PepsiCo

Kickstart, the new breakfast drink by Mountain Dew.

Soft drink powerhouse PepsiCo has announced the launch of a new breakfast beverage by Mountain Dew.

Kickstart is being touted as an "entirely new beverage," which is sort of not true.

The drink, which blends juice and the favorite soda of hopped-up kids and frat boys everywhere, actually started out as Mountain Dew A.M., an unholy blend of Dew and OJ that was launched at Taco Bell in select markets as part of the chain's breakfast menu.

Kickstart, which launches nationwide February 25 and comes in two flavors -- Orange Citrus and Fruit Punch -- is that same mix.

According to PepsiCo, the new soda will incorporate 5 percent juice and "just the right amount of caffeine." It's calling the concoction the "ultimate morning pick-me-up."

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Miami-based Burger King is cutting ties with a United Kingdom meat supplier found to be using horse meat to "beef up" its products.

Burgers from processors Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton in Britain tested positive for horse DNA, according to Reuters. Part-horse patties were also sent to grocery chains throughout the UK.

The scandal sent shockwaves through the nation's multibillion-dollar beef industry, but other than being gross by American standards, it almost seems like no big deal. The UK sends "thousands of horses a year abroad to be killed for meat," according to a story in USA Today.

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At Trigger Seafood headquarters in Doral

Once a fish is skinned off and filleted it's difficult for even an expert fisherman to know what species they're looking at.

That's why it's so easy to fleece the average consumer with a mislabeled fish.

The ol' fish switcheroo is nothing new, and the profits it generates keep the cycle going.

We spoke to whole fish salesman Jorge Figueroa of Trigger Seafood about it. Here's what he had to say.

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Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services

The next time you go for happy-hour sushi in Miami, there is a 100 percent chance you will not receive that roll of white tuna sushi even though you paid for it, according to a study released yesterday by Oceana, an ocean conservation group.

Other mislabelings include yellowfin tuna and whitefish. In the new report, titled Persistent Seafood Fraud Found in South Florida, researchers draw their results from 96 random samples from 60 sushi venues collected between December 2011 and January 2012 in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach areas.

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Innocent cupcake, or trans fat ridden confection?

Shoppers entering the Fresh Market in Coconut Grove are greeted with vibrant flowers, elegant wooden fixtures and mellow classical music.

The bakery section features organized stacks of sugar cookies, fruity pies and loaf cakes, all placed in a very sweet, delicious way.

But, if you take a closer look at the list of ingredients on each label, this ethereal spell might easily break.

The mini vanilla cupcakes are prepared with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. The larger cupcakes feature the same ingredient, along with the iced layered cakes.

Artificial trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) and saturated fats are the most commonly used fats by bakers. Because of many health concerns though, trans fats have been largely eliminated in some places. The reasoning behind this decline can be summarized by one of Michael Pollan's Food Rules: it's better to pay the grocer, not the doctor.

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Sustain Restaurant + Bar has developed a brand synonymous with greener eating. Deconstructed branches line its walls and lamps in natural shapes light up its vast open space, all contributing to a signature earthy feel. The menu lists ingredients with sources and location, and the restaurant strongly promotes its dedication to local food.

This feeling of sustainability all comes at a high price. Main entrées for dinner range from $18 to $30, a hefty cost for peace of mind.

But there's one item on the detailed menu that stirs up concern: the misleading salmon description. The dish described as "grilled organic Irish salmon" at Sustain lures diners to pay the listed $25 for the entrée because it's organic. The truth is, though, it isn't organic, at least in the United States. The USDA does not have established standards for organic seafood, and the description of "organic" salmon is an unregulated term in this country.

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If you are not careful, gratuity can cost you a plate full.

​We've all seen restaurants include gratuity on very large bills and when serving large parties. Most add anywhere between 12 and 18 percent on the bill for parties of four or more.

In turn, most patrons don't complain when having to shell out a prescribed amount in certain cases, and some even add an additional tip for outstanding service.

"You get both types of people," said Jeff Plume, a server in the downtown area. "Some people see the 'gratuity included' and feel somewhat slighted, say if they prefer to tip 15 percent and the automatic tip is 18. Others, especially those who (experience) outstanding service, add more tip to the bill. Neither really complain much."

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​That adage "fish is brain food" may be true, but that's a fisherman's tale when it comes to shark. A new study conducted by University of Miami scientists found high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins; this is a neurotoxin linked to degenerative brain diseases such as Lou Gehrig's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Sharks are among the most threatened marine species because they are killed primarily for their fins, which are used to make a Chinese soup that denotes wealth and power.

Shark fins are acquired from a process called finning, where the fin is cut off immediately after the shark is caught and the rest of the animal is thrown in the water to die.

The study draws a link between the consumption of shark fin soup--and dietary supplements such as cartilage pills--and significant health problems. Any shark fin is used to make the soup, but only seven species of shark caught in South Florida waters were tested in the study: blacknose, blacktip, bonnethead, bull, hammerhead, lemon and nurse sharks.

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Single-serve pod coffee machines are all the rage in America these days. Single-serve coffee is now the second most popular means of making a cup (after drip brewers). Last year, 7 percent of coffee consumed in the U.S. was made with a single-serve brewer; in 2010 it was 4 percent.

The current pod craze was launched by the huge worldwide success of Nespresso single-serve espresso machines. Since 1986, the company has sold 27 billion of the little pods.

Here in the States, Keurig sold 4 million of its K-Cup brewers in the 13-week run up to Christmas; during the same time, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sold more than $715 million in K-Cup packs. Keurig licenses its technology, so Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks are making K-Cup pods now too.

Last week, Oliver Strand did some math for The New York Times website and figured out about how much it costs per pound for this precious pod coffee; Trent Hamm, in a post published by the Christian Science Monitor, calculated the price-per-cup. After reading these numbers, you may need to sit down and relax with a nice pot of tea.

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​It can be difficult to justify spending the extra cash for organic food, but with the help of the Environmental Working Group's 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, you can eat healthfully without having to dump your entire wallet on certified organic produce.

Consumers of produce can reduce their intake of pesticides by 92 percent by choosing nonorganic produce from EWG's list of 15 fruits and vegetables that are less likely to have been sprayed with chemicals.

A "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables shows that the 12 most contaminated items expose you to an average of 14 different pesticides a day. Of those, according to the EWG app, six are fruits: apples, strawberries, peaches, domestic nectarines, imported grapes, and domestic blueberries.

Fruits least likely to test positive for pesticide are pineapples, avocados, mangos, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi, watermelon, and grapefruit.

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