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LONDON - Luckily, the exploding Smedley’s English Red Plums in Heavy Syrup were intercepted in Turkey before anyone got killed. But what of the hand grenade disguised as a chocolate bar? Or the incendiary Vichy pastille sweets? A secret file from the archives of Britain’s spy services released this week shows ingenious methods, conjured up by Germans during World War II, for disguising bombs.

State wants to weed out marijuana-flavor candyWed Jul 13, 8:21 AM ET Connecticut Tuesday joined a growing effort to weed out marijuana-flavored candy from store shelves when its attorney general said he would sponsor a statewide ban on "Pot Suckers" lollipops. Five other states have either banned or are considering a ban on the candy, causing New Jersey distributor ICUP to suspend further sales of the green candy as of June 28. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the candy was being sold in novelty stores in large malls throughout the state, marketed with slogans such as "Every lick is...

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The City Council passed a law Wednesday banning the sale of marijuana-flavored lollipops, gumdrops and other treats, becoming the first major city to prohibit the confections that have appeared in convenience stores nationwide. The candies are legal because they are made with hemp oil, an ingredient used in health foods and some household products. The oil imparts marijuana's grassy taste but not the high. "I can't imagine the degree and the extent to which people will go to make a buck -- and to make a buck on kids, trying to get them to experiment with...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. CHICAGO - Wm. Wrigley Jr. announced Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of Life Savers and Altoids from Kraft Foods Inc. and, as a result, plans to lay off about 500 workers and shutter some factories, including a New Jersey plant. The $1.46 billion cash deal also gives the Chicago-based candy maker several other brands, including Creme Savers, Sugus candies and some local and regional brands in the United States, Europe, Indonesia and Thailand. But the iconic Life Savers and Altoids brands were the biggest prizes in the acquisition. Bill Wrigley...

Raspberry, butterscotch, sour apple . . . and pot? Marijuana-flavored lollipops may seem an unlikely product, but sugary treats with weed-inspired flavors such as Purple Haze, Acapulco Gold and Rasta are appearing on the shelves of convenience stores and smoke shops nationwide. Marketers call them a harmless novelty. Anti-drug advocates say the candies encourage people, particularly teens and young children, to smoke pot. "This kind of thing is reprehensible," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta lawmaker who has organized demonstrations against the candy. "It's nothing but dope candy, and that's nothing we need to be training our children to...

POLS PUSH FOR MINT BAN By LINDSAY POWERS Sun May 22, 4:17 AM ET Political momentum is building for safer candy. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told The Post she is raising the issue with the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission early this week. She called the deaths, just two days apart, of Jocelys Santiago, 5, and Ashley Morrison, 4, "completely preventable." City Councilwoman Christine Quinn, who chairs the Health Committee, is introducing legislation this week to ban large, round candy. She also wants a council hearing on the subject before schools let out for summer....

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There's a new lollipop in town and its flavor is controversial to say the least. It's called 'Chronic Candy' and it's made to taste like marijuana. Critics of the product say it's one more way to make illegal drugs seem cool. The little lollipops really are made to taste like marijuana, but there is no THC in them, which is the active ingredient in pot that gets you high. But that fact hasn't stopped critics of this crazy candy. Beyond the plastic wrapper, buried in the colorful candy is the flavor of marijuana. "It's not good at...

Salmon is always a treat, but if you want to try something different, how about making pickles and candy out of the next fish that lands in your kitchen. In my house, when there are salmon pickles in the crock and a stash of salmon candy in the cupboard, everyone is happy. A platter of salmon candy makes a sweet treat. Mention pickled fish and most folks think of herring. I used to, too, until a few years ago when I was introduced to a platter of pickled salmon. Traditional Old World rollmops are good but, in my opinion, newfangled...

A symbol of Christianity that sits atop church steeples, dangles from necks and hangs on walls is now ending up in the mouths of the faithful, over the objections of some religious officials. A mass-produced chocolate cross is being sold this Easter by Russell Stover Candies Inc. in about 5,000 stores nationwide, which experts say is apparently a first for a major American company. "Obviously they've seen that there's a market for chocolate crosses at Easter," said Lisbeth Echeandia, a consultant for Candy Information Service, which monitors candy industry trends. "I don't see it growing tremendously but I think there...

Rap impresario 50 Cent may be riding atop the Billboard charts on the strength of his hit single "Candy Shop," but music lovers of all kinds will soon be able to mix their passions for beats and sweets if one gadget maker's plans come to fruition. That's right, the candy market's best-known handheld device, the iconic Pez dispenser, is about to go digital. Under a recently granted licensing agreement with Pez Candy, a gadget design company Lincoln West Studios will soon begin selling MP3 players modeled after the big-headed plastic treat sleeves. Based on Lincoln West's plans, which were first...

Candy ban spawns black market; now some treats have returned. Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN (enlarge photo) Austin High School sophomore Brady Myatt, 16, now has lower-fat choices such as wraps to order from food services worker Josephine Maldonado. The school is also trying to make its vending selections healthier. By Matthew ObernauerAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFSaturday, February 19, 2005When Austin High School administrators removed candy from campus vending machines last year, the move was hailed as a step toward fighting obesity. What happened next shows how hard it can be for schools to control what students eat on campus.The candy removal plan, according to students...

It's True: PEZ Collectors Hold Convention Email this story Printer friendly format By Associated Press March 7, 2005, 10:25 AM EST DE PERE, Wis. -- For most people, PEZ is just a candy, but Barry Umbs calls his addiction to collecting PEZ dispensers "a bit of an illness." Umbs, an engineering manager for Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, joined some 60 other self-described "PEZheads" at a convention in De Pere on Saturday. The man has been a feverish PEZ dispenser collector for the past 15 years, and seeks not only each kind of dispenser, such as ones featuring Bugs Bunny, but...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Production of candy shaped like roadkill has come to a screeching halt. The decision, announced Friday by Kraft Foods Inc., was the result of an outcry by New Jersey animal rights activists who said the candy encouraged children to be cruel to animals. "We take comments from our consumers really seriously and, in hindsight, we understand that this product could be misunderstood," said Kraft spokesman Larry Baumann. Kraft plans to stop production as soon as possible and then sell off remaining inventory, Baumann said. The fruity-flavored Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy -- shaped like flattened snakes, chickens...

Feb. 25, 2005, 5:48PM Roadkill candy production screeches to halt By CHRIS NEWMARKER Associated Press The flattened snakes, chickens and squirrels depicted in Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy has animal activists annoyed. TRENTON, N.J. -- Production of candy shaped like roadkill has come to a screeching halt. The decision, announced today by Kraft Foods Inc., was the result of an outcry by New Jersey animal rights activists who said the candy encouraged children to be cruel to animals. "We take comments from our consumers really seriously and, in hindsight, we understand that this product could be misunderstood," said Kraft spokesman...

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Animal rights activists are disgusted by a new candy from Kraft Foods Inc. that's shaped like critters run over by cars -- complete with tire treads.   The fruity-flavored Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy -- in shapes of partly flattened snakes, chickens and squirrels -- fosters cruelty toward animals, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."It sends the wrong message to children, that it's OK to harm animals. And that's the wrong message, especially from a so-called wholesome corporation like Kraft," said society spokesman Matthew Stanton.The society is considering...

Animal Rights Activists Protest Road Kill Candy POSTED: 7:35 am EST February 25, 2005 TRENTON, N.J. -- It's just the kind of gross-out kids love. But animal rights activists find nothing funny about road kill candy. Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy is shaped like critters run over by cars, complete with tire marks. But the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the road kill candy sends the wrong message to kids. State SPCA President Stuart Rhodes has faxed a protest letter to Kraft Foods. Rhodes promises petitions and boycotts if the candy isn't pulled from...

(02-09) 14:58 PST Amarillo, Texas (AP) -- Authorities doubt Cupid had any part in the 9 pounds of heart-shaped candies discovered during a traffic stop. The candies, found Monday by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, tested positive for psilocybin, a psychedelic drug extracted from a mushroom of the same name. The estimated value of the faux Valentine's Day chocolate was more than $408,000, DPS officials said in a news release. The troopers found the candy in a plastic bag after stopping a San Francisco man's 2005 Toyota Corolla on Interstate 40 about three miles west of Amarillo. Craig Allen...

An informant recently provided investigators with new details about the 1977 disappearance of candy heiress Helen Vorhees Brach, but prosecutors do not yet have enough evidence to file charges, sources said Wednesday. No one ever was charged with murder in connection to Brach, but con man Richard J. Bailey was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 1995 after a federal judge decided he conspired to kill her. "Another person has now provided information about the murder," a law enforcement source said Wednesday. "It still must be corroborated." On Tuesday, attorney Kathleen Zellner filed a notice with the U.S. District...

What is Halloween really all about?Have you ever asked yourself, "Who in the world ever thought of the idea of walking around in weird costumes, trick or treating, and/or putting a carved-out pumpkin in your window?" You will agree with me that Halloween is really one of the strangest days of the year, is it not? Perhaps you wonder how the celebration of such a day ever got started. In this pamphlet I would like to answer this question for you!Where and when did Halloween customs originate?The many customs we have today in relation to Halloween have their origins...

Fried Pickles?...Why not Chicken Candy? The Chicken Candy story starts on a cold winter's day in 1908, when Mrs. Edith Brusteldi was cooking dinner for her husband Enrico and their children. Mrs. Brusteldi was finishing up a batch of her award winning fried chicken at the same time that she was melting some chocolate in a double boiler to make a dessert topping for her homemade ice cream. Suddenly, Mrs. Brusteldi slipped on a wet spot on the floor. She flung her arms in the air, losing the grip on the drumstick she was carrying. The chicken arched through the...