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Travelers looking for unusual snacks, packs and candy around the world may wish to note these new products:
* In Britain, new lollipops light up and flash when a button on the base of the stick is pressed; they come in five colors.
Other lollipops come in fruit and creamy flavors; there are also lollipops with chewing-gum centers and lollipops with dipping powders.
* New snack chips in Turkey are flavored with poppy seeds and sun-dried tomato; in Asia, chips are made with seaweed, rice, vegetable oil and seasonings.
* Also in Asia, a citrus touch is creeping in, as in Chinese corn chips with lemon. And an iced-coffee mix is packed ready-to-go in a plastic tub the consumer fills with water and ice.
* Energy chocolate bars recently introduced include a South African shortcake-biscuit bar with guarana and caramel, coated in chocolate.
An Australian ice cream treat that's claimed to be nutritionally balanced, combining health-enhancing and comfort food, is said to have more protein but half the fat of regular ice cream.
* Noted in the United States: Tropical themes include margarita-flavored candy, and cookies flavored in lime, orange, lemon, strawberry and grape flavors. Two-sided savory crackers, one side with a salsa flavor, the flip-side a Cheddar flavor, each with a different color.
Handy European packs include:
* A picnic pack of condiments, with single doses of extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and salt. The three liquids come in vacuum packs that look like full-size "carafes" with tear-off tops; the salt is in a standard sachet.
* In the Netherlands, a new cooking oil sold in a plastic container with its own funnel is said to be less absorbed into food during cooking, and to not form grease and oil rings on pans.
* Products now being packaged in pouches in Switzerland include ice cream, a chilled creamy milk drink, and sun lotion (read labels before sipping).
* In France, salad vegetable snacks come packed in pots with forks, in different combinations of carrots, citrus fruits, celery, salmon and a cereal blend.
And also in France, boil-in-the-bag pasta for children comes in bear, alphabet and shell shapes.
Source: Mintel Reports, Global New Products Database.