cookiesinheaven

But if you have someone on your holiday list that would enjoy it....you can "pick one up" at

DuPont Co. hid studies showing the risks of a Teflon-related chemical used to line candy wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and hundreds of other food containers, according to internal company documents and a former employee.

The chemical Zonyl can rub off the liner and get into food. Once in a person's body, it can break down into perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as PFOA, a related chemical used in the making of Teflon-coated cookware.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to decide whether to classify PFOA as a "likely" human carcinogen. The Food and Drug Administration in a letter released Wednesday evening by DuPont, said it was continuing to monitor the safety of PFOA chemicals in food.

The DuPont documents were made public Wednesday by the Environmental
Working Group, a research and advocacy organization.

At the same time, a former DuPont chemical engineer, Glenn Evers, told reporters at a news conference at EWG's office that the company long suppressed its studies on the chemical.

"They are toxic," Evers said of the PFOA chemicals. "They get into human blood. And they are also in every one of you. Your loved ones, your fellow citizens." - AP

Former DuPont Top Expert: Company Knew, Covered Up Pollution of Americans' Blood for 18 Years.

Documents: Company Couldn't Find Safe Level of Exposure in 1973 to Chemical that Never Breaks Down, Clings to Human Blood

Study Results Show Company Found Safer Ways to Coat Food Packaging But Shelved Them to Save Money - Environmental Working Group

Thousands of acres of cane ready to be harvested were soaked in saltwater as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita pounded the Gulf of Mexico 35 miles away. When the sea water receded, much of the cane was damaged and the fields were filled with torn-off porches, picnic tables, splintered furniture and stinking moss.

The loss of the Louisiana sugarcane and disruptions at two sugar refineries in New Orleans sent a shock through the sugar industry, which was already dealing with shortages because of hurricane-damaged crops in Florida last year.

"Sure, I'm gonna hurt," said DuPlantis, whose 3,000 acres of cane were flooded. "But that's small potatoes compared to the industry as a whole."

Since the end of August, the price of sugar has gone from 28 cents a pound to over 40 cents, according to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture citing industry publications. That's compounded the pricing difficulties the sugar industry faces — the government keeps prices for sugar considerably higher in the U.S. than on the world market by limiting imports and restricting how much sugar can be sold domestically.

The goal is to protect farmers and processors and ensure a steady supply of sugar. However, the price difference means that food manufacturers — and consumers — pay more than if there were no restrictions on imports. The world price for refined sugar averaged 14.18 cents a pound, according to the USDA.

The latest increase is being felt mostly by small confectioners, bakers and ice cream makers who don't buy their sugar on the futures market months ahead of time.

...To take the edge off, the USDA temporarily increased sugar imports and released sugar beet reserves into the market. More than half of the sugar refined in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, the rest is from sugarcane.

But neither the imports nor the reserves could stave off the price increases, because two of the country's largest refineries, both in New Orleans, were shuttered, said Salathe. When they reopen, it's hoped that prices will retreat. - AP

Instead of consigning your thoughtfully shaped and baked goods to an old shoe box or used coffee can, try one of the following decorative ideas for storing and presenting them.

1 Pudding molds lined with parchment make excellent vessels for soft chocolate truffles.

2. Long, lidded bread pans, swathed in bright taffeta or velvet ribbon, are the perfect container for delicate cookies like biscotti.

3. A paint box, found in art-supply stores, displays a variety of different cookies in mini cupcake liners.

4. Heavy-duty square cake pans with notched corners are perfect for securing crisscrosses of ribbon or rickrack over parchment-paper lids.

5. Even clear plastic airtight containers make pretty packages when dressed up with lengths of ribbon.

SHIPPING TIPS

Every gift you ship should have two basic lines of defense: It should be well packed in an inner gift box, then well packed in a second, outer gift box.

—Choose a box that is appropriate in size to the cookie tin within. This will help keep the tins from shifting and the cookies from breaking.

—The ideal cushion is 2 to 3 inches of packing material on all sides.

—Reuse or recycle packing material like boxes, Bubble Wrap, and foam peanuts.

Noo, toodie wee well meg dee chocolate mooose. Step oone, geet a five-pound block oof chocolate.

Step twoo, get dee mooose. Heer, mooosee mooosee mooosee mooosee!

Step three, put dee mooose een dee bleender.

Perhaps no city in the United States has as distinctive and vital a food culture as New Orleans. The city has epitomized good eating (and hedonism in general) to several generations of Americans, and Southerners treasure it more than anyone.

"If it were not for New Orleans and Louisiana," said John Egerton of Nashville, whose 1987 book "Southern Food" (Knopf) is considered the classic treatment of the subject, "Southern food would probably not be as revered as it is. If New Orleans doesn't come back, it will accelerate the gradual disappearance of traditional Southern food, which has already gone from a way of life to something for ceremonial occasions, at least for most people."

Several major New Orleans restaurants have reopened, some on a limited basis, including Lilette, Cuvée and Herbsaint. Frank Brigtsen, who is living temporarily in Shreveport, La., has pledged to reopen his Uptown establishment, Brigtsen's. The Brennan family, which owns Commander's Palace and nine other places, has reopened several and promised to bring them all back, but several, including Commander's, need major repairs, and the timetable remains unclear.

John T. Edge, the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, which runs the symposium, told me he was confident that nearly all the nationally known New Orleans restaurants would eventually reopen. What troubles him, he said, is the po' boy shops, oyster bars, red-beans-and-rice joints and other mom-and-pop businesses that have given New Orleans dining so much of its zest. Some are already gone. Uglesich's, one of the most beloved neighborhood places, closed before the storms; Austin Leslie, the fried-chicken wizard, was evacuated after Katrina struck and died in Atlanta. - NYTimes