Severe winter weather conditions have led to a collapse in supplies of one of health-conscious foodies' favourite vegetables - purple-sprouting broccoli.

Credit card scams which seek to take advantage of the lifestyle aspiration of Britain's more affluent consumers are a growing threat. More than 250 online suppliers were shut down last year after customers complained of trickery

Shocking potatoes with ultrasound or electricity can make them healthier, research has shown. The stress of being sonically blasted causes them to generate more antioxidants, which have been shown to combat heart disease and cancer. Researchers believe the techniques could be used to turn the humble potato into a "superfood".

Serves 8-10

"Didn't Persephone eat the pomegranate pips though it condemned her... to six months of every year in the underworld?" Sarah Gabriel has consumed the obscene fruit of death. So did her mother in her prime. In the Greek myth, when the flower maiden Persephone is raped to the underworld, the corn goddess Demeter lays the world waste, abdicating her function as guarantor of harvest and civilisation. For mother and daughter are indissolubly one being. On their joint survival, life on Earth depends.

If you want a rough and ready snapshot of they way we live, you could do worse than to root around in the basket used by the statistics office to calculate inflation rates.

Your weekly health and beauty check-up

Health gurus promote the goji's benefits, but illegally imported plants could spread disease to other crops

Makes 4 small glasses

In Greek mythology, it's the fruit of the dead. Today, it's considered a "superfood"

It was the annual 2007 meeting of the British Food Item of the Year Campaign, and time for the keynote speech. So all eyes were on Sir Hector Pascal as he made his way up to the podium in Sandwichmakers Hall, the great livery company HQ in which they were privileged to be gathered this evening.

Does the thought of canapes make your heart sink? Are you fed up with small talk? Is your office bash tonight? Here's how to beat party fatigue - and fast

In anticipation of a good season, many an East Carolina farmer had planted new bushes