Peep behind the claims of any food fad and you are likely to find assertions about anti-ageing in there somewhere. Take Acciaroli, a small Italian port town with a wide beach some 140km (85m) south of Naples. A 2016 study found that a sixth of Acciaroli’s population are centenarians, although why they live this long is anyone’s guess: some of them smoke, some are overweight, and they all drink wine. They eat lots of rabbit and, being Italian, are better at relaxing than the British, but it is thought that the missing link could well be the vast quantities of a local variety of rosemary, which some studies suggest has an especially high concentration of beneficial substances that are good for the brain and the heart.
As science goes, it’s a bit of a stretch. Still, last year saw the launch of the cryptically titled No 1 Rosemary Water – a drink that contains rosemary and water and, being the sole commercial product to combine the two, is indeed No 1 in the hallowed rosemary water market. Following an advertising campaign that claimed the drink could help consumers not only live longer but, in some cases, could slow down the effects of ageing, nine ads for the brand were swiftly banned by the Advertising Standards Agency. But No 1 Rosemary Water survived the PR crisis and is back, back, back. And if you are able to park the whole longevity spin, it is worth trying because it is sugar-free, comes in a pretty bottle, boasts its own completely made-up crest, and even sports its own naff slogan – “a drink to remember”. Personally, I drink to forget, but, whatever; it tastes nice.
The other big new water product to land on our shelves is centred around the packaging, and one which aims to celebrate water rather than soup it up. Ooho! is a little transparent pouch made from seaweed, which presents itself as an alternative to plastic, being biodegradable in a matter of weeks. It is made from dipping ice in a solution of calcium chloride and brown algae to create a clear membrane. You know, like a Tide pod, except not. This pouch is then filled with a liquid and you can swallow the thing whole.
It would be nice to think that when an Acciarolian eventually dies, the villagers will grab a bottle of No 1 Rosemary water and pour one out, but it seems highly unlikely given that there’s a very decent falanghina made nearby.
