LOOK: New Netflix series passes off rambutan as an ‘alien fruit’

It's a tropical fruit common to Southeast Asia. 

But apparently, at least in the world of the Netflix science fiction series "Another Life," it's also found in a "mysterious" moon.

Of course, what the show's scientific crew found in its outer space expedition wasn't necessarily a rambutan in its universe, but the prop used for it was indeed the fruit many will be familiar with. 

In episode 5 of "Another Life," a pair of its characters came across an "alien-looking" fruit and decided to put it through a test to determine whether it was indeed edible or not. 

After determining that it was and taking a small bite out of it, they came to the conclusion that it was "disgusting," and was obviously not as sweet as the rambutan. 

The synopsis of "Another Life" reads: "After a massive alien artifact lands on Earth, Niko Breckinridge leads an interstellar mission to track down its source and make first contact." 

It stars Hollywood actress Katee Sackoff, probably better known as Starbuck of "Battlestar Galactica." 

It debuted last July 25. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

3 Australians die, more sick in listeria outbreak tied to melons

SYDNEY - Three people have died and 12 others have fallen ill in a national listeria outbreak linked to contaminated rockmelons, and more cases are expected, Australian health authorities said.

The outbreak is linked to the melons, also called cantaloupes, from a grower in the eastern state of New South Wales, the state's food authority confirmed on its website. The produce company, which has not been named, ceased operations and is investigating.

NSW Health said late on Friday that all 15 victims are elderly and are spread nationally from Victoria to Tasmania.

"We can confirm that 13 of the 15 cases consumed rockmelon before the onset of their illness," said Vicky Sheppeard, director of communicable diseases for NSW Health, in a media release. "People vulnerable to listeriosis should discard any rockmelon purchased before 1 March."

Health authorities have assured the public that all contaminated rockmelons have been removed from supermarket shelves.

Further cases are expected to surface as symptoms can take up to six weeks to appear after eating contaminated produce, and NSW Health told consumers to see a doctor if they experience symptoms.

The disease causes flu-like symptoms and can lead to nausea, diarrhea, infection of the blood stream and brain. Listeria bacteria does not cause illness in most people but it can result in sickness and death for those with weaker immunity such as the elderly, newborns and pregnant women.

The bacteria is found in soil, water and vegetation and can contaminate food anywhere during the production process from harvesting to serving.

Foods that can pose a risk of listeriosis include pre-cut melons, cold salads, raw seafood and smoked salmon, unpasteurized milk products, sprouted seeds and raw mushrooms, the New South Wales Food Authority said.

Listeria is rare in Australia but a deadly outbreak in South Africa has killed more than 170 people since January last year, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases said last month.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

California fruit recalled due to possible Listeria

OTTAWA – Some fruit products imported from California are being recalled due to concerns about possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the whole peaches, plums, nectarinees and pluots are sold primarily the Sweet 2 Eat brand.

The products, being recalled by Wawona Packing Company of California, may also show the Wawona or Harvest Sweet brand names.

Stickers on individual fruit have the Sweet 2 Eat brand name, and there are 45 packaging variations for the fruits involved.

The CFIA says the fruits may have been sold nationally and says there have been no reported illnesses linked to eating these products.

The federal agency says the recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

source: globalnews.ca

Shortage of 'spitter' apples threatens boom in hard cider

NEW YORK - Trying to find a traditional hard cider apple in the United States these days is the pits.

Even as hard cider is enjoying phenomenal growth, U.S. craft brewers are facing a shortage of bittersweet, bittersharp and sharp apples, the fruits traditionally used to make hard ciders.

"They're just not out there," said Colleen Finnegan, owner of Finnegan Cider in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Finnegan currently sells about 1,000 cases of cider a year, and would like to sell about twice that. But that is not likely because she cannot source enough apples.

The industry is partly a victim of its own success. For five years, hard ciders have enjoyed explosive growth, with a sales increase of 68 percent in 2012-2013 alone, according to the Beer Institute.

One reason for the apple shortage is historical. During Prohibition in the 1920s, trees known to bear hard cider apples became targets of axe-wielding FBI agents.

Popular bittersharp varieties include Kingston Black, Foxwhelp and Golden Russet. These are not dessert or eating apples such as Granny Smith.

Planting new orchards is a big commitment. An apple tree is a 25- to 30-year investment and it takes anywhere from three to six years before it becomes productive.

Greg Peck, assistant professor of horticulture at Virginia Tech University, said there are no figures for how many so-called spitters - apples too tart or bitter to eat fresh but perfect for cider making - are available currently.

In 2012, the total U.S. crop of apples was 216 million bushels, of which 1.7 million were used to make cider. Of that, Peck estimated, "only a handful" of those were bittersweet, bittersharp or sharp varieties.

At Montana CiderWorks in Darby, Lee McAlpine is lucky enough to have a reliable apple grower but said the situation could easily change.

Still, she refuses to press cider from readily available dessert apples, which many artisanal cider makers claim make for an inferior product.

"People are making cider out of anything they can press, but you just can't make a really sophisticated cider out of fruit that doesn't contain any tannins," McAlpine said.

GO SWEET OR GO ABROAD

The goliaths of the now-stagnant beer industry have put millions into the launches of their own brands to take advantage of the popularity of cider. But for them the domestic cider-apple shortage is barely a bump on the road.

"The commercial cider companies either do not use those types of apples or get them from Europe, so they're not overly affected," said Dan Rowell, acting chief executive officer of C&C Group Plc's Vermont Hard Cider Co, maker of popular Woodchuck Cider.

Large cider makers say that dessert apples can be used to make perfectly good hard cider.

"When Woodchuck was invented 23 years ago, there were no heirloom apples available in America, so we used what was available and expanded upon that," Rowell said.

"There's over 7,500 kinds of apples on the face of the Earth, and lot of them are common eating apples. We feel you can make a great, complex cider with eating apples."

David Sipes, cider maker for Boston Beer Company Inc's Angry Orchard, the No. 1 brand, said he sources bittersweets from France and blends them with dessert apples from Italy.

For smaller cideries, the shortage of traditional cider apples means the industry might not reach its full potential.

"We liken it to the wine movement from the 1970s, where there had been just Gallo, and suddenly the American palate became very sophisticated with all these varietals," said Finnegan, owner of Finnegan Cider in Oregon.

"In order for cider to grow, other people will have to start developing cider apples, if we want this to be a movement like the wine movement. It does take a commitment."

A single acre of apple orchard can cost a farmer as much as $60,000. For growers, who saw hard ciders enjoy brief popularity in the early 2000s only to lose their fizz almost overnight, it can be a leap of faith.

"It can be an extremely expensive decision, and if you screw up, you pay for it," said Dan Dietrich, an owner of Ridgeview Orchards in Conklin, Michigan. Still, he is putting in 20 acres (8 hectares) of bittersweets and bittersharps next year.

Across the country, universities, farms and cideries are participating in programs to revive long-lost heirloom cider-apple varieties.

Among them is Vermont Hard Cider, which is helping fund research on how to make cider apples more profitable for farmers.

"The lack of apples is an opportunity, not a crisis," said Rowell. "It's going to take time, but we're going to get back on track. We're going to resurrect some of these apples."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

5 ‘healthy’ habits that can make you fat

When trying to lose weight, some of the first things we do – such as cutting down on fat, drinking more water and eating more fruit – can also be the things that cause us to struggle to lose weight or even pile on the pounds. Check out the 5 "healthy" habits that could be making you gain weight, as well as how to make them more diet-friendly.








1. Cutting fat from your diet

Hands up who’s ever checked a packet and then rejected your food choice based on the fat content? If you’ve ever been on a diet, we’re guessing your hand is probably up. For many dieters, fat seems like the ultimate enemy. However, opting for low-fat products can be much more of a diet disaster than opting for those that contain moderate amounts of fat.

Firstly, many low-fat meals are packed with sugar to compensate, meaning that they can still inevitably lead to weight gain. Furthermore, contrary to what you may think, not all fats are bad for you, and studies have found that eating good monounsaturated fats – found in olives, nuts and avocados – can actually help to promote weight loss.

2. Drinking water

Drinking plenty of water is undoubtedly good for you; helping you to stay hydrated and energized and to keep your organs and digestive system in good condition. However, studies have shown that the chemicals found in water could also be making you fat.

Not only have research results published in PLoS ONE shown that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastic water bottles encourages the body to create more fat, our drinking water can also contain the hormone estrogen, which affects the way our bodies store fat. The more we are exposed to these chemicals, the harder it becomes to lose weight. However, there’s no need to panic just yet – while ditching water clearly isn’t an option, experts suggest that filtering your water or using a reverse osmosis purification system can limit the chemicals you are exposed to.

3. Exercise

While exercise is essential for good health and, when approached correctly, can help you to shed excess pounds, many exercisers make vital mistakes that can lead to them gaining weight. Firstly, research has found that relying solely on exercise to manage your weight can actually be ineffective. Studies have shown that exercise, when not combined with dietary changes, does very little in respect to losing weight.

Additionally, many of us overestimate the amount of calories burned through exercise and adhere to the myth that exercise continues to boost the body’s ability to burn fat well after our workout is over. Therefore, we often end up overcompensating for workouts with pre- or post-workout snacks, leading to weight gain. For maximum weight loss benefits, try to incorporate both exercise and dietary changes into your day.

4. Looking on the bright side

While impulsive and optimistic people may be happier (and therefore have stronger immune systems) than their more anxious and pessimistic counterparts, research suggests that they could also have more trouble losing weight.

According to research by America's National Institute on Ageing, impulsivity is the strongest predictor of who will become overweight. Furthermore, researchers from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan studied obese women and men partaking in a six-month weight loss program and found that those who were more positive and optimistic in their outlook lost the least weight. It is believed that positivity may cause weight gain by causing optimists not to worry enough about their weight to resist temptation and stick to a strict healthy eating and fitness regime.

5. Snacking on fruit

Fruit is undoubtedly nutritious, being packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. However, due to its healthy properties, many people overindulge on fresh fruit, juices and smoothies, forgetting about the fact that many fruits are also high in calories and sugar.

Although fruit is healthy, remember that a calorie is still a calorie, and the ones in fruit are as likely to make you overweight as the ones in any other food.

Furthermore, research results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that fructose (the sugar found in fruit) can help to trigger overeating, as after consuming fructose the brain doesn’t register feelings of fullness and satiety as it does when we consume glucose. While it is still important we feed our bodies with the nutrients found in fruit, those struggling with their weight should ensure they don’t go overboard. You should also try to obtain some of these nutrients and fiber through vegetables, which are lower in sugar and calories. Read more at www.realbuzz.com.

source: abs-cbnnews.com