The Food Section: Appetizers

Italy Trains Its Cops to Sniff Out Olive Oil Fraud

Italy trains gourmet police officers to sniff out olive oil fraud [Telegraph]

Man Arrested for Drinking Mare's Milk

A court in Kazakhstan has dropped DUI charges against a man who admitted to drinking fermented mare's milk, not beer. The defendant told the court that before he took the wheel he drank about 1.5 liters of fermented mare's milk, which can contain up to four percent alcohol (though it is not listed as an alcoholic beverage in Kazakhstan). He said he was drinking it for medicinal purposes.

DUI charge dropped — it was mare's milk, not beer [International Herald Tribune]

The Fix: Egg and Tomato Prices

Spiking food prices are thought to be largely due to rising world demand, drought, and surging energy costs. But, it appears that collusion among food producers may have had an impact as well. According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal prosecutors have recently opened (separate) criminal probes into possible price-fixing by major egg producers and California tomato processors.

Federal Prosecutors Probe Food-Price Collusion [WSJ]

The Smoking Cheeto

Police in St. Paul, Minnesota, followed a "trail of Cheetos" to find three teenagers suspected of robbing a vending machine.

Beer, Knife, Murder

A Chicago woman has been arrested for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend to death because he was drinking her beer.

Man Arrested for Baby Food Poisoning Threats

A New York man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly claimed in a series of YouTube videos that he had poisoned millions of bottles of baby food because he wanted to kill African-American and latino children.

String Cheese Incident

A piece of string cheese, wrapped in duct tape and made to look like a bomb, forced the closure of a Centerville, Utah grocery store.

Italy's Food Detectives

A cadre of Italian investigators stay on the hunt for fraudulent food.

The Cheese Grater Stick Up

An Indiana man has been caught after allegedly trying to rob a bar with a cheese grater.

Freakonomics: "Do Hamburgers Cause Crime?"

Industrial farming is increasingly the target of concerns about food safety, environmental damage, and ethical treatment of animals. But, what about the workers? Freakonomics points to new studies tracking the psychological toll on workers in slaughterhouses and a spill-over effect from their violent work into crime in surrounding communities. In fact, U.S. counties with slaughterhouses have higher rates of violent crime than demographically similar counties that don’t.

"Operation Golden Oil"

In a crackdown on olive oil fraud, police in Italy have arrested 23 people and confiscated 85 farms involved in passing off low quality oil as extra-virgin, buying oil from other countries and selling it as Italian oil, and claiming EU subsidies for growing olives in Italy while actually importing them from elsewhere.

Reducing Crime Through Diet

Would improving the eating habits of would-be criminals cut crime? Scientists believe that crime and antisocial behavior could be reduced by as much as a third. To test this hypothesis, a cohort of young male inmates in the UK will be given vitamin supplements as part of the first large study to determine whether better nutrition can help keep violent urges at bay.

Highway Truffle Robbery

A truffle hunter in Piedmont was pulled over and robbed of nearly $3,000 worth of white truffles.

"Burgers Pulled"

The Cracker Barrel chain has removed hamburgers from all of its more than 300 restaurants after a customer found a razor blade in her burger.

Actor Arrested in Bean Incident

Hugh Grant has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a photographer with a container of baked beans. Via CHOW.

Chef Jailed

Jason Neroni, until recently chef at Brooklyn's Porchetta, has been arrested and charged with petit larceny, a class A misdemeanor.

Meat Crime

Crime: Why is meat the most shoplifted item in America?

Salumi Stolen from Mozza

Crime: A thief has stolen $700 in salumi from the eagerly awaited (but still not yet open) Mario Batali-Nancy Silverton pizza joint, Mozza. The suspect took guanciale, but skipped over a giant wheel of provolone. Says Silverton: "I've been telling people we're looking for a yuppie guy on a bike who's lactose-intolerant."

Nut-nappers

Crime: Using sophisticated techniques, almond thieves (a.k.a "nut-nappers") have stolen more than $1.5 million worth of almonds from California farmers.

Prison Painter

Crime: California prison inmate Donny Johnson creates paintings using a brush made of plastic wrap, foil, and hair, and paints made from chocolate pigments that came from M&M’s.

Soda Suspects

Crime: Three suspects face charges of stealing confidential information from Coke and trying to sell it to Pepsi.

Purse Returned to Powell

Crime: Strangely, stolen purse finds its way back to food blogger/author Julie Powell: "It's enough to make you regain your faith in humanity, or at least in the humanity of purse snatchers."

Julie Powell Mugged

Crime: World's most famous food blogger Julie Powell gets her purse snatched on the streets of Long Island City. Update: A mea culpa.

Robin Hood Gang

Crime: Hamburg Umsonst (Hamburg for free), a modern day "Robin Hood gang" in Germany, steals luxe foods like Kobe beef and Valrhona chocolate and gives them to middle-class 20- and 30-somethings stuck in dead-end jobs. Via I like.

Salmon: Crime fighter

Crime: Could eating salmon reduce violent behavior? Scientists have found a correlation between a higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids and lower murder rates.

From Raw Food Guru to Subway Perv

Crime: The story of a raw-food guru turned "subway perv."

Last Meal Food Trays

Crime: These last meal food trays contain the portraits and meal requests of 310 inmates who have been executed by the State of Texas.

Ex-James Beard President Faces Jail Term

Crime: Leonard F. Pickell Jr., former president of the James Beard Foundation, has been sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for stealing thousands of dollars from the foundation.

Knife Ban

Crime: An editorial in the British Medical Journal calls for a ban on the sale of long pointed kitchen knives in order to reduce crimes by stabbing: "Does a culinary reason exist for so many domestic knives to be of the dagger variety, or are we just sticking to tradition?"

Finger Finder Arrested

Crime: Woman who claimed to find a finger in her chili at Wendy's is arrested on a warrant alleging grand larceny and attempted grand larceny.

Rice to Riches to Arraigned

Crime: The owner of Rice to Riches has been charged in a $21 million gambling ring. Although mischief is quite literally on the menu, none of the alleged bookmaking took place at the Nolita rice pudding emporium. Via curbed.

Turkey-Tosser Threw Apples, Gourds

Crime: Police say teen who threw 20-pound turkey at moving car also tossed apples and gourds at another vehicle.

Ex-Beard President Pleads Guilty

Crime: Leonard F. Pickell Jr., former president of the James Beard Foundation, pleads guilty to stealing from the organization. He faces a maximum term of 5 to 15 years when he is sentenced in March.

Restaurant Tagger Nabbed

Crime: NYPD arrests graffiti tagger who sprayed "VAMP" on restaurants he thought had ripped him off. The tagger led a three-person graffiti group known as WRB, "an acronym investigators said stood for 'We Represent Beef.'"

Martha's Jailhouse Jam

Crime: CNN reports that Martha Stewart has been spotted picking crab apples on the grounds of her Alderson, West Virginia minimum-security prison camp to prepare a batch of "illegal" homemade preserves. Via Gawker.

Stolen Wine

Crime: Thieves steal 1,000 cases of Amarone from Venetian winery Masi.

Edward Furlong's Lobster Tale

Crime: Actor Edward Furlong arrested in lobster-related fracas. Via fg.

Vandals Dump Wine

Crime: Vandals dump 4,000 gallons of Napa Valley wine. Related: In sting operation, Massachusetts government sues out of state wine retailers, including New York's Sherry-Lehmann, for selling alcohol to minors.

Death Row Repasts

Death row repasts.