February 9 - February 15, 2009.
Peanut Butter Recall. More major developments. The company at the center of the recall, Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was ordered to shut down a 2nd plant in Texas after dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers were discovered in a crawl space above a production area. A few days later, they declared bankruptcy. This essentially means that they will be shielded from having to pay out fully in lawsuits which they may be facing now and in the future.

"But the victims will be able to be compensated from either PCA's insurance policy or Kellogg or King Nut," which made crackers and peanut butter the plaintiffs claim sickened them with salmonella poisoning [Source]

There are a lot of comments left on this site asking about Nature Valley products. So far, they say they are NOT affected according to their website, but for goodness sake, err on the side of caution and avoid peanut butter products.

Yoplait. Other than debuting new "superfruit flavors" for Yo-plus and Yoplait Original, General Mills has also announced that all Yoplait Yogurts will be will be 100% free of milk from cows treated with rBST (aka BGH) by August 2009. General Mills said they were "the first leading brand of yogurt to utilize milk that is 100% certified from cows not treated with rBST/rBGH." Stonyfield strongly disagreed with that and put out a press release saying, "Better Yo-late than Yo-never." They did it 15 years ago. Ha - take that GMills! We love a good food fight!

Wonder Bread. Remember them? They were THE "white bread, slice bread" back in the day. Then the whole wheat and fiber trend started - they didn't pay attention, and as a result went bankrupt. Their parent company, Interstate Bakeries Corp (IBC), recently emerged from Chapter 11, and along with the Wheat breads they have already introduced, they now plan to go au-natural.

IBC plans to begin selling Nature's Pride products, which include no artificial flavors or preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup or trans fats. The company will sell eight 24-ounce premium hearty varieties and two 20-ounce traditional soft varieties under the brand. Six of the varieties, including whole wheat and 12-grain, will be sold nationwide while another four varieties, including potato and buttermilk, will be sold regionally [Source].

To quote Stonyfield Farms again, "Better yo-late than yo-never" (don't be surprised if you see this phrase crop in reviews as I can't stop saying it).

Truvia is now a sponsor of the American Dietetics Association. I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, they are not a publicly funded organization, so I expect that they will have to be funded by more than membership dues, but a sweetener that was up until very recently was banned for use in food products in the USA, is not something I think the ADA should be so ready to accept sponsorship from. Here is Fooducate's take on the issue.

Starbucks has been on our radar ever since they started serving healthier items, a few of which we reviewed, like the Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal (not perfect but pretty darn good), Starbucks Portobello Mushroom Piadini and the Starbucks Power Protein Plate. They have been having some financial problems, having to close stores and face competition from McDonald's of all places. So they have decided to start selling value breakfast meal combos for $3.95 starting March 3, 2009. They will debut 2 new sandwiches for their value menu. They will also be introducing Starbucks Instant Coffee.

Iateapie.net. We had a lot going on at the site last week. We got a mini-facelift for the site with a change in color from blue to red, and did some restructuring of content. Be sure to check out our 8 ice cream recommendations and another simple way to cut calories without eating less and a great low calorie lunch recommendation.

Last week was Snack Bars Reviews Week. 5 stars went to Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Fruit and Nut Bar, Fiber One Oats & Strawberries with Almonds Bar and Weil By Nature's Path Organic Chia Razz Pure Fruit And Nut Bar.

This week it's all about Snacks. Sneak preview: Glenny's, So Delicious and South Beach brands will all make an appearance. Stay tuned!