/oss/taxonomy/term/2581/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/bet-you-cant-eat-just-one <p>A couple of years ago we carried out a simple experiment. We put a bowl of mini doughnuts and a bowl of apples in front of my office with a sign “free to take.” I’ll let you guess which disappeared first. Correct! Only a few apples had been taken by the time all the doughnuts had vanished. I suspect that if I had canvassed the students about which snack is “healthier,” not one would have chosen the doughnut. The reason this comes to mind now is that recently a number of papers have been published about highly processed foods, such as doughnuts, being addictive.</p> Thu, 02 Nov 2023 20:18:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9708 at /oss /oss/article/food/noisy-chip-bags <p>In 2010 Frito-Lay introduced a 100% compostable bag for its SunChips with great fanfare only to yank it off the market a scant eighteen months later.  Why?  Believe it or not, the bags were too noisy!  Consumers complained that handling the bags made a sound like a screeching train and irritated customers quickly organized a Facebook group that went by the name “Sorry But I Can’t Hear You Over This SunChip Bag.”  When sales declined by some 11% due to the 95 decibel eardrum-blasting crinkle, Frito-Lay decided to throw in the towel and go back to the traditional polypropylene packaging.</p> Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:08:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1709 at /oss