PediatricDigest

By Marion Nestle

July 30 2026

Annals of food marketing: weird, wonderful, and profitable

[First, a correction to yesterday’s post about peptides. Peptides are injected, not consumed orally. Therefore, they are not regulated as supplements. I should have made this clear. Sorry.]

I’ve been collecting examples of new foods coming on the market or already here, all of which raise the question: Do we need this?

Salmon from spirulina? Israeli food tech company commercializes seafood alternative: SimpliiGood by AlgaeCore Technologies recreates the taste and texture of salmon using algae and innovative decolorization and texturizing processes… Read more
Study Shows Bamboo May Be a Superfood :Pandas may have been onto something all along. The bamboo-loving bears’ famously simple diet has long puzzled scientists, but new research suggests bamboo may offer a surprising range of health benefits—ones researchers are only now beginning to fully understand. Read More
From baobab to rooibos: Premium and indigenous ice cream flavors fuel demand in Africa: As ice cream consumption surges across Africa, consumers are driving a shift toward premium products and culturally rooted flavors… Read more
Global seaweed snack sales could double to $4.66B by 2030: North American and European markets are experiencing the fastest growth in seaweed snacks… Read more
Are Aldi crystal clear frozen ice cubes ultra-processed? No, Aldi crystal clear frozen ice cubes are not ultra-processed. They are merely ridiculous. Four cubes of frozen water: $5.
Why weird works: The most left-field product launches of the past 12 months: Beef for breakfast, ketchup in a smoothie, crisps that taste like a battery – brands have spent the past year testing how far they can push consumers, and in some cases, finding they’ll go further than expected… Read more

And then there is food crime:

KitKat heist sends urgent warning to CPG sector: Over 400,000 KitKats have vanished in transit, highlighting the increasing threat of cargo crime Read more

That’s the world we live in. Enjoy!

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