5@5: New research on prevalence of food allergies | Aldi a retailer to watch?

How common are food allergies?

About 3.6 percent of Americans have at least one food allergy or intolerance, according to new research out of Brigham and Women's Hospital published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. This number is lower than previous estimates, and researchers arrived at it by combing through the electronic health records of 2.7 billion patients. Shellfish was the most frequently reported cause of allergic reaction, followed by fruits and vegetables, dairy and peanuts. Read more at Smithsonian...

Aldi fires $3.4 billion shot in U.S. supermarket wars

As its German competitor Lidl readies for its first U.S. store opening later this month, Aldi, which operates 1,600 stores in the U.S., said it has plans for 900 more over the next five years. It's also focused on adding in-house brands for especially price-sensitive customers, as well as lowering prices all around. Read more at Reuters...

How are food industry leaders approaching food-tech innovation?

"We engage regularly with [venture capital firms], universities, startups, our supplier base and investor networks," says Zachary Ellis of PepsiCo. General Mills utilizes open innovation to engage food industry outsiders, especially in the pharmaceutical and life science industries. Read more at Ag Funder News...

Is whole wheat better than white? That may depend on your gut bacteria

As the research community continues to uncover more intel on the impact of the trillions of bacteria in the human digestive tract, a new study suggests that what foods are healthier for a person may vary depending on his or her bacteria. Researchers conducted an experiment where they fed different groups of people either white bread or whole wheat sourdough bread, and then monitored their glycemic responses. Some people had a higher gylcemic response to the processed white bread, while others had a higher glycemic response to the less processed wheat bread. And, the researchers found that they could predict a person's response based on a sample of his or her gut bacteria. Read more at Popular Science...

22,000 pounds of beef recalled amid E. coli fears

Wholesale food supplier Creation Gardens Inc. is recalling raw ground beef and beef primal cut products shipped to Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee after it was notified of two positive E. coli tests from its plant. Read more at CNN...