An eye on...: Food and Drink

Some recent news items of gastronomic interest

Coffee 1: The city government of Como, Italy, has urged company managers to forbid workers to take a mid-morning coffee break. "Going out to drink a cup of coffee during working hours is a flagrant violation of office duties," said Como's cabinet secretary. (Just wait till he witnesses the effects of the entire city suffering simultaneous caffeine withdrawal...)

Coffee 2: At a "Foods and Moods" conference in Glasgow, Professor Andy Smith of Bristol said that drinking coffee has beneficial effects when you are tired. Another speaker said that chocoholics do not officially exist.

Beer: The state congress of Tabasco, Mexico, yesterday approved a measure banning the sale of cold beer as part of a campaign against alcoholism. Warm beer, however, will still be available. Last week 700 stores were closed for 12 hours in protest at the new regulations.

Cucumber: 500 cucumbers painted in five different colours have been thrown into the Irish Sea in an attempt to find out why sheep droppings are floating ashore on English beaches.

"Cucumbers are ideal for this experiment," a spokesman for the Environment Agency said. They were chosen because they float below the water level and are driven by tides, not wind.