Food for Playing With

Mrs. Paul’s has introduced a fishy product called Sea Pals: minced cod shaped like anchors, sea horses, sharks, starfish and just plain fish. A 5.8-ounce box has a suggested retail price of $1.59.

Going Against the Gator

A & W Brands, the root-beer outfit, is getting into the sports drink market with a colorless isotonic beverage bearing the hard-bodied name Everlast. It comes in four flavors--lemon-lime, orange, grape and mixed berry--that taste much more like soft drinks than the venerable Gatorade. At convenience stores in 16-ounce wide-mouth glass bottles (six-pack $2.29 to $2.79) and 32-ounce plastic bottles (99 cents to $1.79).

The Thermos-Que

The compact Thermal Electric Grill should be convenient for people who hate smoke or don’t have outdoor room for a barbecue. The heat comes from an electric grid (no hot spots or flames) and the double-walled metal dome is powerfully insulated (the manufacturer, after all, is the Thermos Co.), so it uses no more electricity than a hair dryer and takes only 5 to 10 minutes to heat up. Plus it looks cool, kind of like R2D2 without the buzzing and whistling. It will be available in Los Angeles at Price Club and Home Depot this month for around $300.

Calling All Prunettes

On Jan. 26, Michael McCasland of West Covina will attempt to beat the world prune-eating record (255 water-soaked prunes in 45 minutes) that he set May 17, 1971. He is auditioning for Prunettes to provide music and dance for his performance (which is for charity). He can be reached at (909) 981-3152 or (818) 858-0600.

No Artificial Water Used

La Salsa Taquerias advertise that their Caesar salads are made “with fresh, organically washed romaine.” Makes you wonder about how all those other restaurants wash their lettuce.

Just Add Moisture

Four out of five scallop processors soak the little shellfish in sodium tripolyphosphate to make them retain moisture and thus weight. In June the FDA agreed to allow this--but if the moisture content exceeds 80% (76% is average for untreated scallops), they have to be labeled “water-added.”

At Last-- Real TV Dinners

In Japan, 20 companies make a remote-control device that can run not only your TV but all kinds of appliances--such as a microwave.