Raisin Bran | Definition of the Raisin Bran | Raisin Bran Image

Raisin bran (sultana bran in some countries) is a breakfast cereal manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including Kellogg's Raisin Bran; General Mills' Total Raisin Bran, a variant by General Mills called Raisin Nut Bran; and Kraft Foods' Post Raisin Bran.

Skinner's Raisin Bran was the first brand on the market, introduced in the United States in 1926 by U.S. Mills, best known for the similar Uncle Sam Cereal. The name "Raisin Bran" was at one time trademarked, but widespread use of the term to refer to any bran-and-raisin cereal caused it to become genericized, so that it can no longer be subject to trademark protections.

Raisin bran is touted for its high dietary fiber content, but sometimes criticized for containing too much sugar. Raisins naturally contain high levels of fructose. In addition, to prevent clumping many manufacturers add sugar to the raisins; as of January 7, 2010, Kellogg's adds high-fructose corn syrup to its Raisin Bran cereal. Kellogg's Raisin Bran is now also produced in Mexico for sale in the United States.

Cookie Crisp | History and definition of the Cookie Crisp | Cookie Crisp Image

Cookie Crisp is a breakfast cereal introduced in 1977 by Ralston Purina and attempts to recreate “the great taste of chocolate chip cookies and milk.” It is currently manufactured by General Mills in the United States since Ralston Purina’s spin-off of cereals in 1997 and Cereal Partners (under the Nestlé brand) in other countries. The cereal was once available in a vanilla wafer flavor as well.

The first Cookie Crisp mascot, Jarvis (1977–1985), was a wizard in the Merlin mold, with a wand, long robe, pointy hat, and big white beard. Both the wand and the pointy hat were decorated with chocolate-covered chocolate chip cookies. During his administration as Cookie Crisp mascot, Cookie Jarvis actually presided over three versions of Cookie Crisp: Ralston’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp, Vanilla Wafer Cookie Crisp, and Oatmeal Cookie Crisp. In the commercials, with one wave of his wand, Cookie Jarvis magically turned cereal bowls into cookie jars, usually chanting rhyming incantations along with it.

Eventually, Cookie Jarvis was phased out in favor of a new mascot, the Cookie Crook (1981–1997). The Cookie Crook was an anti-hero mascot who often attempted to steal the Cookie Crisp. He had a comb mustache, and wore a red chef’s hat with cookies all over it. He also wore a purple shirt, and a black mask that covered his face and nose.

The introduction of the Cookie Crook was followed by another new character: Officer Crumb (1982–1997). Officer Crumb (sometimes known simply as the Cookie Cop) was a police officer who was always trying to thwart the Cookie Crook's attempts to steal the Cookie Crisp. He was dressed in a standard blue police uniform, and had a big nose, a thick brown mustache, and a unibrow hanging over his eyes. He spoke in an Irish accent and was often a diminutive character. At first, he was portrayed as a bit of a dupe who was always foiled by the Cookie Crook, but eventually it was decided that having a criminal constantly thwarting a police officer was sending the wrong message to kids. As such, for the majority of their tenure as mascots, Officer Crumb would emerge the victor, repeatedly preventing the Crook from stealing the cereal. A typical ad would begin with the Cookie Crook attempting to steal the cereal from a live-action breakfast table; often he and Officer Crumb were portrayed as no larger than mice, so their pictures on the cereal bowl were “life size". The Crook would have some new gadget or scheme to steal the cereal, but then the Officer would arrive and save the kid’s cereal in the nick of time. Despite his heroics, Officer Crumb was a secondary character; the ever-failing Cookie Crook remained the cereal's main mascot. Eventually, the format of the ads changed to full animation, and the duo was portrayed as the size of normal humans. A more slapstick approach (similar to Looney Tunes) was used in these commercials.

In the early 1990s, the Cookie Crook was given a sidekick named Chip the Dog. Chip would howl the cereal's name ("Coo-oooooooooookie Crisp!"). In each ad before he and his master were inevitably foiled by Officer Crumb. Despite starting as a sidekick, Chip soon began getting larger parts in the ads, until finally, in 1997, he took over as the main mascot for the cereal, and the Cookie Crook and Officer Crumb were dropped altogether. In the new format of the ads, Chip was a friendly pooch (no longer wearing a mask) who offered Cookie Crisp to a group of kids. Typically an adult would interfere on the grounds that cookies are not breakfast food, including Officer Crumb in one of the earliest of these ads, but they would change their minds once Chip gave them a taste of his cereal.

In 2006, Chip was radically redesigned, gaining a change in both attitude and species. He is now Chip the Wolf (originally known as a Howler), a slim gray wolf in a red sweater and blue pants. His new design seems to have come with a change back to his criminal ways—the new ads generally depict him fruitlessly attempting to steal Cookie Crisp from children, just like the Cookie Crook, using various schemes (in these ads, he describes the cereal as well, "It looks like chocolate chip cookies. Tastes like 'em too. But it's a breakfast cereal!"). In this respect, he is much like cereal mascots such as the Trix rabbit or the children in the advertisements for Lucky Charms. In this incarnation he is voiced by Marc Silk.

In 2007, a double chocolate flavored variety of Cookie Crisp was introduced, titled Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp.

In July 2009, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles were introduced. They are vanilla cookies with small sprinkles on them. The cereal is said to be gluten free.

In some foreign boxes of Cookie Crisp, the mascot is a panther who is light grey in color and wears Chip’s clothing. The panther resembles a mix between Bagheera and the Pink Panther. His team consists of him, The Trix Rabbit, Koko (a brown koala), Stars (an astronaut bear), and Snow (a polar bear) who represent other cereals.

In Summer 2009, Nestle released new packaging for the UK version of Cookie Crisp with sprinkles.

Cocoa Puffs | History and definition of the Cocoa Puffs

Cocoa Puffs is a brand of chocolate-flavored puffed grain breakfast cereal, manufactured by General Mills. Introduced in 1958, the cereal consists of small orbs of corn, oats and rice that have been flavored with coco. Essentially, Cocoa Puffs are Kix cereal with added chocolate flavoring. (Similarly, Trix was, for most of its existence, Kix plus fruit flavoring and coloring.) Kix cereal is produced at the same factories as Cocoa Puffs, but differs in both density and circumference.

The mascot of Cocoa Puffs is Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, whose catchphrase is "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs". Sonny originally wore a striped pink and white shirt, but this has been removed since 1993.

On several occasions, Cocoa Puffs boxes have stated that they are made with real Hershey's chocolate. Cocoa Puffs are sold in Latin America, Mexico and Europe under the Nesquik brand thanks to a partnership between Nestlé and General Mills; Nestlé and Hershey are major competitors in the chocolate business.

A cereal bar of Cocoa Puffs has also been made. A layer of dried, sweetened condensed milk is added to the bottom of it, and marketed as a substitute for a bowl of milk and cereal.

The newest addition was introduced in the summer of 2008, Cocoa Puffs Combos, which consists of the recognizable chocolate puffs as well as vanilla puffs. Unlike the original Cocoa Puffs, the Combos cereal does not contain any real cocoa. Instead, it contains artificial, imitation cocoa.

In December 2009, General Mills announced that it would cut the sugar in 10 cereals including Cocoa Puffs to less than 10 grams of sugar per serving. This could represent a 25% decline in the sugar content from the original level and 18% from the current level of 11 grams per serving.

Caffeine | Understanding and definition of Caffeine

Caffeine

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid and psychoactive stimulant. Caffeine was first isolated from coffee in 1820 by the German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge and again in 1821 by French chemists Robiquet, Pelletier, and Caventou. Pelletier first coined the word "cafeine", which became the English word "caffeine".

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the bean of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut. Other sources include yerba maté, guarana berries, and the yaupon holly.

In humans, caffeine acts as a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but, unlike many other psychoactive substances, is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks, enjoy great popularity; in North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists caffeine as a "multiple purpose generally recognized as safe food substance".

Caffeine has diuretic properties when administered in sufficient doses to subjects who do not have a tolerance for it. Regular users, however, develop a strong tolerance to this effect, and studies have generally failed to support the common notion that ordinary consumption of caffeinated beverages contributes significantly to dehydration.

The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce effects varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine. It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body. An oral dose of 200 mg caffeine appears to decrease reaction time by approximately 4 percent within 30 minutes, approximately 15 percent in 30 to 60 minutes and 18 percent in 60-90 minutes. A mild dose wears off in three to four hours. Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep; it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired. Caffeine leads to fewer mistakes caused by tiredness in shift workers.

With these effects, caffeine is an ergogenic, increasing a person's capability for mental or physical labor. A study conducted in 1979 showed a 7% increase in distance cycled over a period of two hours in subjects that consumed a considerable amount of caffeine compared to control subjects. Other studies attained much more dramatic results; one particular study of trained runners showed a 44% increase in "race-pace" endurance, as well as a 51% increase in cycling endurance, after a dosage of 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Additional studies have reported similar effects. Another study found 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high-intensity circuits.

Caffeine citrate has proven to be of short- and long-term benefit in treating the breathing disorders of apnea of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants. The only short-term risk associated with caffeine citrate treatment is a temporary reduction in weight gain during the therapy, and longer term studies (18 to 21 months) have shown lasting benefits of treatment of premature infants with caffeine.

Caffeine relaxes the internal anal sphincter muscles and thus should be avoided by those with fecal incontinence.

While relatively safe for humans, caffeine is considerably more toxic to some other animals such as dogs, horses, and parrots due to a much poorer ability to metabolize this compound. Caffeine also has a pronounced effect on mollusks and various insects as well as spiders. (See also Effect of psychoactive drugs on animals.)

Caffeine also increases the effectiveness of some drugs. Many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula. It is also used with ergotamine in the treatment of migraine and cluster headaches as well as to overcome the drowsiness caused by antihistamines.

Caffeine may also have hepatoprotective properties. Studies have shown that increased caffeine consumption is associated with less severe liver injury among those at high risk for liver disease, such as those with alcoholism, obesity, or hemochromatosis. The mechanism by which this occurs is not known.

Because caffeine is primarily an antagonist of the central nervous system's receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine, the bodies of individuals that regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continuous presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of adenosine receptors in the central nervous system. First, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced, a phenomenon known as a tolerance adaptation. Second, because these adaptive responses to caffeine make individuals much more sensitive to adenosine, a reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine, resulting in unwelcome withdrawal symptoms in tolerant users.

Caffeine tolerance develops very quickly, especially among heavy coffee and energy drink consumers. Complete tolerance to the sleep disruption effects of caffeine develops after consuming 400 mg of caffeine 3 times a day for 7 days. Complete tolerance to subjective effects of caffeine was observed to develop after consuming 300 mg 3 times per day for 18 days, and possibly even earlier. In another experiment, complete tolerance of caffeine was observed when the subject consumed 750–1200 mg per day while incomplete tolerance to caffeine has been observed in those that consume more average doses of caffeine. In everyday terms, the typical caffeine content of a single cup or mug of tea or coffee is well below the 300 - 400 mg level: an average mug of instant coffee contains approximately 100mg caffeine, the same level as a cup of brewed coffee. An average mug of tea contains 75mg of caffeine.

Because adenosine, in part, serves to regulate blood pressure by causing vasodilation, the increased effects of adenosine due to caffeine withdrawal cause the blood vessels of the head to dilate, leading to an excess of blood in the head and causing a headache and nausea. This means caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties. Reduced catecholamine activity may cause feelings of fatigue and drowsiness. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate, and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it may cause mild depression. Together, these effects have come to be known as a "crash".

Withdrawal symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption. Analgesics, such as aspirin, may relieve the pain symptoms, as may a small dose of caffeine.

In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as caffeinism. Caffeinism usually combines caffeine dependency with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis, and heart palpitations. Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Caffeine may also increase the toxicity of certain other drugs, such as paracetamol.

There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).

Caffeine overdose can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication (DSM-IV 305.90), or colloquially the "caffeine jitters". The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants. It may include restlessness, fidgetiness, nervousness, excitement, euphoria, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. In cases of much larger overdoses, mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations, and psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.

Extreme overdose can result in death. The median lethal dose (LD50) given orally, is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats. The LD50 of caffeine in humans is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited time frame that is dependent on half-life. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine. An exception to this would be taking a drug such as fluvoxamine or levofloxacin, which block the liver enzyme responsible for the metabolism of caffeine, thus increasing the central effects and blood concentrations of caffeine dramatically at 5-fold. It is not contraindicated, but highly advisable to minimize the intake of caffeinated beverages, as drinking one cup of coffee will have the same effect as drinking five under normal conditions. Death typically occurs due to ventricular fibrillation brought about by effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system.

Treatment of severe caffeine intoxication is generally supportive, providing treatment of the immediate symptoms, but if the patient has very high serum levels of caffeine then peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or hemofiltration may be required.

Caffeine is found in many plant species, where it acts as a natural pesticide, with high caffeine levels being observed in seedlings still developing foliage but lacking mechanical protection; caffeine paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding upon the plant. High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings. Therefore, caffeine is understood to have a natural function as both a natural pesticide and an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings, thus giving it a better chance of survival.

One of the world's primary sources of caffeine is the coffee "bean" (which is the seed of the coffee plant), from which coffee is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of coffee bean and the method of preparation used; even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 80–100 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of arabica-variety espresso, to approximately 100–125 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee. In general, dark-roast coffee has very slightly less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces a small amount of the bean's caffeine content. Arabica coffee normally contains significantly (+/-50%) less caffeine than the robusta variety. Coffee also contains trace amounts of theophylline, but no theobromine.

Tea is another common source of caffeine. Although tea contains more caffeine than coffee (by dry weight), a typical serving contains much less, as tea is normally brewed much weaker. Besides strength of the brew, growing conditions, processing techniques and other variables also affect caffeine content. Certain types of tea may contain somewhat more caffeine than other teas. Tea contains small amounts of theobromine and slightly higher levels of theophylline than coffee. Preparation and many other factors have a significant impact on tea, and color is a very poor indicator of caffeine content. Teas like the pale Japanese green tea, gyokuro, for example, contain far more caffeine than much darker teas like lapsang souchong, which has very little.

Caffeine is also a common ingredient of soft drinks, such as cola, originally prepared from kola nuts. Soft drinks typically contain about 10 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per serving. By contrast, energy drinks, such as Red Bull, can start at 80 milligrams of caffeine per serving. The caffeine in these drinks either originates from the ingredients used or is an additive derived from the product of decaffeination or from chemical synthesis. Guarana, a prime ingredient of energy drinks, contains large amounts of caffeine with small amounts of theobromine and theophylline in a naturally occurring slow-release excipient.

Chocolate derived from cocoa beans contains a small amount of caffeine. The weak stimulant effect of chocolate may be due to a combination of theobromine and theophylline, as well as caffeine. A typical 28-gram serving of a milk chocolate bar has about as much caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee, although some dark chocolate currently in production contains as much as 160 mg per 100g.

Various manufacturers market caffeine tablets, claiming that using caffeine of pharmaceutical quality improves mental alertness. These effects have been borne out by research that shows caffeine use (whether in tablet form or not) results in decreased fatigue and increased attentiveness. These tablets are commonly used by students studying for their exams and by people who work or drive for long hours. One U.S. company is also marketing dissolving caffeine strips as an alternative to energy drinks.

Caffeine is also used pharmacologically to treat apnea in premature newborns and, as such, is one of the 10 drugs most commonly given in neonatal intensive care, though questions are now raised based on experimental animal research whether it might have subtle harmful side-effects.

Use of the kola nut, like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares, when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup in Chattanooga, Tennessee, alleging the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health". On March 13, 1911, the government initiated United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making claims the product was adulterated and misbranded. The allegation of adulteration was, in substance, that the product contained an added poisonous or added deleterious ingredient: caffeine, which might render the product injurious to health. It was alleged to be misbranded in that the name 'Coca Cola' was a representation of the presence of the substances coca and cola; that the product 'contained no coca and little if any cola' and thus was an 'imitation' of these substances and was offered for sale under their 'distinctive name.' Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1912 to amend the Pure Food and Drug Act, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances, which must be listed on a product's label.

The earliest evidence of cocoa bean use comes from residue found in an ancient Mayan pot dated to 600 BCE. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called xocolatl, often seasoned with vanilla, chile pepper, and achiote. Xocolatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief probably attributable to the theobromine and caffeine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cocoa beans were often used as currency.

Xocolatl was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, and became a popular beverage by 1700. The Spaniards also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines. It was used in alchemical processes, where it was known as "black bean".

The leaves and stems of the yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) were used by Native Americans to brew a tea called asi or the "black drink". Archaeologists have found evidence of this use stretch back far into antiquity, possibly dating to Late Archaic times.

Caffeine from coffee or other beverages is absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion and then distributed throughout all tissues of the body. Peak blood concentration is reached within one hour. It is eliminated by first-order kinetics. Caffeine can also be ingested rectally, evidenced by the formulation of suppositories of ergotamine tartrate and caffeine (for the relief of migraine) and chlorobutanol and caffeine (for the treatment of hyperemesis).

The biological half-life of caffeine—the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine—varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life is approximately 4.9 hours. In women taking oral contraceptives, this is increased to 5–10 hours, and in pregnant women the half-life is roughly 9–11 hours.

Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe liver disease, increasing its half-life up to 96 hours. In infants and young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten caffeine's half-life. Fluvoxamine (Luvox) reduced the clearance of caffeine by 91.3%, and prolonged its elimination half-life by 11.4-fold; from 4.9 hours to 56 hours.

Caffeine is metabolized in the liver by the cytochrome P450 oxidase enzyme system (to be specific, the 1A2 isozyme) into three metabolic dimethylxanthines, each of which has its own effects on the body:

• Paraxanthine (84%): Has the effect of increasing lipolysis, leading to elevated glycerol and free fatty acid levels in the blood plasma.
• Theobromine (12%): Dilates blood vessels and increases urine volume. Theobromine is also the principal alkaloid in the cocoa bean, and therefore chocolate.
• Theophylline (4%): Relaxes smooth muscles of the bronchi, and is used to treat asthma. The therapeutic dose of theophylline, however, is many times greater than the levels attained from caffeine metabolism.

Each of these metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine.

Some quinolones, including ciprofloxacin, exert an inhibitory effect on the cytochrome P-450 enzyme CYP1A2, thereby reducing clearance, and thus increasing blood levels of tizanidine and methylxanthines (e.g.caffeine).

There is also research which suggests that alcohol inhibits the metabolism of caffeine in the liver, especially by influencing its demethylation to other dimethyl- and monomethylxanthines.

Caffeine readily crosses the blood–brain barrier that separates the bloodstream from the interior of the brain. Once in the brain, the principal mode of action is as a nonselective antagonist of adenosine receptors. The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to the aglycone of adenosine, adenine, and is capable of binding the adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them (an "antagonist" mechanism of action), thereby acting as a competitive inhibitor.

Adenosine is found in every part of the body, because it plays a role in the fundamental ATP-related energy metabolism and is necessary for RNA synthesis, but it has special functions in the brain. There is a great deal of evidence that concentrations of brain adenosine are increased by various types of metabolic stress including anoxia and ischemia. The evidence also indicates that brain adenosine acts to protect the brain by suppressing neural activity and also by increasing blood flow through A2A and A2B receptors located on vascular smooth muscle. By counteracting adenosine, caffeine reduces resting cerebral blood flow between 22% and 30%. Caffeine also has a generally disinhibitory effect on neural activity. It has not been shown, however, how these effects cause increases in arousal and alertness.

Adenosine is released in the brain through a complex mechanism. There is evidence that adenosine functions as a synaptically released neurotransmitter in some cases, but stress-related adenosine increases appear to be produced mainly by extracellular metabolism of ATP. It is not likely that adenosine is the primary neurotransmitter for any group of neurons, but rather that it is released together with other transmitters by a number of neuron types. Unlike most neurotransmitters, adenosine does not seem to be packaged into vesicles that are released in a voltage-controlled manner, but the possibility of such a mechanism has not been completely ruled out.

Several classes of adenosine receptors have been described, with different anatomical distributions. A1 receptors are widely distributed, and act to inhibit calcium uptake. A2A receptors are heavily concentrated in the basal ganglia, an area that plays a critical role in behavior control, but can be found in other parts of the brain as well, in lower densities. There is evidence that A 2A receptors interact with the dopamine system, which is involved in reward and arousal. (A2A receptors can also be found on arterial walls and blood cell membranes.)

Beyond its general neuroprotective effects, there are reasons to believe that adenosine may be more specifically involved in control of the sleep-wake cycle. Robert McCarley and his colleagues have argued that accumulation of adenosine may be a primary cause of the sensation of sleepiness that follows prolonged mental activity, and that the effects may be mediated both by inhibition of wake-promoting neurons via A1 receptors, and activation of sleep-promoting neurons via indirect effects on A2A receptors. More recent studies have provided additional evidence for the importance of A2A, but not A1, receptors.

Some of the secondary effects of caffeine are probably caused by actions unrelated to adenosine. Like other methylated xanthines, caffeine is both a

1. competitive nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor which raises intracellular cAMP, activates PKA, inhibits TNF-alpha and leukotriene synthesis, and reduces inflammation and innate immunity.

2. nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist (see above).

Phosphodiesterase inhibitors inhibit cAMP-phosphodiesterase (cAMP-PDE) enzymes, which convert cyclic AMP (cAMP) in cells to its noncyclic form, thus allowing cAMP to build up in cells. Cyclic AMP participates in activation of protein kinase A (PKA) to begin the phosphorylation of specific enzymes used in glucose synthesis. By blocking its removal, caffeine intensifies and prolongs the effects of epinephrine and epinephrine-like drugs such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, and methylphenidate. Increased concentrations of cAMP in parietal cells causes an increased activation of protein kinase A (PKA), which in turn increases activation of H+/K+ ATPase, resulting finally in increased gastric acid secretion by the cell. Cyclic AMP also increases the activity of the funny current, which directly increases heart rate. Caffeine is also a structural analogue of strychnine and, like it (though much less potent), a competitive antagonist at ionotropic glycine receptors.

Metabolites of caffeine also contribute to caffeine's effects. Paraxanthine is responsible for an increase in the lipolysis process, which releases glycerol and fatty acids into the blood to be used as a source of fuel by the muscles. Theobromine is a vasodilator that increases the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain and muscles. Theophylline acts as a smooth muscle relaxant that chiefly affects bronchioles and acts as a chronotrope and inotrope that increases heart rate and efficiency.

    

Astaxanthin | Understanding and definition of Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. It belongs to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenes. It is classified as a xanthophyll, which means "yellow leaves". Like many carotenoids, it is a colorful, lipid-soluble pigment. Astaxanthin is found in microalgae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crayfish, crustaceans, and the feathers of some birds. Professor Basil Weedon was the first to map the structure of astaxanthin.

Astaxanthin, unlike some carotenoids, is not converted to vitamin A (retinol) in the human body. Too much vitamin A is toxic for a human, but astaxanthin has lower toxicity. It is an antioxidant with a slightly lower antioxidant activity than other carotenoids.

While astaxanthin is a natural nutritional component, it can also be used as a food supplement. The supplement is intended for human, animal, and aquaculture consumption. The commercial production of astaxanthin comes from both natural and synthetic sources.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved astaxanthin as a food coloring (or color additive) for specific uses in animal and fish foods. The European Commission considers it food dye and it is given the E number E161j. Natural astaxanthin is considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA, but as a food coloring in the United States it is restricted to use in animal food.

Nearly all commercial astaxanthin for aquaculture is produced synthetically, with an annual turnover of over $200 million and a selling price of ~$2000 per kilo. However, synthetic production of astaxanthin is not preferred in some cases because synthetic astaxanthin contains a mixture of stereoisomers. Astaxanthin is fairly abundant and obtainable from natural sources, and some consumers prefer natural products over synthetic ones. Synthetic astaxanthin fetches $2000 per kg, while the natural product is sold for over $7000 per kg.

An efficient synthesis from isophorone, cis-3-methyl-2-penten-4-yn-1-ol and a symmetrical C10-dialdehyde has been discovered and is used commercially. It combines these chemicals together with an ethynylation and then a Wittig reaction. Two equivalents of the proper ylide combined with the proper dialdehyde in a solvent of methanol, ethanol, or a mixture of the two, yields astaxanthin in up to 88% yields.

Astaxanthin is used as a feed supplement for salmon, crabs, shrimp, chickens and egg production. Regardless of the source, astaxanthin provides some important benefits beyond coloration. It also has been found to be essential for proper growth and survival.

The primary use of synthetic astaxanthin today is as an animal feed additive to impart coloration, including farm-raised salmon and egg yolks. Synthetic carotenoid pigments colored yellow, red or orange represent about 15-25% of the cost of production of commercial salmon feed. Today, essentially all commercial astaxanthin for aquaculture is produced synthetically from petrochemical sources, with an annual turnover of over $200 million, and a selling price of ~$2000 per kilo of pure astaxanthin. While it constitutes a tiny portion of salmon feed (50 to 100 parts per million), astaxanthin represents a major share of the cost, up to 20 percent.

In the European Union, astaxanthin-containing food supplements derived from sources which have no history of use as a source of food in Europe, fall under the remit of the Novel Food legislation, EC (No.) 258/97. Since 1997, there have been five novel food applications concerning products which contain astaxanthin extracted from these novel sources. In each case, these applications have been simplified or substantial equivalence applications, because astaxanthin itself is recognised as a food component in the EU diet.

Soul Daddy | History and definition of Soul Daddy | Form of the logo of Soul Daddy

Soul Daddy

Soul Daddy is an American fast casual restaurant chain founded by Jamawn Woods, featuring soul food that is both traditional and healthy. As a contestant on the reality television show America's Next Great Restaurant, which aired in 2011, he created the concept for Soul Daddy (originally conceived of as W3, or Woods' Wings & Waffles), and was named the winner in the show's first season finale on May 1, 2011. The restaurant chain opened on May 2, 2011, at three locations: at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, and at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan at 189 Front Street.

Soul Daddy began as an idea by Jamawn Woods, a resident of Detroit, Michigan who, as a result of the poor economy, began serving chicken wings and waffles out of his home in order to support his wife and three children, as recounted in the series premiere of America's Next Great Restaurant, a reality television series on which Woods competed with other contestants to pitch restaurant concepts to investors Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone, Steve Ells and Lorena Garcia. In the second episode, the other contestants unveiled their concept at Universal CityWalk, where Woods' restaurant was called W3's, or Woods Wings Waffles. In the third episode, a number of the contestants, including Woods, were advised to rethink their restaurant name, and devise a slogan or philosophy, along with a signature dish that represented their ideas, which would be voted on by a large group of customers. Woods unveiled his revised concept as "Soul Daddy", a soul food concept that bore the slogan "Cooking with Heart & Soul", and whose signature dish was collard greens with smoked turkey, grits accentuated with parmesan cheese and nutmeg, and loaded corn bread with sautéed onion, celery and bacon, which won him the most customer votes that week. By the fifth episode, Woods, who had downplayed the waffles from the dishes he had prepared in the previous episodes, re-introduced them to his menu on the advice of the investors.

In the first season finale, which aired on May 1, 2011, Woods beat his two fellow finalists, Joseph Galluzzi and Sundhir Kandula, who competed against him with meatball and modern Indian cuisine concepts, respectively. Bobby Flay, one of the four judges and investors, explained Woods' victory thus: "A passion for food, a solid work ethic, good business sense and delicious meals are what the investors were searching for on this series and Jamawn embodies all of those traits and more. He is truly the heart and soul of Soul Daddy. The investors are thrilled to introduce soul food to America through these restaurants and we are confident they will savor every flavor." The restaurant's three inaugural locations, at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, and at 189 Front Street in the South Street Seaport in Manhattan, opened on May 2, the day after the finale.

ANGR Holdings, LLC (ANGR), a limited liability company, manages the restaurant. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has agreed to purchase Ells' investment in the company at his cost, provides support for company operations and invested a total of $2.3 million in cash contributions, $220,000 of which was invested by Ells' in particular. The company has also register trademarks on several of the show's restaurant concepts names: Soul Daddy, Harvest Sol, Spice Coast, Grill'Billies, Sinners and Saints, Revolution Tacos, Chǎo, and The Sports Wrap.

10 NYC Food & Dining Trends That Are Officially Dead

1) American Comfort Food: There were a lot of new restaurant serving "elevated American comfort food" following the onset of the recession, and many of them failed. Now that diners have more money to go out, they seem to be choosing places that offer something satisfying, and out-of-the-ordinary. Perhaps that explains why the two big recent hits in terms of American restaurants are The Dutch and Red Rooster, which offer a number of ethnic soul food dishes, along with fried chicken, burgers and biscuits.

2) "Pies are the New Cupcakes": This trend was DOA when it was first announced by several media outlets last fall. People aren't lining up for pies (unless it's the day before Thanksgiving), they don't debate which bakery or restaurant serves the better slice, and there just aren't that many shops in this city that are devoted to the dessert. Actually it's hard to believe that any sweet treat will every become "the new cupcakes" anytime soon, because New Yorkers have a deep, profound, and at times maniacal love for cupcakes, similar to what a mama grizzly feels for her baby cub.

3) Tiny Menus: Although prix fixes are having a moment these days, a la carte menus with just a few appetizers and entrees, are on the way out. Restaurateurs now want to give diners as many options as possible, on a page full of boxes and sidebars. And the menus seem to be getting physically larger, too: if you go to The Darby, Osteria Morini or Donatella, you will be handed a piece of paper the size of a bath mat.

4) The Gastropub: Actual British gastropubs (of which are there are only a handful in New York) are still very popular, but the trend is most definitely dead in terms of other restauranteurs copying the style and laying claim to the title. These days, it's much trendier to offer "small, shareable plates of locally-sourced seasonal fare and raw bar items" in a dining room full of rustic American ephemera, than to blatantly rip-off The Spotted Pig.

5) Asian Sandwiches: The Asian Sandwich Boom of 2009 is but a faint memory at this point. A few tight operations continue to do really well — Num Pang, Baohaus, Baoguette — but many others have closed. And, thank the lord, banh mi sandwiches have stopped popping up at restaurants that don't serve any other Asian dishes.

6) Tiki: Painkiller, The Hurricane Club, and Lani Kai all opened within a few months of each other last year, and for a moment, it seemed like NYC was on its way to becoming the swizzle stick capital of the world. But the fad died, and New York was left with three and only three new Tiki bars, plus enough hollowed-out pineapples and cocktail umbrellas to last

7) Speakeasies: My Little Secret signaled the end of the trend when it put up an awning announcing itself as a speakeasy (it closed less than a year later). But many other "secret" bars and restaurants also disappeared in the last few years. Maybe undercover operations just don't play these days because there are too many food blogs out there to keep anything a "cool secret" for very long.

8) Discount Fine-Dining: Gone are the Damon Frugal Fridays, the four-star early bird specials, and the Baucus Bail Outs. Two years after the economy tanked, the fine dining world seems to have rebounded to the point where the city's best restaurants don't need to offer truffled mac and cheese, or off-hour discounts to fill some seats (for proof, take a peek at Ryan Sutton's The Price Hike blog). Sadly, restaurants like Matsugen, Chanterelle, and Cru weren't able to make it through the dark times, despite offering these kinds of deals.

9) Growlers: As a general rule, a dining trend is officially dead the moment it's co-opted by Duane Reade. And while there are still a lot of growlers available throughout the city, cans full of local beer are the new hotness. They're much easier to cary, and they don't require a hungover trip back to the beer store the next day to get your deposit back.

10) Old-Timey Dining Rooms: For years, many of the city's hottest new restaurants had dark dining rooms with a bunch of retro junk on the walls, ornate chandeliers, vintage tables and chairs, and maybe a few pieces of choice taxidermy. But now, these kinds of restaurants are starting to look dated, in a different way. New York has officially reached its old-timey dining room saturation point. The hot new restaurant spaces of 2011 are the ones that feel like old-school classics, but that don't blatantly steal from the past. See: The Dutch, Peels, Fedora, The Brooklyn Star. (source:ny.eater.com)

Diamond Foods | History and definition of Diamond Foods | The Logo Diamond Foods

Diamond Foods

Diamond Foods is a packaged food company with offices in San Francisco and Stockton, California. It began as an agricultural marketing cooperative and converted in July 2005 to a public company, specializing in marketing nuts, particularly walnuts. Its globally distributed brands include Kettle Brand chips, Emerald snack nuts, Pop Secret popcorn, and Diamond of California snack and culinary nuts.

The company was founded in 1912 as Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc., a member-owned Californian agricultural cooperative association. In July 2005, Diamond Walnut Growers converted to a Delaware corporation and completed its initial public offering of Diamond Foods stock.

Diamond Walnut was the location for the longest union strike in U.S. history as of 2010. The strike began in 1991 and ended in 2005.

Diamond Foods brands

• Diamond Foods’ line of potato chips are sold under the Kettle Brand label in the United States and Kettle Chips brand in the United Kingdom. They are available in a variety of flavors, styles and package sizes.
• Diamond Foods’ snack nuts are sold under the Emerald brand, and include trail mix, roasted, glazed and flavored snack nut products and other snacks. The product line includes 100 Calorie pack sizes.
• Diamond Foods’ popcorn, in both kernels and various flavors of microwave popcorn, is sold under the Pop Secret brand. The product line includes Homestyle microwave popcorn and items such as 94% Fat Free and 100 Calorie snack size.
• In-shell and culinary nuts are sold under the Diamond of California brand. In-shell nuts are typically sold in grocery store produce sections during the winter holiday season. Culinary nuts are sold in the baking aisle of grocery, mass, club and other retailers.
• North American and International Ingredient and Food Service products include Diamond of California brand in-shell nuts, shelled and processed nuts, glazed nuts, and custom-processed nuts for food processors, restaurants, bakeries and food service companies and suppliers.

Each of the snack product lines has “better-for-you” options including 100-calorie packs, 94% Fat Free popcorn and both baked potato chips with 65% less fat than traditional potato chips and a reduced fat chip with 40% less fat.

The company has 1467 full-time employees in offices and facilities in California, Oregon, Wisconsin, Indiana, Alabama and the United Kingdom.

Diamond does not grow any of its own crops; the company purchases raw material from domestic and international sources. Diamond products are processed and packaged at facilities in Stockton, California; Salem, Oregon; Fishers, Indiana; Van Buren, Indiana; Beloit, Wisconsin; Robertsdale, Alabama; and Norwich, United Kingdom.

Starbucks | History and definition of Starbucks | The Logo Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 50 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, and over 700 in the United Kingdom.

Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, coffee beans, salads, hot and cold sandwiches and panini, pastries, snacks, and items such as mugs and tumblers. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division and Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music, and film. Many of the company's products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand ice cream and coffee are also offered at grocery stores.

From Starbucks' founding in later forms in Seattle as a local coffee bean roaster and retailer, the company has expanded rapidly. In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening a new store every workday, a pace that continued into the 2000s. The first store outside the United States or Canada opened in the mid-1990s, and overseas stores now constitute almost one third of Starbucks' stores. The company planned to open a net of 900 new stores outside of the United States in 2009, but has announced 900 store closures in the United States since 2008.

Starbucks has been a target of protests on issues such as fair-trade policies, labor relations, environmental impact, political views, and anti-competitive practices.

The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 by three partners: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by entrepreneur Alfred Peet (whom they knew personally) to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. The name is taken from Moby-Dick; after Pequod was rejected by one of the co-founders, the company was named for the first mate on the Pequod, Starbuck.

From 1971–1975, the first Starbucks was at 2000 Western Avenue; it then was relocated to 1912 Pike Place, where it remains to this day. During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet's, then began buying directly from growers.

The Starbucks Center, Seattle. The company HQ, in the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog distribution center building

Entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, and after a trip to Milan, advised that the company should sell coffee and espresso drinks as well as beans. Seattle had become home to a thriving countercultural coffeehouse scene since the opening of the Last Exit on Brooklyn in 1967, the owners rejected this idea, believing that getting into the beverage business would distract the company from its primary focus. To them, coffee was something to be prepared in the home, but they did give away free samples of pre-made drinks. Certain that there was money to be made selling pre-made drinks, Schultz started the Il Giornale coffee bar chain in April 1986.

In 1984, the original owners of Starbucks, led by Jerry Baldwin, took the opportunity to purchase Peet's (Baldwin still works there). In 1987, they sold the Starbucks chain to Schultz's Il Giornale, which rebranded the Il Giornale outlets as Starbucks and quickly began to expand. Starbucks opened its first locations outside Seattle at Waterfront Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Chicago, Illinois, that same year. At the time of its initial public offering on the stock market in 1992, Starbucks had grown to 165 outlets.

The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996. Starbucks entered the U.K. market in 1998 with the $83 million acquisition of the then 60-outlet, UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. In September 2002 Starbucks opened its first store in Latin America, in Mexico City. In August 2003 Starbucks opened its first store in South America in Lima, Peru. In November 2010, Starbucks opened the first Central American store in El Salvador's capital, San Salvador. On March 17, 2011 Starbucks opened its third restaurant in Central America and its first in Guatemala City , Guatemala.

In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises, bringing the total number of Starbucks-operated locations worldwide to more than 6,400. On September 14, 2006, rival Diedrich Coffee announced that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company-owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks converted the Diedrich Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks, although the Portland airport Coffee People locations were excluded from the sale.

Many bookstores have Starbucks licensed stores within them, including Barnes & Noble in the United States, Chapters-Indigo in Canada (company operated), Livraria Saraiva and Fnac in Brazil and B2S in Thailand.

The Starbucks location in the former imperial palace in Beijing closed in July 2007. The coffee shop had been a source of ongoing controversy since its opening in 2000 with protesters objecting that the presence of the American chain in this location "was trampling on Chinese culture." Also in 2007, Starbucks cancelled plans to expand into India, but opened its first store in Russia, ten years after first registering a trademark there. In 2008, Starbucks continued its expansion, settling in Argentina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Portugal. In Buenos Aires, the biggest Starbucks store in Latin America was opened. In April 2009, Starbucks entered Poland. New stores will be opened in Algeria. Starbucks has also opened its doors on 5 August 2009, in Utrecht, Netherlands. On October 21, 2009 it was announced that Starbucks will finally establish in Sweden, starting with a location at Arlanda airport outside Stockholm. On June 16, 2010 Starbucks opened its first store in Budapest, Hungary.

In May 2010, Southern Sun Hotels South Africa announced that they had signed an agreement with Starbucks that would enable them to brew Starbucks coffees in select Southern Sun and Tsonga Sun hotels in South Africa. The agreement was partially reached in order for Starbucks coffees to be served in the country in time for the commencement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa.

Starbucks is planning to open its third African location, after Egypt and South Africa, in Algeria. A partnership with Algerian food company Cevital will see Starbucks open its first Algerian store in Algiers.

In February, 2011, Starbucks officially started selling their coffee in Norway, but Starbucks never opened a shop there. Instead they supply Norwegian food shops with Starbucks.

In January, 2011, Starbucks and Tata Coffee, Asia's largest coffee plantation company, announced plans for a strategic alliance to bring Starbucks to India later that year. Starbucks plans set up stores in Tata retail locations and hotels in India, and also to source and roast coffee beans at Tata Coffee's Kodagu facility.

Some of the methods Starbucks has used to expand and maintain their dominant market position, including buying out competitors' leases, intentionally operating at a loss, and clustering several locations in a small geographical area (i.e., saturating the market), have been labeled anti-competitive by critics. For example, Starbucks fueled its initial expansion into the UK market with a buyout of Seattle Coffee Company, but then used its capital and influence to obtain prime locations, some of which operated at a financial loss. Critics claimed this was an unfair attempt to drive out small, independent competitors, who could not afford to pay inflated prices for premium real estate. In the 2000s, Starbucks greatly increased its "licensed store" system, which permits Starbucks licenses only if they contribute to less than 20% of the licensee's gross income, are inside other stores or in limited or restricted access spaces, as to not dilute the brand image. License agreements are rare in volume and usually only made with Fortune 1000 or similar sized chain stores. The licensed store system can create the illusion of 2 or more Starbucks cafes in the same shopping plaza, when one is a standalone company owned, and the others are licensed. The menus of licensed stores can be the same or trimmed or modified versions of the cafes, or be positioned as independent cafes that happen to sell Starbucks products (ex. Barnes & Noble).

Krispy Kreme | History and definition of Krispy Kreme | The Logo Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme is the name of an international chain of doughnut stores that was founded by Vernon Rudolph in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The parent company of Krispy Kreme is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) and is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States.

While selling assorted types of doughnuts, Krispy Kreme's signature item is a glazed doughnut that is traditionally served warm. Along with their own Krispy Kreme brand store locations their products are sold in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States.

Internationally, Loblaws supermarkets and Petro-Canada gas stations in Canada along with BP Service Stations and BP Travel Centres in Australia. In the United Kingdom Tesco supermarkets, Tesco Extra and Moto service stations carry Krispy Kreme products.

The company's growth was steady prior to its initial public offering but profits have decreased in recent quarters.

Krispy Kreme's founder Vernon Rudolph and his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, purchased Joseph LeBeouf's donut shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky along with a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts in 1933 acquired from a Buffalo NY businessman. Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle. The operation was moved to Nashville, Tennessee and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store in 1937 and opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina selling to grocery stores and then directly to individual customers. The first store in North Carolina was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem. The Krispy Kreme logo was designed by Benny Dinkins, a local architect.

Expansion occurred in the 1950s, including an early store in Savannah, GA and elsewhere in the southern U.S. By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas. In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem.

A group of franchisees purchased the corporation back from Beatrice Foods in 1982. In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed.

On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has 83.736 kJ (20 kilocalories in most countries, or 20 Calories in the US) fewer than the original glazed (754 kJ vs. 837 kJ) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0.5 grams). As of January 2008, the trans fat content of all Krispy Kreme doughnuts was reduced to 0.5 of a gram or less. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in its guidelines, allows companies to round down to 0 g in its nutrition facts label even if the food contains as much as 0.5 of a gram per serving. Krispy Kreme benefited from this regulatory rule in its subsequent advertising campaign, touting its doughnuts as "trans fat free" and having "0 grams trans fat!".

On July 1, 2010, Krispy Kreme introduced a doughnut that included the soft drink Cheerwine, which was to be sold in grocery stores in North and South Carolina during July. The doughnuts proved so popular the Salisbury, North Carolina Krispy Kreme location, in the town where Cheerwine is made, sold them as well, and after July 31, this was the only place to get them. In 2010, Krispy Kreme Express, a delivery service for businesses, began testing at the Battleground Avenue location in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Krispy Kreme began another phase of rapid expansion in the 1990s, opening stores outside the southeastern United States where most of their stores were located. Then, in December 2001, Krispy Kreme opened its first store outside the U.S. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, just outside Toronto. Since 2004, Krispy Kreme has rapidly expanded its international operations.

On April 5, 2000,the corporation went public on the NASDAQ using the ticker symbol KREM. On May 17, 2001, Krispy Kreme switched to the New York Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol KKD, which is its current symbol.

On January 18, 2005, Krispy Kreme announced Stephen Cooper, chairman of financial consulting group Kroll Zolfo Cooper LLC, as interim CEO. Cooper replaces Scott Livengood, who the company said has retired as chairman, president, CEO and a director. The company also named Steven Panagos, a managing director of Kroll Zolfo, as president and COO.

Although based on informal advertising such as word-of-mouth, in 2006, Krispy Kreme moved into television and radio advertisements, beginning with its "Share the Love" campaign with heart-shaped doughnuts.

The first Krispy Kreme store to open outside North America was in Sydney, Australia, in the city of Penrith. At first the operation was successful, opening 53 other stores around the country. However as of November 1, 2010 the entire Australian division went into voluntary administration, with media reports attributing this to poor sales. They have since come out of administration as of December 2010, and continued trading, with fewer stores. Besides the stores that Krispy Kreme operate in the United States and Canada, there are also franchise-owned stores in the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Hong Kong (2006–2008), Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Ethiopia, and Bahrain.

Costa Coffee | History and definition of Costa Coffee | The Logo Costa Coffee | The largest branch of Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over 1700 stores in the UK and abroad. The company's current managing director is John Derkach and Adrian Johnson is Chief Operating Officer. It is the largest coffeehouse chain in the United Kingdom and second largest in the world (behind Starbucks).

Bruno and Sergio Costa set up their coffee roastery in Lambeth, London in 1971, supplying local caterers and coffee shops with their slow-roasted blend mocha Italia. Costa branched out to retailing coffee in 1978, when their first store opened in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, England.

In 1995, the business was acquired by Whitbread and is now a subsidiary of Whitbread Company. In 2009 Costa celebrated the opening of their 1000th store in Cardiff, and is consequently the largest coffee chain in the UK. In 2010 they acquired 'Coffee Heaven', which had a strong presence in central and eastern Europe, for £36m adding another 79 stores. By the end of 2010 the company had overtaken Starbucks in the UK, taking 37.6% of the market share based on turnover.

Costa Coffee operates 1175 outlets in the United Kingdom as of January 2011, making it the largest British chain in terms of stores. Internationally it operates 442 stores throughout the world in 28 countries.

Its outlets can be found in airports and within Waterstone's bookstores, WHSmith, Homebase branches, Marriott Hotels, Odeon Cinemas, Tesco stores, Pizza Hut branches, Beefeater Pubs, Moto and RoadChef motorway services and in some workplaces. Smaller sub-units are also set up in railway stations and airports throughout the UK. Costa Coffee also have small outlets positioned on out-of-town business parks, often among other food retailers. Their biggest branch is located in Dubai and can seat 320 people.

Caribou Coffee | History and definition of Caribou Coffee | The Logo Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee is a specialty coffee and espresso retailer, the second largest in the United States after Starbucks. Caribou sells coffee, tea, and bakery goods in 415 company-owned coffeehouses in 16 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 126 franchise locations worldwide.

In 1990, on a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska, Caribou Coffee was imagined by newlyweds John and Kim Puckett. The couple raised money to start the first Caribou Coffee shop in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in 1992. Following several years of mixed performance, the Pucketts sold their controlling interest in the company in 1998 for $120 million to Atlanta-based Crescent Capital, which has since changed its name to Arcapita. The company continues to hold a majority of the common stock of Caribou.

Since opening, the chain has expanded to 415 locations in 16 states and the District of Columbia, making it the second-largest operator of non-franchised coffeehouses in the United States, after Starbucks Corporation. This includes 24 licensed locations in the U.S. and two overseas markets. Caribou maintains its headquarters and coffee-roasting facility in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.

Arcapita is Caribou Coffee's majority shareholder. In 2002 Yusuf al-Qaradawi's involvement with the bank led to a protest of Caribou Coffee. That same year al-Qaradawi stepped down as chairman of the bank's Sharia board. In 2005, Caribou Coffee's majority stakeholder Arcapita completed an IPO of Caribou. On September 28, 2005, Caribou Coffee became a publicly traded company.

On February 28, 2010, Caribou announced a corporate-wide rebranding, and began using their new "coffee bean caribou" logo officially on March 1, 2010.

Caribou Coffee stores serve coffee, espresso drinks, tea, baked goods, and oatmeal. Branded clothing and accessories are available at some stores and online, and third parties are licensed to use the Caribou Coffee brand on food and merchandise.

Caribou serves espresso drinks, including lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas and hot chocolates. Caribou's cold drinks are called "Coolers" (blended coffee with flavors such as coffee, vanilla, caramel, chocolate, espresso, or Wild flavors). The lower calorie version of these "Coolers" are called Northern Lite Coolers (available in caramel, chocolate, coffee, espresso and vanilla).

Caribou also sells fruit smoothies (strawberry-banana, wild berry, pom-a-mango and passion fruit green tea). Another non-coffee drink that Caribou Coffee serves is the Snowdrift, which comes in mint and cookies & cream flavors.

In 2005, Caribou began selling various baked goods, including bagels, muffins, scones, cookies, and oatmeal, along with several sandwich and salad choices in select locations. It also offers a selection of Caribou coffee-based beverages called "Wild Drinks". These are a more elaborate version of a flavored latte, with syrup, whipped cream and toppings that vary according to the type of drink. Varieties of Wild Drinks include the Caramel High Rise, Turtle Mocha, Mint Condition, Hot Apple Blast, Campfire Mocha, Berry White Mocha, and Tea Lattes.

In November 2009, Caribou introduced its new line of chocolate drinks. Customers are able to choose between white, milk, or dark chocolate in their drinks. The chocolate pieces are steamed into the milk, instead of the previous chocolate syrup that was put in the cup. The Northern Lite coolers feature this same chocolate, but finely ground. The regular coolers and other cold drinks are made with a chocolate syrup.

In Fall 2010, Caribou added breakfast sandwiches to its menu offerings. Currently, customers can choose between its Daybreakers (chicken apple sausage, veggie, or egg white & turkey bacon) or its Minis (turkey bacon or turkey sausage). Caribou also offers oatmeal in a variety of flavors as part of its breakfast menu. Breakfast menu items are available throughout the day.

Caribou has topped 41 other regular and decaffeinated Colombian and Kona coffees in tests performed for the December 2004 edition of Consumer Reports. Inexpensive Eight O’Clock and Dunkin' Donuts placed second and third respectively, beating brews from Starbucks and Seattle’s Best.

Doughnut | History and definition of Doughnut | Various kinds Doughnut

A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet (or occasionally savory) snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets. They are usually sweet, deep-fried from a flour dough, and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings. Other types of dough such as potato can also be used as well as other batters, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types.

The two most common types are the toroidal ring doughnut and the filled doughnut, a flattened sphere injected with jam (or jelly), cream, custard, or other sweet fillings. A small spherical piece of dough may be cooked as a doughnut hole. Baked doughnuts are a variation cooked in an oven instead of being deep fried. Doughnut varieties are also divided into cake and risen type doughnuts.

Various doughnut incarnations are popular around the globe. Shapes include rings, balls, and flattened spheres, as well as ear shapes, twists and other forms. Not all doughnuts are sweet: in Southern India for instance, savory doughnuts called vadai are served.

Ring doughnuts are formed by joining the ends of a long, skinny piece of dough into a ring or by using a doughnut cutter, which simultaneously cuts the outside and inside shape, leaving a doughnut-shaped piece of dough and a doughnut hole from dough removed from the center. This smaller piece of dough can be cooked or re-added to the batch to make more doughnuts. A disk-shaped doughnut can also be stretched and pinched into a torus until the center breaks to form a hole. Alternatively, a doughnut depositor can be used to place a circle of liquid dough (batter) directly into the fryer. Doughnuts can be made from a yeast-based dough for raised doughnuts or a special type of cake batter. Yeast-raised doughnuts contain about 25% oil by weight, whereas cake doughnuts' oil content is around 20%, but they have extra fat included in the batter before frying. Cake doughnuts are fried for about 90 seconds at approximately 190 °C to 198 °C, turning once. Yeast-raised doughnuts absorb more oil because they take longer to fry, about 150 seconds, at 182 °C to 190 °C. Cake doughnuts typically weigh between 24 g and 28 g, whereas yeast-raised doughnuts average 38 g and are generally larger when finished.

After frying, ring doughnuts are often topped with a glaze (icing) or a powder such as cinnamon or sugar. Styles such as fritters and jam doughnuts may be glazed and/or injected with jam or custard.

As well as being fried, doughnuts can be completely baked in an oven. These have a slightly different texture from the fried variety with a somewhat different taste due to the lack of absorbed oil—and so have a lower fat content. The fried version may sometimes be called "fried cakes".

There are many other specialized doughnut shapes such as old-fashioneds, bars or Long Johns (a rectangular shape), or with the dough twisted around itself before cooking. In the northeast US, bars and twists are usually referred to as crullers. Doughnut holes are small spheres that are made from the dough taken from the center of ring doughnuts or made to look as if they are. These holes are also known by brand names, such as Dunkin' Donuts' Munchkins and Tim Hortons' Timbits. There are also beignets, which are square donuts topped with powdered sugar.

Doughnuts have a disputed history. One theory suggests that doughnuts were introduced into North America by Dutch settlers, who were responsible for popularizing other American desserts, including cookies, apple and cream pie, and cobbler. Indeed, in the 19th century, doughnuts were sometimes referred to as one kind of olykoek (a Dutch word literally meaning "oil cake"), a "sweetened cake fried in fat."

Hansen Gregory, an American, claimed to have invented the ring-shaped doughnut in 1847 aboard a lime-trading ship when he was only sixteen years old. Gregory was dissatisfied with the greasiness of doughnuts twisted into various shapes and with the raw center of regular doughnuts. He claimed to have punched a hole in the center of dough with the ship's tin pepper box and later taught the technique to his mother.

According to anthropologist Paul R. Mullins, the first cookbook mentioning doughnuts was an 1803 English volume which included doughnuts in an appendix of American recipes. By the mid-19th century the doughnut looked and tasted like today’s doughnut, and was viewed as a thoroughly American food.

The earliest known recorded usage of the term dates to an 1808 short story describing a spread of "fire-cakes and dough-nuts." Washington Irving's reference to "doughnuts" in 1809 in his History of New York is more commonly cited as the first written recording of the term. Irving described "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks." These "nuts" of fried dough might now be called doughnut holes. Doughnut is the more traditional spelling, and still dominates outside the US. At present, doughnut and the shortened form donut are both pervasive in American English. The first known printed use of donut was in Peck's Bad Boy and his Pa by George W. Peck, published in 1900, in which a character is quoted as saying, "Pa said he guessed he hadn't got much appetite, and he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut." The donut spelling also showed up in a Los Angeles Times article dated August 10, 1929 in which Bailey Millard jokingly complains about the decline of spelling, and that he "can't swallow the 'wel-dun donut' nor the ever so 'gud bred'. The interchangeability of the two spellings can be found in a series of "National Donut Week" articles in The New York Times that covered the 1939 World's Fair. In four articles beginning October 9, two mention the donut spelling. Dunkin' Donuts, which was founded in 1948 under the name Open Kettle (Quincy, Massachusetts), is the oldest surviving company to use the donut variation, but the defunct Mayflower Donut Corporation is the first company to use that spelling, prior to World War II.