The rumor mill.

Supermarket 'sisters' hit sweet 16

There are some constants in the Food Marketing Institute's annual conference in Chicago, including the Betty Crocker Cookbooks, the crowd drawn to the Miller Brewing Co. booth, and seeing Supermarket Sampler partners Bonnie Tandy Leblang and Carolyn Wyman make their way through the show rounding up new products for their weekly column.

Supermarket Sampler is currently celebrating 16 years of praising and panning new products and sharing their informative and entertaining opinions with consumers.

SNPM caught up with the "Siskel and Ebert" of the food world and asked them what's changed in the world of new products since they began opining:

"I'm excited about the abundance of fresher, more natural products," says Tandy Leblang. "Organics have exploded."

"The convenience is amazing," says Wyman. "There are even convenient organic products that I like, such as Amy's Kitchen Frozen Pocket Sandwiches. There's more for Bonnie (a registered dietician) to like and more for us to agree on."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The best new product the duo has rated recently has been Soy 7 soy pasta, which Carolyn, a self-described junk food fanatic, was reluctant to try. "It was fun, and most soy I wouldn't say that about," she says.

What's the best part of Supermarket Sampler? "Finding stuff that I will actually buy. Hostess Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins have become a part of my life," says Wyman.

"We do find gems," says Tandy Leblang.

Food fat fight

At the recent National Food Policy Conference, lawyers agreed that the new litigation movement is due to be directed against restaurants--holding these businesses accountable for the nation's struggle with obesity.

The question remains as to why restaurants aren't held to the same labeling laws as packaged goods. Another question is whether knowledge of the nutritional breakdown would alter consumer behavior.