-cookie-pretzel-churro-sidekick-menu-1851174152

**Body Armor now has a zero sugar sports drink to compete with Gatorade  https://www.fooddive.com/news/coca-cola-bodyarmor-zero-sugar-pepsico-gatorade/703789/  .

**Revl Fruits, premium juice line w/25% less sugar and made w/coconut water  $4 – $8 for 32 oz) to debut this spring  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-revl-fruits-a-refreshingly-different-premium-juice-brand-302040766.html .

Health in the news…

**Weight loss drugs: Which states have used use of anti-obesity drugs?  https://www.axios.com/2024/01/18/ozempic-wegovy-weight-loss-drugs-states-map  .

Ozempic price hike  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ozempic-mounjaro-price-increase-2024/  .

More companies looking to enter weight loss drug marketplace  https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/17/weight-loss-drugs-boehringer-ingelheim-terns-viking-may-join-market.html .

A review of over 1 million health records finds no link between weight loss drugs and suicidal thoughts  https://www.science.org/content/article/no-link-between-popular-weight-loss-drugs-and-suicidal-thoughts-health-records-suggest.

Fake Ozempic linked to 3 U.S. cases of hypoglycemia  https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/suspected-fake-ozempic-linked-three-us-cases-hypoglycemia-2024-01-24/. Teen usage of nonprescription weight loss drugs such as laxatives and diuretics  https://www.healthline.com/health-news/budget-ozempic-alternatives-risks-effectiveness.

Eli-Lilly to sell weight loss drug directly to patients, offer home delivery  https://www.axios.com/2024/01/04/eli-lilly-zepbound-home-delivery.

FDA adverse reports of weight loss drugs  https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/fda-probes-hair-loss-other-potential-weight-loss-drug-side-effects.html .

Podcasts: KQED Forum Jan. 4, 2023 episode  45 minutes): How the ‘Year of Ozempic’ Transformed Treatment  https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101895463/how-the-year-of-ozempic-transformed-obesity-treatment-and-much-more ; Notes From America Jan 8, 2023 episode  50 minutes): What the Ozempic Craze Means for Our Personal Health  https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anxiety/episodes/what-ozempic-craze-means-our-personal-health.

‘Budget Ozempic’ a TikTok trend. What is it? Laxatives  https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/01/16/what-is-budget-ozempic-experts-warn-tiktok-laxative-diets/72208997007/ .

In the age of Ozempic has cravable lost its selling power?  https://www.supermarketguru.com/the-lempert-report/the-age-of-ozempic/  .

**NALD: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on the rise in children and Hispanics

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/the-silent-liver-disease-experts-warn-is-on-the-rise-among-hispanics-and-children/  ; https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/02/25/liver-disease-rising-children-hispanic-population-explained/11304110002/;https://www.supermarketguru.com/the-lempert-report/liver-disease-is-up-in-children/  .

**Bill of rights for obese patients supported by over 35 agencies/organizations  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2024/01/31/advocates-sign-obesity-bill-of-rights/72356030007/  .

**Meta to hide harmful eating disorder info from teens https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/09/meta-to-restrict-teen-instagram-and-facebook-accounts-from-seeing-content-about-self-harm-and-eating-disorders/  .

**Check-off programs on social media Target Gen Z to drink milk and eat meat  https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/27/the-federal-governments-role-in-those-tiktok-ads-for-milk-and-pork-00138178 .

Buying food news…

**Census has insight: which states spend the most on groceries

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/01/20/average-grocery-cost-per-week-us-states/72260684007/  .

**The dollar store backlash: a deep dive into these stores and how communities are fighting them  https://thehustle.co/the-great-dollar-store-backlash; dollar stores push out independent grocers  https://today.uconn.edu/2023/12/dollar-store-expansion-pushes-out-independent-grocery-stores-decreases-local-employment-opportunities/ .

**What food categories are luring shoppers away from traditional supermarkets  https://www.grocerydive.com/news/traditional-grocers-data-mass-merchants-sales-discount-grocers-circana-210-analytics/705554/.

**Kroger-Albertsons merger timeline pushed back  https://www.grocerydive.com/news/kroger-albertsons-merger-grocery-ftc-ferguson/704610/.

**Who is tops in e-commerce and grocery pickup?  https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/target-walmart-albertsons-tops-ecommerce-and-grocery-pick-report .

**TikTok testing making all video posts shoppable

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-29/tiktok-tests-feature-that-could-make-all-videos-shoppable  .

Interesting reading…

**What does grocery checkout overseas look like?  https://www.grocerydive.com/news/grocers-checkout-experiences-self-checkout-technology/705249/  .

**Instant noodles are booming, caveat: high salt content  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/28/how-instant-noodles-took-over-the-world-salt  .

**A look at grocery prices since 2019: the ‘vibe’ of the $126 grocery bill  https://www.axios.com/2024/01/13/food-prices-grocery-stores-us-economy  .

**Why Trader Joe’s prices bananas individually  https://thetakeout.com/trader-joes-bananas-price-individual-vs-pound-popular-1851198028  .

**U.S. prisoners part of hidden workforce behind many foods we eat  https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/prisoners-us-part-hidden-workforce-linked-hundreds-popular-106758543 .