You Want Fries With That?

You might be surprised by the answer to the quintessential American question, You want fries with that? An increasing number of people are saying no. Restaurant prices are increasing more than grocery store prices these days, and that’s putting pressure on fast food outlets. The less often we go to those, the fewer fries we eat. Even some of the bargain meal deals often only include a small fries. That might seem like small potatoes to you, but it’s a big deal if you’re in the fry business. “Lamb Weston, the largest producer of french fries in North America and a major supplier to fast-food chains, restaurants and grocery stores, is closing a production plant in Washington state. The company announced last week that it would lay off nearly 400 employees, or 4% of its workforce, and temporarily cut production lines in response to slowing customer demand.” America’s french fry king sounds an alarm. (I wonder if some aspect of this is related to the rise of Ozempic use. Fries are one of the foods experts advise you to avoid when taking that drug.)

+ It turns out that sell-by dates don’t have all that much to do with whether or not you can still safely consume a product. In fact, they’re not even meant for you in the first place. “Sell-by dates are a slightly ironic, and unnecessary, cause of food waste, because they’re not intended to ever be used by consumers. Instead, these dates are meant to indicate to store employees when stock needs to be rotated, and are not accurate representations of freshness or consumability.” California Just Became the First State to Ban Sell-By Dates.