Am I the only one who keeps Pinterest-searching “spooky food?” I’m surprisingly impressed by so many recipes: pink brain topped cupcakes, meatloaf monsters, spaghetti as bloody intestines, mozzarella balls melted into skulls, mummified jalapeno pepper poppers, pot pies with gaping mouths carved out of dough. I loved the idea for berry-stuffed lychees, dropped into a glass of something red and transformed into eyeballs.

These homemade recipes are whimsical and fun. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and that’s probably what I respond to most. The world of food brands is tense right now, and many companies are struggling. Some startups are agreeing to bad deal terms as they search for funding, while many young companies are considering folding. These pressures come as grocers prioritize the big brands, which can afford the high fees required to maintain on store shelves. The dynamic impacts most food sold. That includes in the candy aisle, where shelves are now overflowing in anticipation of Halloween. Big candy companies are trick-or-treating, too: More than $3 billion worth of candy is purchased every year.

Enjoy your Friday the 13th!

P.S. Colorado friends, kick off Mischief Night with me! My book tour is popping up at Boulder Book Store with a signing and discussion of Raw Deal on Monday, Oct. 30, starting at 6 p.m. Mountain Time. Register for free admission here.

— Chloe Sorvino, Staff Writer

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Despite some viral social media posts claiming a new California law will ban Skittles candy in 2027, there’s nothing in the law—which will ban certain food additives deemed dangerous by some studies—that will keep the popular candy off shelves.

Recent dam-collapse disasters in India and Nepal are warnings that climate change will drive considerable increased risk to people and energy infrastructure.

Manufacturers are making heat pumps and refrigerators with low-carbon refrigerants like carbon dioxide and propane, but they aren’t universally available.

British shoppers are seeing the cost of some staple groceries go down for the first time in more than a year as inflation falls to the lowest rate since last fall—but food inflation in the U.K. is higher than in some other western countries.

I’ve been on a clam chowder cleanse. I like to kick off soup season with my annual October trip to Cape Cod. Besides, it’s hard to find sustenance more sustainable than local clams.

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