The FDA has been busy trying to keep our food supply safe! They released a study finding that about 12% of spices brought to the US are contaminated with insect parts, rodent hairs and other impurities: (New York Times)

And they may soon require food makers to ease out artificial trans fats, the artery-clogging ingredient that increases shelf life in processed foods; eliminating trans fats could prevent about 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths a year: (Reuters)

A growing number of food and drink companies are quietly removing the “natural” claim from their packages, due to lawsuits and the acknowledgment that "natural" has no clear meaning; though many Americans still want natural products, only 47% view the claim as trustworthy: (Wall Street Journal)

The New York Times challenged an ad agency to design a game-changing campaign for broccoli that rivals the campaigns packaged food giants routinely pull off with their mega budgets; this kind of consumer-facing produce marketing could be a new approach to getting people to eat healthier: (New York Times)

Kraft Foods’ mac and cheese will soon lose its neon orange glow as the artificial dyes are replaced with colors from spices such as paprika, annatto and turmeric; this demonstrates the power of public pressure, mounted through an online petition asking the company to stop using the dyes: (NPR)