Pineapple Overboard?

Some people feel strongly about their rolls of Five-Flavor Life Saver candies, as Nabisco Inc. is learning. To make the 65-year-old hard candy a bit more modern, the company has asked consumers to weigh whether the pineapple flavor should be replaced by more with-it watermelon or strawberry.

But Nabisco has found not only that its customers are strongly attached to the original five--lemon, lime, wild cherry, orange and pineapple--but also that they care about details, such as which end of the roll unwraps with a string.

“Feelings about our product are stronger than we expected,” Nabisco spokesman John Barrows says.

Votes so far overwhelmingly favor pineapple, which in the company’s own popularity tests, has finished fifth of five. Consumers have until year’s end to vote, after which Nabisco will announce whether pineapple is saved. Why the change, other than a little publicity? According to the Life Savers Web site, the pineapple flavor is not Y2K-compliant. To vote, call (877) 454-3372 or on the Internet, https://www.lifesavers2000.com.