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Diner’s Fire Snuffs Out Camaraderie Among Its Regulars; Frito-Lay Revamps Its Product Lines

• After a fire destroyed their beloved haunt in September, the gang of regulars at Haddon Township’s Newton Diner lament the loss of the diner and the camaraderie it fostered. [Inquirer]

• Frito-Lay is going to announce a revamp of its products, and half of its snacks will be made exclusively from natural ingredients. Fritos and Tostitos are just fried corn, right? What were they made out of before? [USAT]

• Big in 2010: At-home canning, more dudes cooking. [UPI]

• Speaking of huge companies co-opting natural food, one year-end roundup wonders if the artisanal movement has jumped the shark. [Salinas Californian]

• Eeeeee! Scientists have sequenced the cacao genome! Does cloned chocolate count as fair-trade? [Nature via Diner’s Journal/NYT]

• Hawkeye Food Service of Coralville, Iowa, is suing a bunch of Iowa school districts, alleging price-fixing and bid-rigging. [Trib]

Diner’s Fire Snuffs Out Camaraderie Among Its Regulars; Frito-Lay Revamps