Dine roundup: Shrimpers struggling; Pizza Hut, Taco Bell removing artificial flavors

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After a few years of steady prices, south Louisiana shrimpers are watching the prices for their catches plummet this season.

“Last year for the little shrimp we’re catching now we were getting like $2 a pound, and now all we’re getting is 55 cents,” Nicholas Rodrigue, a shrimper from Dulac, tells The Courier.

Shrimp season for waters within three miles of the coast opened on Monday of last week. Rodrigue, who can bring in about 4,000 to 4,500 pounds of shrimp during a trip, says the low prices offered by local docks have been making it difficult to pay expenses.

“Between high fuel and groceries, you ain’t making no money,” he says. “And you can’t say, well I’m going to tie up the boat because when you tie up the boat you’re still not making money.”

Read the full story from Daily Report.

Pizza Hut, Taco Bell ‘opting for more natural ingredients’
According to a story from The Wall Street Journal, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant chains committed Tuesday to removing artificial flavors and colors from their foods. Taco Bell is hoping to replace ingredients with natural alternatives by the end of the year. The decision to go more natural will affect more than 95% of the fast food restaurant’s items. Pizza Hut will remove artificial colors and flavors by the end of July. The greater Baton Rouge area has more than a dozen Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations. Read the full story.