Thanks to increasing energy costs and world food demands, Thanksgiving dinner is going to cost a little more than last year, says Purdue University agricultural economist Corinne Alexander.

"Food prices in 2007 are up across the board," she says. "What we've seen happen in 2007 is different from previous years. This year we're seeing food prices increase at a rate of 4.4 percent, which is well above the 10-year average of 2.6 percent. In general, food price inflation is lower than the rest of inflation, but this year that's changed."

On top of the overall increase, some food items have seen ...

Each holiday season, the turkey and its sleep-inducing L-tryptophan gets all the attention for its 'chill-out' properties, but adding a daily dose of pistachios to your diet can help battle the stressors of the season.

Sound too good to be true?  According to a study conducted by nutrition researchers at Penn State University, eating two servings of pistachios a day may reduce your body's response to the stresses of everyday life. The study found that lifestyle changes, along with a healthy diet and exercise, can lessen the biological reactions to stress. Pistachios, resulted in a significant ...

Overall customer satisfaction with food manufacturers has dropped significantly, according to the University of

Diane will be back next week. Be sure to check back for her latest entry.

I know you'll be delighted to hear that you can now purchase scratch and sniff wallpaper.

Inspired by New York designer Michael Angelo, New Orleans-based Flavor Paper has introduced its Fruit Cocktail Collection in three varieties -- Bananas, Cherry Forever and Tutti Frutti, reports Daily Candy. You can look forward soon to Magnolia and Vanilla.

How does it work? Fragrance oils are microencapsulated into millions of microscopic porcelain balls, which are then dipped in water-based adhesive and applied by silk screen t ...

Diane's away of vacation, but she managed to write a few comments before she left. Here's what she had to say:

Ethnic cuisines are center of the plate in restaurants and prepared foods in the U.S. Attributed to changing demographics and international travel, which broadens American taste buds, ethnic cuisines and ingredients are as important to the industry's future new product success as the current wellness phenomena.

One of the most society-changing trends in the U.S. is demographic singularity, according to Nat Irvin II, founder of Future Focus 2020 at Wake Forest University, the Strickl ...

I suspect Americans have a propensity for avoiding tea because of a deep-seated psychological cue that if American colonists hadn't protested against Great Britain by destroying tea on ships in Boston Harbor in December of 1773, the American Revolution would never have been sparked. No doubt, we'd still be enjoying afternoon tea.

But a new report from Packaged Facts predicts the market for tea, "instant, leaf, liquid concentrate and ready-to-drink," will heat up over the next five years, almost doubling from an estimated $7.4 billion in sales in 2007 to nearly $15 billion in 2012.

One of the ...

Carbonated soft drinks account for 26.3 percent of the beverage marketplace, but share is continuing to decline, according to Gary Hemphill, managing director of New York City-based Beverage Marketing Corp., who spoke at the recent Worldwide Food Expo 2007 in Chicago.

Bottled water makes up 14.4 percent of the beverage marketplace and is the fastest growing, followed by coffee and beer (both at 11.3 percent), milk (10.9 percent), tap water/other (12.9 percent) fruit beverages (7 percent), tea (4.1 percent), wine (1.2 percent) and spirits (0.7 percent).

Trends in the first half of 2007 are mo ...

Citing unidentified sources "familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reports Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, Ill., is close to selling its Post cereal division, which includes Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts and Pebbles children's cereals, for about $2.8 billion to St. Louis-based Ralcorp Holdings, which makes private-label cereals and frozen waffles.

Speculation of the sale has been rampant since August and analysts identified possible buyers as Kellogg Co. (No 1 cereal maker), General Mills (No 2 cereal maker), PepsiCo (Quaker cereals), and dark horse DelMonte Foods Co.

In keepin ...

Inspired by tastes from the around the world, Toronto-based Loblaw plans to launch 140 new products under its President's Choice private label this month. Among the offerings are hand-rolled dim sum from China; Dulce de Leche, "known as sex in a bottle," from Argentina; and tarte au chocolate and tarte au citron from Paris.

Product innovation in private label products has spurred growth of store brands across the U.S., a worrisome development for brand only companies. According to a recent nationwide survey by Ispos MORI for the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), 41 percent of sh ...

Halloween is the season of ghosts, goblins, and most of all, candy.

According to The Nielsen Co., U.S. consumers are expected to purchase more than $2.1 billion in candy this Halloween season (the 10 week period ending Nov. 4).  The holiday generates the greatest sales volume of sweets for the entire year, with candy sales expected to jump nearly 63 percent compared to the previous ten week period.

"There's no doubt about it -- when doorbells ring on October 31, consumers respond with candy, and lots of it," says Todd Hale, senior vice president of Consumer & Shopping Insights, Nielsen C ...