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Which is more nutritious — conventional or organic food? That’s the question scientists and the groups aligned with both sides are trying to answer, with significant bragging rights on the line.

It’s been a back-and-forth battle so far. A study released this week examined strawberries from 26 different commercial growers and found that organic varieties had a higher concentration of vitamin C and antioxidants than conventional, and also lasted longer on the shelf and left the soil healthier. That goes against a major study released last year, funded by Britain’s Food Standards Agency, which found no nutritional difference between the two.

As Seattle Times’ reporter Maureen O’Hagan asked in her story on the subject, “What’s a berry lover to do?” What are all types of food lovers to do? Oh, the humanity of it all!

Here’s another question — who cares? Organic consumers, and many shoppers on the fringe who migrate over to the organic side every now and then, aren’t concerned with a nutrient arms race. They buy organic because it hearkens back to a simpler form of agriculture, one that requires fewer inputs and is healthier for animals and the land. They can’t describe all the science behind it. They don’t know what exactly certain pesticides and fertilizers do — they just know they don’t want them in their food. MORE…

Up until now, retail foodservice has been able to secure exemptions from many of the regulations and requirements that apply to the restaurant industry. That meant supermarket delis, coffee bar/bakeries and fresh meals programs didn’t have to worry about posting nutritional information, calories or ingredients for each and every item they sold (per unit sales).

That may change soon, according to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal, which got a hold of the Food and Drug Administration’s crystal ball, which apparently shows calorie-posting rules will soon come to supermarkets… as well as movie theaters, airports and other food-selling venues.

“We’re not restaurants,” The Journal quotes Erik Lieberman, regulatory counsel for the Food Marketing Institute, as saying. “The vast majority of supermarket consumers are not consuming the food they purchased at the store within the store.”

And this pithy observation from a representative of the theater industry: “People don’t go to movie theaters for the primary purpose of eating. Why aren’t ballparks covered? You think the food served at ballparks is healthy?”

Movie theaters might feel reluctance, but is this such a burden for supermarkets? Haven’t we been moving in this direction anyway? MORE…

The recent egg recall has made it clear that without proactive food safety measures, there will be recalls, the industry will get a bad “PR rap,” and the government will intercept — supported by public opinion. But what happens when suppliers are conscientious and create standards of integrity and excellence on their own?

The Leafy Green Marketing Agreement is an example of what can be done proactively. More than 100 handlers, representing nearly 99% of California-grown leafy greens, have agreed to the mandatory audit program that certifies members are implementing rigorous food safety measures.

What do these producers “get” in return? Respect and the recognition that food safety is important to these growers, both of which are reassuring to consumers, federal officials, special interest groups, supermarkets and shippers.

A marketing ploy? There are definitely public relations implications, as recent news reports are providing positive recognition of LGMA and even referencing this Agreement as an example of what can be done. But the established outreach to farmers, the educational programs, the mandatory audits by certified government inspectors at least four times per year, and a compliance-citation-decertification process, provide parameters in which to operate and make this document more than a simple service mark program.

Will this guarantee there will never be a recall of leafy greens? No, but it does reduce the likelihood. Plus, the positive position in which these suppliers have placed themselves builds trust. So, if and when a recall does occur, these providers will already have established credibility and a reputation for caring about the quality of food they provide to consumers.

That image is much better than what we are currently witnessing in the media’s coverage of the egg industry.

How about a slow clap for the premium chocolate category, which according to the research firm Packaged Facts actually increased sales during the recession, to $17 billion last year.

So what is this a testament to — good marketing or our inherent lust for chocolate? Probably both. We do have an insatiable sweet tooth, with 75% of Americans reporting they’ve purchased chocolate products since 2008. And as the official indulgence of breakups, bad days, tight deadlines and other mishaps, chocolate had a sweet advantage coming into the recession. It’s a window of indulgence in a world that seems, at times, to be spiraling out of control.

But remember, these are $4, even $5 bars we’re talking about here. People could pay a fourth as much and still get a Wonka-worthy treat.

A dollar, however, wouldn’t get them 75% cacao Rainforest Alliance-certified organic dark chocolate. Indeed, the chocolate category lends itself to a higher calling, and companies have crafted that potential into a highly effective sales model. They’re playing up their positive involvement in the developing countries that harvest their cocoa. Some are getting really clever, offering to offset carbon or help preserve indigenous tribes with every purchase. MORE…

In 2008, we wrote a story about the resurgence in the popularity of chestnuts. 2010 seems to be the year of the almond. There have been some recent developments that remind us just how desirable almonds are among health and wellness consumers.

In the first case, farmers fighting a three-year-old pasteurization rule mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture won an important round in a federal appeals court, which will allow them to directly challenge a statute that has infuriated organic and raw food enthusiasts.

The regulation, implemented in 2007 after a series of salmonella outbreaks traced back to the raw nuts, require growers to use steam or chemical fumigation with propylene oxide to pasteurize the crops. What upset everyone the most was that imported almonds were exempt from the regulation.

Domestic farmers — the vast majority of whom work out of California — claim they lost most of their business in raw product to foreign farmers. At the same time, consumers expressed frustration that they were not able to support U.S. growers. What’s more, some of the approved pasteurization processes cast doubt on any organic claims. MORE…

It’s said that death and taxes are life’s only two inevitabilities. I might add “snacking” to the list. It’s a habit that’s been around for as long as we’ve been able to snag a hunk of cheese or butter a slice of bread, and now it’s become a multibillion-dollar industry that has more companies competing for consumers’ dollars than any other category in the store.

Faced with such a flood of choices — from rice cakes to pretzels to late-night-cheeseburger flavored chips — what stands out for shoppers right now? Online lifestyle providor The Food Channel, in concert with research firms Mintel and CultureWaves, released a rundown of the top 10 snacking trends for 2010, and healthy options take top billing.

The number one trend, “Chips and Dip 2.0”, points out the rise of hummus and other healthy, artisan alternatives to calorie-heavy dips. “When was the last time you had potato chips and French Onion dip?” the story asks. Good question.

The rest of the trends follow this thread of indulgent to sensible, processed to simplified, uniform to flavorful. Sodas are on the way out while flavored waters and fruit smoothies are in. Candy bars have matured while artisan and energy bars are storming the gates.

There’s also this little tidbit: “Fresh fruit is now the number one snack among kids aged 2 to 17.” MORE…

Parents are cheering; kids are somewhat less enthusiastic, their mood falling somewhere between the excitement of seeing their old friends (a feeling lasts a week or so) and the dread of a school time schedule.

Back-to-school time is an ideal time for nutrition education. In the aisles the themes can play to both the parents and the kids since healthy snacks and lunches, quick breakfasts and dinner-time ideas are all loaded with potential. Here are some thoughts on marketing to the school-groove theme:

• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day For children especially, the answer is likely to be yes because of the studies showing that children have a better attention span and are more likely to concentrate on learning when they start with some nutritious fuel. Cereal, milk, rice or soy beverages and fruit as well as grab-and-go cereal bars make the grade. Ready-to-eat hard cooked eggs, yogurt and smoothies are also hits.

• Healthy snacks can play on the breakfast themes for ideas. Aisle demonstrations of yogurt parfaits (yogurt, cereal or granola and fruit) as well as smoothies are an ideal way to go. Children have been eating them away-from-home so bring it home with some taste tests. MORE…

If anyone ever wanted to get their point across in a big way, the Food and Drug Administration certainly has impeccable timing. Just last month the agency implemented new rules designed to reduce the outbreak of salmonella enteriditis from eggs processed by large egg producers — precisely the classification assigned to Wright County Egg, the Galt, Iowa-based producer believed to be the source of the current 400-million egg recall.

The regulations, under consideration for some seven years, apply to large-scale operations with more than 50,000 hens. These factory farms provide about 80% of the nation’s shell eggs, according to the FDA. Companies with fewer than 50,000 hens, but more than 3,000, have until next year to comply.

The rules add a series of preventative measures for eggs that do not undergo any treatment such as pasteurization. Companies must:

• Buy chicks and young hens only from suppliers who monitor for Salmonella bacteria;

• Establish rodent, pest control, and biosecurity measures to prevent spread of bacteria throughout the farm by people and equipment;

• Conduct testing in the poultry house for salmonella enteritidis (SE). If the tests find the bacterium, a representative sample of the eggs must be tested over an eight-week time period (four tests at two-week intervals); if any of the four egg tests is positive, the producer must further process the eggs to destroy the bacteria, or divert the eggs to a non-food use;

• Clean and disinfect poultry houses that have tested positive for SE; MORE…

I saw the first yellow bus of the new school year collecting students this week, a reminder that it’s time to look at what some retailers will be doing to promote healthful eating in the cafeteria.

Given the ongoing, national publicity about childhood obesity, Congress’s debate over the school lunch act, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s television program, “Food Revolution USA”, and an offshoot of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign that brings chefs into school cafeterias, it’s no surprise to see retailers launching some pretty creative promotions this year.

Judging by what we’ve seen so far, retailers deserve extra credit. The classroom teaches us the “Three R’s.” But leave it to the supermarket industry to instruct us on the “Three C’s”:

CONVENIENCE: Brookshire Bros. in Tyler, Texas, announced in early August that it will begin offering three “Super Fun Lunch” boxed value meals, comprised of items scoring high on the chain’s NuVal Nutritional Scoring System. The menu options include a sandwich (peanut butter and jelly, oven-roasted turkey or cooked ham, on whole wheat or white wheat bread), along with side items like raisins, a Little Debbie-brand Pecan Spin, mozzarella string cheese or an apple; along with two beverage options — juice or water. MORE…

Retailers know their shoppers are taking a closer look at food labels these days. What they might not know is that they’re also using their phones to help decipher them.

Smartphones like the iPhone and Droid are incredibly versatile and can draw from a vast pool of customized applications, or apps. These include a growing number of nutrition guides that function almost as a handheld dietician, informing consumers of what different ingredients are and warning them about unhealthy choices.

With the FoodEssentials Scanner, for example, you can scan a product’s bar code with your phone, then receive an alert if there are added sugars present. If so, the app provides a detailed rundown of what they are. FoodEssentials also serves as a monitoring system for allergens and other additives, and has a database of more than 35,000 ingredients.

Along these same lines is the CerealScan from Fooducate, which reads cereal bar codes and provides a tidy summary of what’s good and what’s bad among the different ingredients, and then lists healthier alternatives if they’re available.

My Grocery Master, meanwhile, is an app that’s useful outside of the supermarket. MORE…