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McDonalds is reacting to increasing pressure from its more health savvy customers and is reducing the weight of fries it serves and introducing seasonal fruit and vegetables into the mix.

Happy Meals, which, thanks to the toys that its sponsors provide, are a must have for many kids all over the world, are going to come under the change from September, in some states at least. After the initial trial the changes will be rolled out to the rest of the country’s 14,000 restaurants in the US. This won’t be the first time McDonalds has changed the make up of the Happy Meal, in the past they removed the fries completely which obviously went down like a dry lunch so the fries were put back on the menu. Jan Fields, McDonald’s US president observed: “People come to McDonald’s and, first of all, they want the choice and the control to be theirs, but their expectation of a Happy Meal does include a fry. When we did it without fries, there was a huge disappointment factor.”

The new meal will contain about half of the number of fries that the current Happy Meal contains, down from approximately 70 grams of potato to 30 grams, this edible shortfall will be made up with fruit or vegetables such as apple slices, carrot sticks, pineapple or raisins. What exactly depends on the region and the time of year. Despite the variations McDonalds say that the changes will reduce the amount of calories by about 20%.

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When you take the kids out for a meal you want to give them something nutritious and wholesome, something that will fill them up with yummy yummy goodness providing for healthy development, both intellectually and physically. Funny then that all they seem to want is fried processed carbs, mechanically recovered meat and fizzy drinks on top!

So you visit one of the ubiquitous junk food restaurants where they can fill up on calories and starches and then burn them all off again as the fly around the ball pool screaming like banshees and having great larks and lorks a lordy. So there they are, happily fed and playing in a safe environment where you can leave them to duke it out by themselves for five minutes while you get to catch a glimpse of today’s paper.

But put that paper down for a moment and look at what your treasured mites are gadding about in. Dr Erin Carr-Jordan, who also happens to be a developmental psychologist did and she filmed what she saw. Not only that but after having not been able to get a response from the management she made it her pet project to investigate just how filthy the PlayPlaces and restrooms really were. (spoiler alert: VERY!) Erin’s research took her to more than 50 separate ball pools where she took samples which she then sent back to the lab to have analysed.

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Running counter to natural assumption, proximity to fast and junk food doesn’t cause an exaggerated risk of obesity in school-age children and teens, a new study has revealed.

The research, carried out in Maine, found no correlation between overweight and obesity and the proximity of fast food outlets to schools and colleges. David Harris PhD of the University of Southern Maine in Portland et al wrote in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour that “Unhealthful (sic) food choices are ubiquitous” so retailers selling low nutrition, high salt, high sugar foods “[…] have no significant effect on student obesity.”

Of course there are several previous reports that show that the availability of processed foods in any particular neighbourhood will increase not only the risk but also the incidence of obesity among the population. Harris also postulated that the results may remain consistent with school age children if they’re allowed to go out for lunch and have a number of fast food options available nearby.

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I read in my local newspaper yesterday that the kitchen of the pub I used to work in while a student had caught fire over the weekend during a busy evening service. My friend Juliette who still works there said on her Facebook page:

Burning Down The Pub

“So at peak time on my pub shift the chef comes running in shouting ‘FIRE’! Before you can say ‘blasted chip pan’ the pub was in flames. A mass exodus ensued followed by 4 fire engines, 2 ambulances and several police cars! Now, some would suggest that I attract a somewhat abnormal amount of bad luck…

“AU CONTRAIRE..! Rescued by truck loads of brave strong firemen and plied with Tequila to settle the nerves!?! I’d imagine that’s what Heaven is like!”

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The Association of British Insurers (ABI) are claiming that Britain is the “Whiplash capital of Europe” since one in every 140 people is claiming to have received a whiplash injury every year. They claim that the huge increases in motor insurance are down to the massive volumes of claims against insurance companies and the payouts that they have to make because of ‘cash for crash’ claims taken up by no-win-no-fee lawyers.

Whiplash injuries are hard to diagnose and easy to fake. Whiplash occurs when the muscles and ligaments of the neck are stretched unnaturally quickly when the vehicle in which the victim is travelling comes to an abrupt halt snapping the head in the direction of travel. Because the symptoms are hard to see yet easy to fake the ABI has found that they are easy to fake by fraudsters.

1,200 claims are made for whiplash injuries in the UK every year which is six times as many as the number of people who make work related claims per annum, although many people are reluctant to claim against their employers, stating that they either don’t know how to claim or are worried about the repercussions of claiming against their bosses.

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If you’re thinking of getting away this summer then you might have another reason given to you by British Airways as they cut their fares by up to 30% on their business class routes and up to 60% in their first class cabins if you can find a destination you want and can book before June 21, 2011.

British Airways will be slashing the prices on tickets to over 80 destinations, the offer on discounted tickets includes tickets booked before the end of the month for travel before New Year’s Eve. Business flights to Caribbean destinations including Grenada and Jamaica are attracting discounts of 24 to 29%. As well as the flights, BA are also offering holiday packages, offers include stays at resorts like the 4 ½ star Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa located in Montego Bay. It recently received a Five Diamond AAA standard. They’re also offering holiday deals in Dubai, booking now could put you in poll position when the F1 Grand Prix arrives later on this year; the BA offer includes stays at the Ritz-Carlton anmd hotels further into the desert such as the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa.

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Their slogan has been “Love it or Hate it” for a couple of years now but it appears that the Danes hate it so much that Marmite is now illegal on their shores.

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Thanks to strict food safety laws which take a dim view of any kind of additive, Denmark has decided that yeast extract should become illegal as added vitamins are seen as a threat to public health. Other ‘dangerous’ foods include Rice Crispies, Shreddies, Horlicks and Ovaltine.

Since 2004 any foods containing fortification have been removed from shops which could explain why Danish bacon tastes so much better here than it does there. Unlike Britain, Australia and New Zealand Marmite had never really taken off in Scandinavia, confined, as it was, to the few ‘English Shops’ that exist in the major cities. Then the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration noticed tht it contained additives and promptly banned it.

The sale of any foodstuff which has “added vitamins, minerals and other substances” must be approved by the Danish government following a health scare involving the effects on children and unborn babies of foods with increased vitamin levels combined with others. The resulting high vitamin and mineral levels are thought to be potentially harmful to development.

This isn’t the first time Marmite has courted controversy though, a few years ago some Welsh schools banned it from their menus as it was thought that the salt content was too high for the little ones. However, the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods is rarely done in order to do harm. In China it’s been known for unscrupulous baby formula manufacturers to add melamine to their products to increase protein content, not withstanding the fact that it’s toxic.

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