Caffeinated foods
A nation that will have to work long hours to pull itself from recession will need more caffeine than Starbucks could ever imagine. Just in time, marketers and food scientists have created a raft of icky but vitalizing caffeinated foods. There are now caffeinated sunflower seeds, potato chips and candies, leading public-health officials to complain that all the new "energy foods" could cause a spike in caffeine-related health problems. But at least one prepackaged combo — caffeinated malt beverages — may be exiting the stage. In June, the attorneys general in 11 states won an agreement from Anheuser-Busch to discontinue all its alcoholic energy drinks and pay $200,000 to the states. Of course, there's still no law against Irish coffee or Jack and Coke.