...A brief but to-the-point sighting from first-time spotter "C. Byron" - the Fudge variety tastes a bit different to how you'd imagine an ordinary chocolate one would, while the Mint version is a lot like these Matchmakers Ice Cream Bars I found for half-price in Sainsbury's, or indeed the Mint Choc flavour of McDonald's new Cornetto McFlurry (all three McFlurries have the same sprinkling of chocolate chunks and crunched-up wafers, then the flavour is in the sauce - and apologies if I say this every time they bring out a new one, but "Cornetto McFlurry" really does sound like the name of an Irish-Italian henchman in a 1930s gangster film).

In more conventionally-chocolatey cones: I was disappointed to find that Cadbury's Dairy Milk Buttons Cornetto-alike (as mentioned in that Talking Retail article ) didn't have a better way of making the mini Buttons stick to the ice-cream once you'd taken the wrapper off, and I haven't yet sampled KFC's "From You, To: You" Chocolate And Caramel Avalanche , though I hope it follows the (inadvertent?) example of the Burger King Luxury Summer Berry Burst I tried recently, which seemed to have a McDonald's Fudge Sundae-style hot sauce... ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0806262332cas Zeddy reports: Are these new? I admit I have not seen them before but they have a short BB code (Aug 08) and say Ltd Summer Edition. If they are... well... they taste like beef-flavoured Pringles . Yep bit of a shocker, eh? I bet they have been nowhere near a Char-Grill BBQ. Actually their smell is kinda like BS!

...Thanks for that, Z - do you think they might actually be a (not very limited) edition from summer 2007? (Plus: any excuse to mention the old Mitch Hedberg gag about char-grilled crisps: "Better flip that Frito, dad - you know how I like mine".) In other summertime savouries: from what I've tried so far, Bertolli's (somewhat Focaccine-like ) Baked Bites have a definite edge over Ryvita's (thankfully non-Ryvita-resembling) "Irresistible" Baked Crispy Limbos - but who will win in the four-way face-off brewing between Doritos Collisions , Sweet And Sour or Peking Duck Pringles Rice Infusions , McCoy's new Extreme range , and Red Thai Curry Kettle Chips ? ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0806191727fah "Wes Jones" reports: Burger King's new flavour "Fusion" Ice Cream. Unlike other Fusions, which include some form of cake or biscuit, this contains simply Ice Cream and Berry Burst sauce. The sauce contains real pieces of Redcurrants, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Blackcurrants, with the actual sauce being a mixture of all these flavours. Be careful with this one as, although there is fruit contained within, it has a high sugar amount in there (I don't know the exact amount). Also, the sauce itself tends to go everywhere, as it is quite watery, and makes quite a sticky mess. The sauce itself tastes quite rich and fruity (evidenced by the fruit, I think), and goes well with Burger King's ice cream.

...And welcome back to our regular BK desserts commentator (though no word on their new-ish Double Chocolate Fudge Cake Ice Cream , "Wes" ?) In other fairly-fresh fast foods: with the possible exception of the spicy SunBlush tomato sauce on the California Classic, there wasn't much to distinguish this year's McDonald's Great Tastes Of America range from the one they trotted out last October - if you want a really meaty sandwich, it's almost worth making the pilgrimage to the numerous - but often shut - London outlets of Fuzzy's Grub . Speaking of which, I finally made it to the Marble Arch KFC before 10.30am to be greeted by this near-American array of chicken-free breakfast options - the AM Twister was great value for £1.79, though why is it that fast food breakfasts always seem much cheaper than meals sold later in the day? ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0806122253sbc "darkskiez" reports: Consists of Flavours (With My Rating) - S'mores (2/10), Vanilla (5/10), Chocolate Caramel (7/10), Chocolate Pudding (8/10), Brownie Batter (8/10). These are really weird, as I'm always suspicious of chewy chocolate things, but they are good. I wouldn't however, bother coming to Utah to get them. I gave Vanilla a low score because there were only 3 in the packet and didn't have a fair chance of rating it as there were two of us doing a taste test. Worth it for the novelty factor.

...Thanks for the details, "darkskiez" (though I suspect they'd rename the Brownie Batter if they ever launched them here). In other chocolatey exoticism: "Jimbob" confirmed ongoing observations by paying 57p for a Reese's Nutrageous in a West London Tesco Metro, having: "only ever seen Reese's products in the US, but [I] was extremely delighted when I spotted this. Looks as if it could be a permanent fixture as although it's made in Canada, on the pack there is an address in Leatherhead, Surrey to send comments to! Yum."

Elsewhere, Hancocks are bringing Zeddy's favourite Turkish confectionery brand to the UK, in the form of 18 oddly-named Solen countlines priced from 15 to 39p , and I think Gu's Black Forest Trifles (Waitrose, £1.89 for 2) are the best replacement for their (presumably discontinued) Winter Edition Seville Orange Truffles , for dinner-party guests who refuse to be fobbed off with the peculiarly-advertised Dr Oetker Paula Chocolate Dessert with Vanilla* Splodges puddings (Sainsbury's, 99p/4). ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0806051838sbc "alleycat" reports: Candy Belt! Candy Belt! This Fizzy Rip Roll states on the packaging that it is "1 Meter of Fun!" I'm not sure that anyone should quantify fun in terms of distance, but that didnt stop the people at Vimto HQ trying! It's a standard fizzy, chewy, sugar coated confectionary strip (very similiar to Haribo's Pasta Basta ), however slightly less sour and less intensely sweet. While the flavour is indeed Vimto-y, the overall experience may fail to satisfy the seasoned savourer of sour sweets. Vimto fanatics should enjoy. PS- Spilling the Vimto drink in the attached picture was an accident :(

...Great to hear from you again , "alleycat" - do you think these are the Vimto version of the metre-long (raspberry?) strips offered by some cinema pick-'n'-mix selections? Anyway, in other variously-fizzy fruitiness: Jelly Belly appear to have genuinely produced a range of Sport Beans ("formulated with carbohydrates, electrolytes, and vitamins B and C"), though no word on whether they taste as outlandish as the "vomit" and "booger"-flavoured BeanBoozled collection I saw in London Selfridges the other week. Cherry Tic-Tacs are coming to the UK, claimed a recent issue of The Grocer magazine, while Haribo have apparently "responded to a consumer campaign" to make " Tangfastics Sour Cherries [...] available as a separate bag line ".

And finally, there's another opportunity to View comments to enjoy "Stephen Craig's" extensive second opinion on Lucozade Alert Lemon Zing/ Mental Edge (79p, Co-Op, Glasgow), which begins: "Clearly realising that someone else has set up a pitch in the corner of their 'claims some spurious personal benefit which is generally entirely fictitious but difficult to prove one way or the other' utility drinks field, the boys at GlaxoSmithkline have started grimly punching their hands into their fists whilst giving the skunk-eye to the unsatisfying Volvic Revive and other competitors, with this latest addition to the Lucozade range..." ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0805292105fah "Mark Boulton" reports: When Heinz began to launch their "diddy keystone" labels with the lower-case Heinz logo, I started to take steps to archive the remaining examples of the more "classic" style - which of course has returned to the Soup range, Mean Beanz and any newly launched products . I guess it was as much of a mistake as replacing the copperplate lettering on the standard Beans with some flimsy looking font sometime in the early '90s (and early '80s IIRC). Here's a comparison of the old [above] and almost-new [below] . Note this was after the rebrand but with the CORRECT spelling of the word "Beans"!!!

...Something of a specialist sighting this week, even by our standards - just leave a comment if you'd like me to post the hi-res scans of Heinz Ravioli, Spaghetti, or Macaroni Cheese cans that "Mark" also thoughtfully provided. In other unbelievable heatables: neither Burger King's Angus 6-Pack Meal nor KFC's latest attempt at offering a non-chicken based breakfast appear to be the hoaxes I originally assumed; sorry it's a bit late to link to the eBay Harrods' Posh Pot Noodle sent in by "George Thompson" ; and "I hadn't noticed the previous posting about them ," admitted "Zeddy" regarding the McCoy's Limited Edition Takeaway 6-pack he paid £1.53 for in Somerfield, Larkhall, concluding: "The Sweet and Sour are indeed with a taste of Chinese Five spice in them. A good edition to the range, limited or otherwise." ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0805221056sbc " Dan Thornton " reports: Fans of cynical relaunches designed to boost sales at a time when more focus than ever is on the health of our nation will surely be fans of the relaunched Opal Fruits. A relaunch which, unlike the Daily Mail rumoured relaunched Marathon bars , actually exist, and are not just the product of a bored journalist constructing a story from a company naturally ensuring their trademark for a product line does not expire and get snatched up by a rival. For instance.

But I digress. These are Opal Fruits, 21st century style. Four flavours, a bag in not-quite Starburst livery and actual fruit juice. 5.1% in fact, a level which is pleasingly high but does not explain why the strawberry flavour is so damned disappointing. It may however go some way to explaining the slightly off-putting smell when the bag is first opened, a smell which is revealed to be the equally off-putting orange flavour; not so much orange flavour as almost entirely generic fruit flavour. But fans of Starburst will know that anyway.

...Please View comments for " Dan's " full flavour-by-flavour analysis - "Kris Cochrane" also got in touch with this (partial) Marathon rumour confirmation , but I'll believe it when I see them on the shelves. In other fruity chews: "Basically good new Starburst (that doesn't sound right but they aren't Opal Fruits) with 2 flavours to each chew. Quite fruity with a nice tartness to the Strawberry and Lime," decided Zeddy regarding Starburst Twisted (he paid 45p but they were only 36p in Camden Morrisons). The new Strawberry or Lemon and Lime flavour Orbit Complete similarly reek when you open the packet, but the Lemon and Lime ones taste like a Mr Kipling Fondant Fancy - Wrigley's are also responding to the Trident threat with the bafflingly differentiated Extra Polar and Extra Arctic Ice . ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0805151939daa Two caramel-coloured beverages today, though "Stewart" doesn't go into too much detail about Switzerland's Red Bull Simply Cola , describing it as: "Quite nice, kind of somewhere between Pepsi and Classic Coke I think. I guess this area is a cola test-marketer's dream as it was just over the border in France I found Coke Blak ." Still, he sounds a bit more energised than "Chubworth" , who paid 85 euro-cents for a can of "Senza Caffeina" Pepsi Boom (Standa supermarket, via Pietraspana, Florence), only to postulate: "Caffeine-free Pepsi, which has no real reason for existence given that, without sugar or caffeine, there is never going to be any sort of boom going on here."

...In other soft-drink targets: apologies for this rubbish phone photo of Selfridges' (frankly terrifying-looking) Diet Coke In The City promotional tie-in; I'd have to make an effort to tell the difference between Barr's Originals Ginger Beer (99p/750ml, Tesco) and Schweppes' new Classic version (currently £1.49/1.25 litres BOGOF, Sainsbury) - though Sainsbury's own brand now makes the intriguing claim " We don't use Aspartame... this product is sweetened with Sucralose "; and Nestle are catching up with the increasingly crowded cold coffee market with their Nesfrappe Chilled Lattes , in Classic or Mocha, 250ml for around £1.69. ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0805081231sbc There's been varying opinions voiced on this through the week, but Zeddy managed to provide a better-than-usual photo of the blighter, reporting: They should include a helpline for those who have become disenchanted at Cadbury's cynical manipulation of their brands to the nth degree. Absolutely, positively nothing different except for "Egg Goo" covered in ridged chocolate. Take a look at the marketing BS .

...Sadly I haven't sampled this myself, but it'll be interesting to see how different the experience is to the Dairy Milk Creme Egg Bar (after all, Cadbury's Wispa is genetically identical to Dairy Milk Bubbly , but people still prefer the former?)

Elsewhere, there's no sign as yet of the similarly-named Starburst Twisted (in Strawberry and Lime, Cherry and Lemon or Blueberry and Banana), but "grotbag" points out Mars are confusing matters further by " Bringing back Opal Fruits [to ASDA] for 3 months on 10 May , with the classic orange, red, green and yellow colours. They've gone all consumer-conscious on us though and removed the artificial flavourings so whether or not they will taste was good remains to be seen" - presumably to compete with the "real fruit juice", "30% less sugar" and "coloured by nature" credentials of Chewits Truly ? ]]> http://www.snackspot.org.uk/thread.php?story=0805011421cpi "Nick T" reports: Fresh from the laboratory, this Heinz 'Taste of Home' custard is fair enough but leaves a slightly odd metallic tang in the mouth. Good value though and gives the excellent Aldi custard a good run for the same price. The Taste of Home range also includes rice pudding (not tasted yet).

...No kidding, "Nick" - apparently the full range comprises seven new and six re-launched products in Taste of Home packaging (eg the tinned Indulgent Chocolate Pudding looks a lot like Heinz's old Cadbury's branded one ). Heinz are also launching a gourmet Special Blend tomato ketchup at around £1.75/bottle but, returning to puddings, Zeddy's whole family are getting in on the act with this White Chocolate version of last year's Aero Double Chocolate Swirl - apparently: "Zeddy jnr spotted these and made his demands known. The label reads 'White chocolate mousse with swirls of chocolate'. Would that be milk chocolate, Nestle? It is, I can see brown stripes in it. Zeddy jnr thinks they are good but then kids will eat any old rubbish." ]]>