MARK MY WORD: PINEAPPLE FANS FIGHT TO KEEP FAVORITE LIFE SAVER

Say it isn't so.

LifeSavers Company is tampering with tradition.

It wants to roll right over the past, and replace its pineapple flavor Life Saver with either watermelon or strawberry.

Sweet-toothed consumers will begin voting soon to determine whether worldly watermelon or state-of-the-art strawberry will replace the venerable pineapple candy ring in the Life Savers Five-Flavor roll.

For more than half a century, pineapple as been a fixture in the brightly hued roll, which also includes cherry, orange, lemon and lime.

But it seems that the pineapple flavor isn't Y2K compliant enough for tasteless corporate types.

Unless consumers vote to retain it, the pineapple flavor will be officially retired at the end of the year.

It's a sad situation. After all these years, some corporate types want to push aside the proud pineapple.

In my mind, that would be a poor start for the new millennium.

Jim Goldman, president of LifeSavers Co., says nothing lasts forever.

Goldman says his company's research shows that pineapple is the least loved of the five flavors.

But don't tell that to pineapple lovers like me.

I'm not wild about watermelon-flavored candy. As for strawberry, there are plenty of other candies that are strawberry flavored.

LifeSavers rolls don't need to follow suit.

Goldman says he will leave it up to the consumers to decide the fate of the pineapple candy.

The company is pulling out all the stops, enticing people to vote by offering them sweepstakes prizes such as digital cameras.

Results of the balloting will be announced early next year just in time for the Iowa caucus.

George Bush and the other presidential candidates have yet to rally to the cause. Perhaps they don't want to encourage Americans to vote in exchange for prizes.

But I'm not ready to abandon the pineapple candy.

It's time for all sweet-toothed Americans to come out of the kitchen and cast their votes for the pineapple flavor.

You can do so by calling toll-free 1-877-454-3372 or by logging onto the LifeSavers web site. The address is wwww.lifesavers2000.com

Being an intrepid journalist, I naturally logged onto the web site and cast my own vote for the pineapple flavor.

I was elated to see that a high percentage of those who voted on line have cast their ballots for the pineapple candy.

But we shouldn't be complacent. The votes aren't all in.

This is clearly an issue that President Clinton should take seriously. It may be a sticky situation, but leadership requires tough choices and good taste.

After all, we're not talking about prickly pears.

Pineapples have a juicy history. Many people believe pineapples originated in Brazil as Mardi Gras hats.

Christopher Columbus and his crew were probably the first Europeans to taste the fruit and get sticky hands.

They took the fruit to Europe and planted it in hothouses. It became a favorite fruit of royalty, who viewed it as a crowning achievement.

Commercial production of pineapples began in the mid-1800s when they figured out how to spell Dole and cut the fruit into doughnut-like circles.

Hawaii is known for its pineapples. Without the fruit, Hawaii would still be full of sand and surf. But it wouldn't be as tasty a place to visit.

With a heritage like this, it would be sad to see the Life Savers pineapple flavor become extinct.

Those of us who care about candy hopefully won't let that happen.

It's time to take a stand. Pineapple lovers unite.

With a catchy slogan like that, we can lick this thing.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.