Fort Myers, FL, United States (AHN) – Norman Love Confections knows the secret to sweet success.

The Florida-based chocolatier has been named the best chocolate in the United States, for the sixth time, by Consumer Reports in its February issue–just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Norman Love makes about 30,000 chocolates by hand every day at its Fort Myers facility. In awarding the company top honors, the magazine cited “the combination and the blending of the chocolate with the fillings.”

The chocolate shop is expanding with fresh gelato and bakery selections. The company also plans to take full advantage of its location, which is very close to the Red Sox spring training stadium.

Even better, Love plans to open more retail locations in the future.

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Seattle, WA, United States (AHN) – Get ready to peel off more bucks for your Starbucks lattes, frappuccinos, espressos and standard brews.

The Seattle coffee chain announced Tuesday that it is raising prices an average of 1 percent in the Northeast and Sunbelt regions. Cities that will see higher prices include Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Albuquerque. Prices will remain unchanged in California and Florida.

The increase comes as Starbucks faces higher commodity costs. The company will not raise prices for its packaged coffee sold in its cafes and at grocery stores. That increase came last year when Starbucks raised prices of packaged coffee 17 percent at its cafes and 12 percent at grocery stores.

The coffee giant believes the increases will have little effect on its consumer base, which is less sensitive to prices than some of its rivals.

In early afternoon trading Wednesday, shares of Starbucks were trading higher by 2 percent at $46.21 per share.

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West Palm Beach, FL, United States (AHN) – Dieters take note. The color of your plate may affect how much you eat.

New research published in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that its not just size of your plate, but also the color, when it comes to how much you eat.

Experts have known for years that color has an impact when it comes to food consumption. Fast food chains have long been cashing in on this phenomenon. They rely heavily on bold colors such as red, orange and bright yellow in their advertising, packaging and decor. These color cue you to eat more.

The newest study shows another relationship between food and color. Among the findings are that people tend to eat more when there is less contrast between the color of food and the color of the plate it is served on.

For instance, when pasta with a red sauce is served on a red plate a person tends to eat more, as it is difficult to see exactly how much food is on the plate, and how much has already been consumed.

The best plate color choice is blue, experts say (not much blue food around). The second best is white.

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Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – U.S. teens are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings, based on data complied from nearly 10,800 students in grades nine through 12 who took part in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study 2010, found median consumption was 1.2 times per day for both fruits and vegetables.

Median fruit consumption was much higher among males than females, and much higher among grade nine students than among students in grades 10 and 12.

A little more than 28.5 percent, or one in four, of the high school students ate fruit less than once a day, and 33.2 percent ate vegetables less than once a day.

Only 16.8 percent of students ate fruit at least four times a day, and only 11.2 percent ate vegetables at least four times a day.

Vegetable consumption was lowest among Hispanic and black students, the study found.

Researchers said the findings show that most high school students do not meet the daily fruit and vegetable recommendations, and more needs to be done to see the recommendations are met.

The researchers wrote in the Nov. 25 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, “The infrequent fruit and vegetable consumption by high school student highlights the need for effective strategies to increase consumption.”

Steps have already been taken at schools throughout the country to remove sugary snacks, sodas, high fat, high salt and low nutrient dense foods. New programs such as farm-to-school initiatives, school gardens and salad bars aim to improve access to both fruits and vegetables.

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Copenhagen, Denmark (AHN) – Health experts have long touted a low sodium diet for the masses, maintaining that reduced sodium lowers the risk for heart disease and stroke.

However, new research published online Nov. 9 in the American Journal of Hypertension, finds that cutting back on salt may increase levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and other risk factors for heart disease. It is not yet clear what the findings mean for long-term health.

The Danish researchers found that less salt did lower blood pressure in whites, blacks and Asians who had either normal or high blood pressure.

But it came with significant increases in levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, the enzyme renin (involved in regulating blood pressure) and the hormones noradrenaline and adrenaline, which can both affect blood pressure and heart rate.

For decades, health experts have advocated reducing sodium consumption. In addition, there has been a powerful new government push to reduce the amount of salt in prepared, processed and restaurant foods.

New U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that people ages 2 and older limit daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams. People aged 51 and older, blacks and anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should consider limiting their daily sodium intake to 1,500 mg.

The American Heart Association believes the 1,500 milligrams a day recommendation should be standard for all Americans.

While the new findings are being reviewed, health experts say the recommendation for the general public remains the same when it comes to salt: less is probably better.

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Glendale, CA, United States (AHN) – IHOP is celebrating Halloween a few days early by offering free “Count Spatula” pancakes for kids all day Friday.

As part of its “No Tricks Just Treats” program designed to provide a safe and fun Halloween, children 12 and under can visit IHOP for a free scary face pancake.

The “design your own” Scary Face Pancake includes an oversized buttermilk pancake with a whipped topping mouth and a strawberry nose. It is served with two mini Oreo cookies and candy corn on the side, allowing kids the opportunity to decorate their own Halloween hotcake, according to an IHOP statement.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Blame it on the butter.

Maxim magazine has named 64-year-old Southern chef Paula Deen as its “Hottest Female TV Chef,” saying man cannot resist her rich comfort food.

According to the editors, “Deen’s devotion to the art of down-home, fat-laden cooking filled them with a lust for life.”

Deen, a diminutive, grey-haired Southern champion in the kitchen, beat out several younger chefs including the stunning Giada de Laurentis and Padma Lakshmi.

Deen has a heavy hand with butter when she cooks and frequently says that everything is better with butter. Apparently that is enough to melt men’s heart.

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Ottawa, Canada (AHN) – New research links low blood sugar in obese people with a stronger urge within the brain for high calorie foods, in turn, driving them to eat more and crave these foods more, which may lead to overeating.

The new findings were published in the online issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. In the study, researchers set out to find if dips in blood sugar affect obese people differently than people who are not obese. The researchers used MRI scanners to monitor the brains of five obese and nine non-obese people as the subjects’ blood sugar levels were adjusted from normal to low.

The findings show that obese people had less brain activity in the area known as the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls choices, even when their blood sugar levels were normal. The researchers say that the low prefrontal cortex brain activity suggests that obese people may have a much harder time fighting the urge to eat, especially when their sugar levels fall below normal.

The study did not reveal if this urge to eat more high calorie food is a consequence of obesity or if some people’s brains are wired differently from the start. But what it does conclude is the importance of keeping blood sugar levels stable.

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Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – Besides a proposed ban on shark fin soup, California is also set to prohibit another exotic food – foie gras, or duck liver.

By July 2012, duck liver cannot be served throughout the state if the duck was force fed, which is the method used by duck raisers for the liver to become fatty.

California became the first state to ban foie gras, in 2004, but the law will not take effect until the middle of next year. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger signed the legislation into law, which not only bans force feeding of ducks but also prohibits selling of foie gras produced that way. The fine for violators could reach up to $1,000 a day.

The eight-year gap between the passage of the law and its implementation gave liver duck producers time to find alternative ways to force feed the animal, but none was found.

Forced feeding involves inserting a tube in the duck’s esophagus, which animal rights groups have denounced as an inhumane practice. However, food experts defended the method because it only imitates behavior of wild ducks that gorge themselves before embarking on a long flight.

They added that the method does not cause pain to the duck and accused the animal rights groups that pushed for the ban of imposing their vegetarian values on the rest of Californians.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a firm that processes 250,000 ducks yearly, said they are considering a lawsuit to challenge the California ban. California restaurants that serve the dish said they will retain foie gras on their menu.

The proposed ban on shark fin soup will be voted on by the California Assembly next week. The California Shark Protection Act seeks to make it illegal to own, trade or sell shark fins because sharks are becoming extinct, in part because of finning.

Like the foie gras, shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. A can of shark fin can sell for up to $600 a pound. The soup is consumed mostly by Chinese migrants to California who continue to consider the item a symbol of luxury and wealth.

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Beijing, China (AHN) – The chairman of the largest fast food chain in the Philippines disclosed on Wednesday that the company will expand operations in China in 2012 by opening 100 more stores.

Jollibee Foods Corp. Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong is in China as part of the 270-member delegation of Filipino businessmen that Philippine President Benigno Aquino took with him to Beijing to seek trade opportunities and ties.

Jollibee, a Filipino-owned hamburger chain, has surpassed U.S. fast food chain giant McDonald’s in the Philippines in terms of sales and number of stores. The company, known for its red-and-black bumblebee mascot, has one outlet in Hong Kong, 51 Hong Zhuang Yuan branches and 226 Yonghe King stores in mainland China.

Like its Philippine operations, which is a consistent money-maker for the company, Jollibee’s China operations registered a 28 percent growth in the first half of 2011.

Besides its operation in China, the company inked in May an agreement with a Vietnamese company to own and operate several dining establishments in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau and southern China.

Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario signed on Wednesday a five-year development program for trade and economic cooperation expected to boost two-way trade between Beijing and Manila to $60 billion by 2016.

The signing of the agreement, including a memorandum of understanding between the Philippine and Chinese foreign affairs offices and another cooperation agreement between the People’s Television Network and China Central Television, was witnessed by Aquino and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

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