FoodBozo.com

Ever since the Trojan Horse – and probably long before – men have bent their minds to developing the ultimate secret weapon. Now, at last, the Indian army just might have discovered it: the world’s hottest chilli pepper.

The Indian army believes that the pungency of its ground seeds of the bhut jolokia – a capsicum hybrid, growing around the banks of the Brahmaputra river, that is reputed to be 100 times hotter than a jalapeño – could be harnessed in smoke grenades against rioters or to flush out terrorists in confined spaces. The army said the weapon could also be used in aerosol sprays by women warding off attackers.

Read more: India deploys world’s hottest chilli to fight terrorism

Image: Guardian

Knocking on melons. Squeezing avocados. We all have our little ways to pick out which produce we think is the freshest. But a handful of designers are taking that to the next level with the creation of a fading barcode that disappears along with a product’s freshness, Treehugger reported.

When a fruit or vegetable arrives at the store, it’s tagged with the Fresh Code. Over time, the lines (or bars in the bar code) fade, showing how long it has been in the store and letting both customers and store owners know when produce is past its prime.

• Barcode Could Reveal Food’s Freshness
• Hit Or Miss: Fresh Code Barcode Concept Ensures Your Produce Is Just-Picked

Image: treehugger

Here’s the whole grain truth

A steady diet of whole grains, from amaranth to oats, can lower your risk of heart disease. Here’s how to shop for and cook with grains

The whole grain truth
Whole grains have attracted a lot of positive attention recently due to the growing wealth of research that show whole grains such as amaranth, spelt and quinoa as well as the tried-and-true brown rice and oats may help lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. But what exactly is a whole grain? And how do you cook them? Here’s why you should choose whole grains more often and some tips on how to use them in your recipes.

Read more: Here’s the whole grain truth

Oats: so pale, so small, and so easy to ignore. Some people look at a bowl of oatmeal and say, “blah!” Others gaze upon a lumpy mush of hot oats, with steam clouding their dreamy eyes, and sigh, “ahhh…” Are you an oat-lover? Here’s why you should take the oat oath and eat more of these oh-so-wholesome whole grains.

Read more: 7 reasons why oats are awesome

We have been adding butter to recipes for generations. It has not only become an ingredient to many recipes, but it also makes a great addition to topping bread. The truth is, butter is made from milk that contains saturated fat from animal products.

Saturated fats may keep their form nicely sitting in your refrigerator, but they are the main culprits when it comes to high cholesterol and inflammation of the arteries, which lead to heart disease. Margarine on the other hand is an artificial trans fat created from vegetable oils.

Read more: Butter or margarine – try neither

You seek out organics at the grocery store, and often pay for the privilege. But is what you’re buying really organic? Official organic standards have been in place in this country since 2002, but according to an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General earlier this month, that bag of organic salad mix you tossed into your cart last week might not even meet basic federal standards. The problem? The Feds simply aren’t enforcing their own rules.

It’s the job of the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) to oversee organic products (ensuring they meet organic standards and carry correct labeling), but the OIG discovered major failings. One of the worst? Organic laws call for periodic residue testing, but no testing program exists. (This boggles the mind, no?)

Read more: Is Anyone Watching Over Organics?

TORONTO – Non-cola soft drinks could soon be spiked with an eye-opening ingredient – the caffeine that’s already added to colas.

Health Canada announced Friday it is authorizing the use of caffeine as a food additive in all carbonated soft drinks, not just cola-type beverages. Beverage companies will be allowed to add synthetic caffeine to non-cola soft drinks in concentrations no higher than 150 parts per million. The maximum amount of caffeine allowed in colas is 200 parts per million.

Read more: Health Canada OKs addition of caffeine to non-cola soft drinks

If you’re like many men out there, you dream of a flat washboard stomach and a six pack. If you?re ready to ditch your evenings in front of the TV for a trip to the gym, and your usual pizza and six pack of beers with a healthier alternative, then it’s definitely an attainable goal.

Diet: Unless you are the very rare exception, diet is the key component in losing abdominal fat and keeping it off. Start by getting rid of all refined carbs (white bread, white pasta, pastry, etc) and trans fats (foods containing hydrogenated oils, like packaged food) from your diet, and eat organic unprocessed food (no chemicals or pesticides.) You should also be eating the appropriate ratio of protein, carbs and fat in ever meal. I’m not a believer of cookie cutter diets, so you may want to look into the Metabolic Typing Diet to determine what proportions are right for you. Keep your body well fueled – most people do the best on 3 main meals and 2 smaller snack meals a day, and well hydrated with clean filtered water. Good food and water will not only help with recovery but will also keep your metabolism going at its ideal pace.

Read more: Get a six pack this summer!

On Friday, a Santa Monica restaurant under fire for allegedly serving illegal whale meat announced it was set to close its doors as a “self-imposed punishment.”

The Hump, an upscale eatery at the Santa Monica Airport, has been in the hot seat ever since animal activists and an associate producer of The Cove — this year’s best documentary Oscar winner — snuck a camera into the restaurant and secretly recorded themselves ordering and receiving omakase, or chef’s choice, which included eight pieces of illegal whale meat.

Read more: Santa Monica Restaurant to Close for Serving Illegal Whale Meat

Germs have a way of cropping up in some pretty unexpected spots—which mean even the most neat and tidy among us might be inadvertently letting bacteria flourish in our homes.

And while exposure to some bacteria is fine and good, there are certain hot spots where germs tend to congregate, which can make it easier to spread sickness across your family. Here’s a re-cap of some of the most major household dirt traps.

Read more: Where the germs are lurking in your home