Tag: food

The pirarucu: the giant prized fish of the Amazon

by Maira RENOU RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Its white flesh is tender and tasty, it can measure up to three meters long and weigh more than 200 kilograms: meet the pirarucu, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, and native to the Amazon. The enormous animal once threatened with extinction, is now on dinner plates in Rio de Janeiro’s fanciest restaurants, thanks to a number of chefs who have championed the delicacy, and […]

Artificial meat is now made in space, coming to a supermarket near you

  by Juliette MICHEL Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Creating meat from cells is no longer the realm of science fiction: a Russian cosmonaut did it aboard the International Space Station, and it is just a matter of time before these products arrive in supermarkets. Tests carried out in space in September led to the production of beef, rabbit and fish tissue using a 3D printer. This new technology “could make […]

Tropical fish swim into Europe’s waters as common species head north

  by Nicolas GUBERT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Cod, sole and plaice might be regulars on European dinner tables but as climate change heats the oceans common species are heading to cooler northern waters — with profound potential consequences for fish stocks and consumers. Experts say bluefin tuna, seahorse and the bright triggerfish from the tropics are swimming to Europe’s warming seas while fish such as cod are migrating northwards. “We will […]

Disneyland Shanghai sued over ‘double standards’

  SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — A Chinese student is suing American giant Disney alleging double standards because the company bans visitors to its Asian theme parks from taking their own food. The lawsuit against Shanghai Disneyland takes the entertainment company to task because the same strictures do not apply in its US or European parks. The legal action, which has sparked widespread support on social media, comes as China and the US spar over trade, […]

‘From mama with love’, food parcels for Libya front line

by Nawas al-Darraji MISRATA, Libya (AFP) – A villa in Misrata is abuzz with activity as mothers prepare food parcels with poems and messages of love attached for sons battling on the outskirts of the Libyan capital. More than 10,000 food parcels are being sent each day from home, 200 kilometres (120 miles) away, to the battle front south of Tripoli against Libya’s military strongman Khalifa Haftar. In their fourth war since 2011, Misrata’s men […]

North Korea seeing worst drought in a century: state media

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is experiencing its worst drought in over a century, official media reported Friday, days after the World Food Programme expressed “very serious concerns” about the situation in the country. The isolated, impoverished North — which is under several sets of sanctions over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs — has long struggled to feed itself and suffers chronic food shortages. It recorded its worst harvest for a […]

World’s largest Nutella factory reopens after ‘quality defect’

CAEN, France (AFP) — The world’s largest Nutella factory restarted production on Monday after it stopped work for five days as a precautionary measure over a “quality defect”, owner Ferrero’s French branch said. The factory in Normandy, France stopped making the chocolate-and-hazelnut spread due to a “suspected quality defect strictly limited to the production stage,” Ferrero France’s communications service told AFP. It added that the problem was “very early in the process, at the stage […]

FAO warns food supply threatened by declining biodiversity

ROME, Italy (AFP) — The UN food agency on Friday warned about the threat to the future of the world’s food production from a lack of biodiversity in the environment. In a report, the first of its kind by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it said there was “mounting evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems, at all levels, is declining around the world.” That is putting food production and the environment […]

Chef Wolfgang Puck unveils lavish Oscars menu

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Coveted prizes aren’t the only thing on the menu at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony. Austro-American chef Wolfgang Puck, who has been feeding the famous at the Oscars for 25 years, has given AFP a peek at this year’s spread: smoked salmon, truffle pasta and Oscar statuettes made out of chocolate. https://youtu.be/hSh43vHaZIg

Tiny S. Africa beach restaurant crowned best in world

by Fiachra GIBBONS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A tiny beach restaurant in an isolated South African fishing village was named the best in the world on Monday. Chef Kobus van der Merwe, who did not begin to cook seriously until he was 30, forages every day for ingredients on the wild Atlantic shore of the Western Cape near his Wolfgat restaurant, where he also makes his own bread and butter. The Wolfgat — […]

Chinese food producer says swine fever found in dumplings

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — A major Chinese food producer said Monday that traces of the African swine fever virus had been found in its frozen dumplings. China, the world’s biggest consumer and producer of pork, has struggled to contain an outbreak of the virus since the first cases were detected last August. Officials have said hundreds of thousands of pigs were culled in a bid to stop its spread — an effort that has also […]

Argentines protest in push for ‘food emergency’ declaration

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Thousands took to the streets in 50 Argentine cities and towns Wednesday demanding that the government declare a “food emergency” and put an end to suffocating price increases. “We are losing work, food, education, housing… it’s desperation that is emerging among our people,” said Osvaldo Ulacio, 60, as he marched in the capital Buenos Aires. “They have left us no other tool than to come out in the streets to […]