Since 1966, customers at convenience store chain 7-Eleven have been guzzling down Slurpees. The flavored ice drink is a popular order during the warm summer months, where people can cope with hot days by submitting to brain freeze. So why has 7-Eleven anointed chilly Winnipeg, Canada, as the Slurpee Capital of the World? According to Emily Baron Cadloff at Thrillist, it may have something to do with Winnipeg citizens leaning in to their cold climate rather than opting for warmer beverages. Since the first Winnipeg 7-Eleven opened in 1970, the drink has been flying out of dispensers. The province of Manitoba sells over twice as many Slurpees as anywhere else in Canada, with Winnipeg in particular moving an average of 188,000 Slurpees every month. Per capita, Manitoba sells more of the frosty drinks than anywhere else in the world. This despite temperatures dropping to -4° F and snow falling for around half of the year. It’s since become embedded in local culture. There’s a market for actual Slurpee machines sold to private parties. During the store’s Bring Your Own Cup events, locals have been known to bring kitchen sinks and kiddie pools to fill up with the slush.
Food & Drink
Some of the cheapest, widely available eggs tested by Marketplace may be just as nutritious as some of the most expensive. These eggs can vary in price at the grocery store from about $2.75 per dozen to more than $7.49 per dozen, with many options in between. Usually, the least expensive that Marketplace tested were conventional eggs, while the organic eggs were the most expensive. And when it came to the organic eggs, not all of them tested equally. In Marketplace’s test, organic eggs produced on small farms had more nutrients than the big-brand organic eggs sold at Canada’s largest grocers under private labels and by two of the largest egg brands in the country… In the first comparison, the team focused on conventional and organic eggs sold by the biggest grocers in Canada — Loblaws and Sobeys — as well as some of the biggest egg brands on the market — Burnbrae and LH Gray, which sells Gray Ridge and GoldEgg. For most of the nutrients tested, there were no large differences between the cheaper conventional eggs and the more expensive organic options.
Changes to food allergy guidelines has led to a 16% decrease in peanut allergy among infants, according to new study. The research, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), also found a significant increase in parents introducing peanut into their babies’ diet since the guideline changes. Introducing peanut early in a child’s life has been shown to prevent peanut allergy during randomized controlled trials. But MCRI PhD candidate and study lead author Victoria Soriano said this research was the first to test the approach in homes and to analyze what impact the guideline changes have had on peanut allergies. International infant feeding guidelines changed in 2016 to recommend introduction of peanut and other allergenic foods before 12 months. “In the 1990s some guidelines recommended avoiding allergenic foods until age 1-3 years and avoidance of these foods in infancy became widespread,” Ms Soriano said.
Despite having to disclose many details about ingredients, specific allergens, calorie counts and other nutritional information on labels, food manufacturers are not required to include the amount of added sugar a product contains and don’t have to disclose that information to an inquiring consumer, a CBC Marketplace investigation has found.
Medieval Europeans were fanatical about a strange fruit that could only be eaten rotten. Then it was forgotten altogether. Why did they love it so much? And why did it disappear?
Is it gross, or is it great? That’s up to the winners of a social media contest to decide. Either way, Pepsi and Peeps have teamed up to create Marshmallow Cola, which will come in small three-packs, but won’t be sold in stores. Instead, Americans can get them by hashtagging: “#HangingWithMyPEEPS” on social media.