Chew on This: Hens relaxed, cans canned, ice cream for the radiator

Two interesting schemes from Europe and a weird additive to make ice cream smoother - the world of food production is always worth watching!

All but two major British supermarket chains are banning the sale of eggs from caged birds and only selling free-range eggs. They're taking advance action on an EU law which four years from now will prohibit hens being raised in the cramped cages common across the U.S. and Europe.  The Brits will still use "enriched cages" for egg-laying hens. They're larger in size and with perches, nests and litter. But even these will be banned in Germany.

And a leading British supermarket is replacing some of its cans with cardboard carton packaging in an environment-friendly initiative. Made from wood pulp, they're two-thirds lighter than metal cans. And they'll also help reduce the company's carbon footprint since more of them can be transported at a time by truck because they're square not round.

Meanwhile, we may be getting antifreeze in our ice cream. Apparently our appetite for ever weirder flavors and more luxurious smoothness is making it difficult to maintain the silky texture we demand in frozen desserts. According to research from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, tasteless edible antifreeze proteins are the solution to preventing the formation of crunchy ice crystals. What's good enough for my car radiator must be good enough for me...

Whatever happened to smooth ice cream made exclusively from eggs and cream?