A new book released this month is challenging the way we consumers view the "superfruits" that are on the market today and exposes the realities behind making a superfruit "brand". Those fruits which are held up to be more nutritionally valuable than others, such as acai berries, blueberries and pomegranates are actually just marketed in very effective ways, according to Karl Crawford and Julian Mellentin, authors of Successful Superfruit Strategy - How to build a superfruit business.

Rather than relying on the fruits' overwhelming nutritional benefits, superfruit manufacturers are using the right combination of health, science and marketing – giving them exponential growth within a dwindling fruit market.

Superfruit market beats all the rest
While the sales of seasonal fruit such as apples and pears are actually falling, the superfruit market is experiencing growth of..

Following on from our report on the European intervention into our dietary habits - the Diogenes Project, preliminary results from the study were announced today at the European Congress of Obesity.

Search for the Ideal Diet
The Diogenes Project is a pan-European study working towards lower obesity rates in Europe. It aims to finding a diet or diet-trend that will help people keep weight off in the long term. The project was funded by the EU Commission and is currently testing people in 8 centres around Europe to see..

Last month, France made steps towards protecting the cultivation of GM produce in the wake of damage being done to crops by environmental groups. Amid discussion over the health and safety of GM crops, the lower house of parliament and the Senate have both agreed to push through a controversial bill which fixes the conditions under which GM crops can be grown in France.

Protecting GM
The bill, which was passed by the Senate in April and is due for review at the end of May, permits heavier prosecution of those caught tampering with or damaging crops, protecting what is Europe's largest cultivation of GM crops. Since 1996, the land used to grow GM crops in France has quadrupled from..

As summer draws ever nearer to British shores, the farming industry is under increasing pressure to find workers to pick their soft fruits. For the first time in a decade, a shortage of seasonal labourers means that thousands of tonnes of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are likely to be left to rot in the fields.

Harsher immigration policy
Under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), farmers in the UK used to be able to hire temporary workers from all over Europe and they usually came in the form of students looking for work and travel during their summer holidays. Since new restrictions in immigration policy have been brought in, growers are only permitted to employ..

The hype surrounding eating disorders has been increased following last year's controversy in the fashion world for its use of size zero models on the catwalks, and now the French government are stepping in to take action against what is a growing issue among young women in Europe.

Extreme Diets Outlawed
Last month, the French lower house of parliament approved a bill to outlaw mass communication that gives readers information and tips on how to successfully become anorexic or bulimic. Around 400 sites that extol the virtues of extreme weight loss and disordered eating have sprung up in France. If the bill is passed in the Senate, anyone found publishing..

Among other frightening catastrophes that are happening in the world today, the so-called "obesity epidemic" that Europe and the US is on the brink of, is a worrying one, and it appears that governments are working towards cracking down on fat people. However, there is a growing body of scholars and scientists who discredit claims that this is a killer disease that is spreading exponentially.

BMI now Reduced
The Body Mass Index (BMI), which is the calculation of height squared divided by weight squared, is something that many take to be a truthful indication of "good" and "bad" body types. However in 1997 and 1998..

When it comes to Italian food, not many would doubt that it's one of the world's favourite cuisines. That may be the case, however Italys' residents are having to forgo their pasta dishes and fresh fruit and vegetables in the wake of the food crisis and spiralling prices of staple ingredients.

Pasta too Expensive
With wheat prices rising 130% since March 2007, the average Italians' shopping basket is looking quite different, as sales of pasta have dropped by 2.6% in the last 12 months. The Italian Farmers' Confederation (CIA) reported that basic, low-cost protein sales such as..

The "most hated man in France" is, for now, not a policitian but a small town baker from Barnsley in England. Having taken advantage of an EU legal loophole, Englishman John Foster is now the official baguette supplier for France's railways, news bringing stinging criticism from the French.

French law stipulates that a baguette cannot be made using fat, which is the very ingredient that makes them last longer, however there are no rules to govern the ingredients when they're made elsewhere in the EU. The French railway increasingly found that French..

Many dieters think that by bingeing and starving, they are doing themselves a favour by "balancing out" the effects of one on the other. Unfortunately, scientists say that this couldn't be further from the truth and that we are doing more harm to ourselves than once believed.

Stunted growth
Glasgow University conducted experiments into the effects of a binge/starve diet on the life expectancy of stickleback fish, revealing worrying results. It was found that the fish on the extreme diet had only three quarters of the same life..

Antioxidants have been touted as good for everything from skin quality to heart disease, and now research has found that fruits high in antioxidants can reduce the prevalence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Apples / Grapes reducing Cholesterol
A study conducted by the University of Montpellier and Victor Ségalen University in Bordeaux linked the consumption of apples and purple grapes with a decrease in measures of atherosclerosis and cholesterol levels in..

Big business appears to be around the corner for those farmers selling raw milk as the organic foodie brigade is craving it by the golden gallon. The popularity of "raw" or unpasteurised milk is on the up, despite governments warning of the potential health risks of being exposed to salmonella and other potentially harmful bacteria.

Vitamins in Milk
The biggest argument for drinking raw milk is that it is higher in vitamins and healthy bacteria. Also, crucially, it still contains all of milk's natural enzymes - the element that makes it digestible for humans. However, the argument that it is dangerous for our..

The glamour may have diminished somewhat from the role of the waiter or waitress, but nowadays fewer and fewer people in western Europe aspire to be part of the front of house staff. In a survey conducted by Square Meal magazine revealed that half of the complaints that they received last year were to do with poor service, a rise of 7% on 2006.

Waiting Tables not Interesting
The status of waiters and maitre d's is in sharp decline and with this, the quality of service is declining too. In recent years, western Europe has seen an influx of job-seekers from eastern Europe who are filling the many..

The feeling of having reached a weight loss goal is usually one of elation and relief. Finally you've got there after all that hard work! However, it's true that many people can lose weight initially but keeping it off is another matter altogether.

Now the EU has stepped in to offer some practical advice and support on keeping weight off in the biggest European "intervention" into our dietary habits.

Diogenes Project
The European Commission is funding the Diogenes Project, which will over 5 years, look into the effects of diet and genes on the obesity..

Sun exposure can be extremely harmful for our skin and can also increase the signs of ageing by giving us more lines and wrinkles. As well as putting on sunscreen, we can also change our diet to include tomato-based products as it has been found that tomato paste, of the cooked variety, can act as sun protection.

The tomato experiment
Research conducted at the University of Manchester, UK, aimed to investigate the effects of tomato paste in protecting human skin from the sun and premature ageing. 10 volunteers were given 5 tablespoons (55g) of tomato..

A whiff of injustice was in the air and the rumour mill began when the S.Pellegrino's Worlds 50 Best Restaurants were announced at a lavish ceremony at the beginning of this week. For three years now, the El Bulli restaurant in Spain has won first prize and many judges are wondering if others on the 600-strong judging panel are really taking the voting seriously.

Judging criteria
As a judge, one of the criteria for..

Who knew that a recipe for a son starts with cereal? Research conducted by the Universities of Oxford and Essex in the United Kingdom indicates that women can influence the sex of their baby before, during and after conception.

Eat Breakfast for a Boy
Fiona Mathews, the research leader as Essex, revealed that after studying the eating patterns of 740 women they found that women who consumed more calories were 56% more likely to give birth to boys. Also, out of the women who ate breakfast..

With the EU having opened a public consultation in January regarding the approval of cloned foods for consumption, Europe might be one step closer to cultivating and importing these "Frankenfoods".

US Approved Cloned Foods
However, with the decision still in the balance, there could be some significant trade implications between Europe and the United States, with the US having already approved the use of cloned foods.

Many think that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will approve cloning by the end of the year, even though the European Commission commented that, "According to experts, animal cloning is on the verge of..

Herewith the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants 2008 by www.theworlds50best.com, reckoned to be the 50 best places on earth to eat.. enjoy !

1. El Bulli, Spain
This is the third consecutive year that Farron Adria, chef at El Bulli on the Costa Brava in Spain, has topped the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Offering diners a unique taste experience, Adria was one of the first to delve into the world of molecular gastronomy. His most famous protegée was..

Many are now ignoring the German smoking ban in force since Jan 1st this year, affecting Berlin and 11 states. The remaining states of Saxony, Rheinland Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringia will bring in their own ban from July, although it remains to be seen how effective it will be. Recent data showed that a similar smoking ban in Hong Kong had actually increased the level of smoking as people defied the ban.

Smoking Complaints
German Police are not following up on complaints about smokers and seem to have allowed the bar and cafe proprietors their own discretion on whther they allow smoking on premises..

Some respect is definitely due for those mathematicians who have puzzled their way through algorithm after algorithm to determine the dates of the Russian Orthodox Easter. This year the festival falls on 27th April, so it would be fitting to have a glance at the traditions of an Eastern Easter.

Lent
The 40-day period of Lent which precedes Easter Weekend can be a time of strict denial. In the run up to the festival, adherents to the faith will give up all products originating from animals, such as meat, eggs and dairy products. In the past, theatres and music halls were closed during Lent, as they were thought to be a distraction for the religious public, who should have been reflecting and repenting.

Holy Week
Holy Week begins with..

When considering what we can do to promote ethical food-sourcing, the latest buzz words have been 'food miles' and the 'carbon footprint'. However, a new measure of sustainability has been dreamt up called the 'water foot print'.

Water Deficit
Driven by increasing world population and therefore water deficits in key regions, the water foot print was designed to bring into sharp relief the amounts of water consumed in basic food production..

The Passover festival is as important for the Jewish community as Christmas is to the Christians. Starting at sunset on Saturday 19th April and running until sunset on Sunday 27th, the festival is a marked reminder of the Jews' long and turbulent history. As well as being steeped in tradition and history, the presence and importance of food during Passover is great.

Passover celebrates the time in history when the Hebrew people were able to escape slavery in Egypt. The story goes that God rescued the "Children of Israel" by sending the 10 plagues to punish the Egyptian people. After the ten plagues, the pharoah..

Whilst researching for our Irish Food series we came across some interesting new information on Food Intolerance and the potato.

A Euromintor study rates The US, Italy and the Uk as the three largest markets for gluten free products, citing the fact that sales of lactose free foods have increased by 29% since 2002. This is creating a niche new market that food manufacturers are eager to service.

Fatigue and Migraines
Food Intolerance can lead to fatigue and can exhibit symptoms of migraines, eczema, and irritable bowel syndrome. Sufferers will normally follow a gluten, lactose or wheat free diet to overcome..

Potatoes, oats and dairy products have been the traditional staple diet in Ireland. Soups using seafood, and meat also are very popular. Irish soups are made to be thick, and filling; perfect with a fresh Irish soda bread, recipes below...

The potato is having its own 21st century renaissance, and guess where? Ireland of course! Thanks to the efforts of celebrity chefs and a world-famous Irish cooking school, the Emerald Isle is staging a comeback for its delicious, wholesome and hearty traditional dishes.

Glamourising tradition
It has been claimed that one woman has single-handedly brought Irish cooking back into fashion, which seems quite an achievement. In 1964, Myrtle Allen opened..

Would you believe that in the world of European Michelin stars, Germany is now second on the list to France? Amazing but true. The world of fine dining in Germany has grown, such that 9 of its restaurants now hold the sought-after 3 Michelin stars.

Unadventurous cooking
Catching up with the French, who currently have 28 3-starred restaurants, has been a long time coming for the Germans, who have always held the stereotype among other Europeans as being a little un-adventurous when it comes to their kitchens. According to Juan Amador, owner of the Amador restaurant which has recently been awarded its third star, this about-turn in German cuisine has been quite a recent event..

Alternate Day Diet
Masterminded by plastic surgeon Dr James B Johnson, the Alternate Day Diet instructs dieters to follow a feast and fast principle. This means that you can eat whatever you want one day, then the next day restricting intake to 300 to 500 calories. The idea is that on the "fast" day, dieters will be balancing out the calories consumed during their "binge" day.

How it Works
Dr Johnson explains in his book that this up-and-down diet is extremely easy to follow due to the fact that dieters always have their "no-holds barred" day just around the corner, and practically nothing is off limits.

A promising new study into the beneficial effects of probiotics has revealed that they can be used to treat patients with alcoholic cirrhosis – a disease which scars the liver and is most commonly caused by heavy drinking.

Probiotics Boost
In the early stages of contracting cirrhosis, there are few symptoms and side-effects, but in time the liver function steadily worsens and could deteriorate to leave the patient in need of a liver transplant..

Finding an alternative source of protein to our adored rump steaks and salmon fillets may be difficult in the wake of a food shortage crisis. Or will it?

Mini Livestock
"Mini-livestock"- meaning grubs and insects - are growing in popularity as a valuable new source of protein and minerals that could one day replace meat and fish at our dining tables.

It is well-documented that drinking and related health problems are on the rise in Europe. However, instead of the consumer taking the blame, drinking establishments have recently come under fire for increasingly serving only large measures of alcohol and not giving us the choice to drink responsibly. Hurrah! Someone else to blame!

Irresponsible Bars
According to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), pubs and bars are acting "irresponsibly" by deliberately increasing the size of their wine glasses and often giving double shots at standard prices..

Amazingly, Muffins, Puddings and breakfast Cereals all contain high salt content, and 97% of people interviewed did not understand this fact and the hidden risk to their childrens health. Over 80 per cent of our salt intake comes from processed foods in Europe and the USA according to CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health). Intuitively no-one expects salt to be included in sweet products but sadly this is widely practised. CASH ran a survey on the parenting website..

Germany, the "Land of Ideas" has come up with many excellent inventions in the past, including the diesel engine and the printing press. Now to add to its list of accomplishments is a fully-automated restaurant dubbed the "Robot Restaurant". 'S baggers restaurant in Nuremburg was the brainchild of local businessman Michael Mack who wanted to do away with the stuffy traditions of waiter service and create something new and exciting..

France banned smoking in all of its bars, cafes and restaurants on the 1st of January this year, this followed a wider public smoking ban introduced on 1st February 2007. It will be interesting to follow the effects of the ban, also implemented in Berlin at the same time. In another part of the world Hong Kong now reports INCREASED..

90% of the world food supply comes from just 15 crop and 8 livestock types; over-farming is a real threat to our food supply. It is now a widely held view that that we are polluting the land we live on and many of the most popular crops are now under threat from extinction. The Worldwatch Institute has just launched its State of the World Report for 2008, with one chapter's theme dedicated to the question "Can Meat and Fish Consumption Be Sustainable?" The chapter's authors, Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg, highlight growing environmental and sustainability issues surrounding meat production and fish harvesting, exposing shocking..

In 1983 it was revealed that leaded petrol could seriously stunt children's growth and intelligence, and thankfully it was phased out by the year 2000. Now there is a new nemesis for our children's health which may be just as lethal, and those are E-numbers. Since research conducted in the 1970's highlighted a link between artificial food colourings and behavioural problems in..

The illegal trade in wild caviar is worth $250m globally, so it is little wonder that worldwide stocks of the black fish eggs are in drastic decline, and that governments are now trying to crack down on the roaring blackmarket trade. The current market price of caviar in Europe is 1,270 Euros for 100g, but the European blackmarket in caviar is worth five times more than the legal trade. With these figures in mind, profiteers looking to made quick money are going after the last reserves available in order to gain substantial returns. Most of Europe's "black gold" comes from..

Courting controversy is what the food-retail industry does very well: from genetically modified food to cloning we are constantly faced with new technologies which may benefit the industry but will stretch our morals. Now there is a new technology on the horizon which is set to revolutionise the journey our food makes from farm to fork. It is called nanotechnology – the science involved in changing the core molecular structure of substances or objects – in short, it can alter almost anything. When applied to food, this technology could render what we eat more healthy, less chemically toxic, and provide a range of other benefits to the consumer and producer alike..

More than 4% of Europeans, 19 million to be exact, suffer from diabetes. A new study suggests that if they had been encouraged to eat more beans and peanuts there is a 40% chance they would not have been at risk. In Europe alone the figure is predicted to rise to 26 million..

In the world of haute-cuisine, it is a grand achievement for a chef to receive one or two Michelin Stars, and the absolute epitome of culinary excellence to achieve three. This week, however top chef Marco Pierre White launched an attack on the Guide claiming that it is "outdated" and has "varying standards" from country to country. He said, "I've dined in Michelin-starred places in New York and I'm confused. There are at least fifty restaurants in England as good as the two-star restaurants over there, rather than the paltry ten that currently hold..

If you go to any restaurant in Europe it's likely that you'll be asked to choose from still or sparkling water. So why are we not given the choice of bottled or tap? The bottled water industry has attracted growing criticism in recent years over its detrimental impact on the environment, so why have we stopped using our clean, safe tap water in favour of the stuff in plastic bottles?

It is no secret that the world is on the brink of major upheaval as global warming is heating up our planet, raising water levels, and is set to render our favourite holiday destinations barren deserts. Among having numerous other effects, global warming is also set to change the way we farm our crops, because if we don't change our methods nothing will prosper in the coming years. The wine grape has traditionally been harvested all over the mediterranean region to great effect, producing luscious whites and full-bodied reds for the world to enjoy. However, if vintners continue to maintain their vineyards as they have done for centuries we may be left high and dry in the search for a decent..

Our series on maximising energy would not be complete without mentioning exercise. Many of us fit in visits to the gym at various times of the day, but are we really getting the most out of our efforts ? EXERCISE IN THE EVENING: Cardiovascular exercise and strength training is important for the body's functioning, and by being fitter you will be boosting your overall waking evergy levels. Lots of research has been done into what the best time to exercise is, and it has been found that in the evening at around 6pm we are at our strongest during the day, meaning we will burn more calories and work harder. A study presented at the National Strength and Conditioning Association's annual meeting in Las Vegas looked at the effects of training at different times of the day on muscle mass, body fat and strength. A group of 16 men trained for 10 weeks either before 10.00am (AM group) or after 6.00pm (PM group). Their workouts consisted of 45 minutes of..