Freaky food briefs

Horsemeat found in burgers

Officials identified traces of horsemeat in beef burgers produced by Silvercrest Foods, Ireland's second-largest manufacturer. Nine of 13 burgers analyzed on Jan. 15 tested positive for horse DNA. Officials believe one ingredient imported from "an unspecified European country" caused the contamination, according to The Huffington Post.

Approximately 10 million burgers were recalled from Irish and British supermarkets.

Officials realized the error after ordering tests of Silvercrest burgers in response to the testing of 27 other brands of beef burgers on sale at Irish supermarkets during November and December. Of the 27 tested, 10 brands contained horsemeat, though the amount was "miniscule," according to The Huffington Post. However, brands sold in England contained 29 percent horsemeat.

Mike Gibney, director of the Institute of Food and Health at University College Dublin, believes the cause of the problem also stems from the desire to sell food at the cheapest possible prices. Beef is three to four times more expensive than horsemeat.

Silvercrest Foods announced operations would be suspended indefinitely and investigations are ongoing. Its parent company, ABP Food Group, said it will begin DNA testing at the manufacturing sites.

The end of food porn

Posting photos of your meal before you dig in is now unwelcome by many restaurant owners, especially in New York City.

"Foodstagram," a growing trend of posting a photo of a meal online with a cell phone, is on the rise with the increased amount of smartphones used by the public.

"With the advent of social media, it just became that people like food porn," said Steven Hall, PR representative for Bouley restaurant, to ABC News. "People really love looking at pictures of food."

Restaurant owners are not happy and ask that, at the very minimum, guests refrain from using flash photography in efforts to not disturb other diners.

In 2008, chef David Chang of Momofuku Ko, in New York City instituted a no-photography policy, according to The Huffington Post.

Since then, SoHo House New York, Tocqueville restaurant and many others have supported the Chang's position and created the same policy.

"My philosophy is it's not your own dining room; you're there with many other diners," said Joann Makovitzky of Tocqueville. "People are there for their own dining experience and anything you do to infringe on that experience, we frown on."

However, David Bouley, the head chef at Bouley, instead invites guests to the kitchen to snap their photos, according to ABC News. It not only decreases the distraction caused by the photography, but it also gives the guest more involvement in their meal.

New York State Restaurant Association, made up of 5,000 restaurants in the New York metropolitan area, said the informal ban is not something it is concerned with. Whether or not photography will be allowed will depend on each restaurant.

"Everybody wants everybody in the world to know where they are," Hall said. "We don't want to stop it, but we want to control it."

Ice cream store's sorbet "combats" influenza

Cayenne pepper, ginger, Maker's Mark bourbon, honey, orange juice and lemon juice - the ingredients in "Hot Toddy Sorbet," an ice cream that is said to fight flu symptoms.

"It tastes like a great cocktail," said Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder and president of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, the Ohio-based company responsible for the treat, to the Toronto Star. "It's sort of like a whisky sour."

Bauer's mother and grandmother, who would make hot whiskey with honey and lemon juice for sick family members, inspired the recipe. Though it does not actually cure the flu, Bauer's sorbet brings the same sort of comfort, according to the company.

The vitamin C from the juices, cayenne, ginger and honey are all natural remedies for illness; however, the sorbet does not provide enough of each to make it an effective medication, according to Heather Boon, professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto.

Still, consumers are rushing to the company's stores in Ohio and Tennessee, as well as purchasing the sorbet online. Sales for the shop are up more than 300 percent, according to Toronto Star.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com