According to American Merchandiser, the latest list of the top ten snack food choices from vending machines is as follows:

1)Snickers
2) Doritos Big Grab
3) Peanut M&Ms
4)Cheetos
5) Cheez-It Original
6) Twix
7)Strawberry frosted Pop Tarts
8)Rice Krispies Treat
9)Lay's Chips
10)Mrs.Freshley's Jumbo Honey Bun

Now, dear readers, I know you are probably wondering what I was: Who the heck is Mrs.Freshley? And how did she manage to sneak in her honey bun among all these big-name competitors?

Well, I did a little research. Turns out, the honey bun has been awarded "Pastry Product of the Year" several times. And the damage? One honey bun contains 590 calories, 29 grams of fat, 37 grams of sugar, and - I'm sure - a whole lot of deliciousness (quickly followed by a whole lot of stomachache).

There's a new magazine out of France, and it's kinda cool in that weird, hipster-y PoMo sort of way. It's called Yummy, and its calling itself a "JunkFoodDesignMagazine" (because spaces between words are so passé).

The magazine - and web site - are mostly en Français, but obviously, art transcends language, and all that jazz, so your lack of French-speaking skills will not hinder your appreciation - or revulsion - from the site.

The featured art runs the gambit from Whodonut?, Virginia Barre's slightly disturbing illustrations of people living in a fast food nation, to Show Her, which seems to be a big excuse for the artist to show photos of a half-naked woman in a rainstorm, occasionally holding a soda bottle (hence, the food connection, I suppose).

Go check it out - you might just be inspired to make some food art of your own. Or just be really grossed out.

Earlier today, my mom called me to say she had sent me a link to an article she thought was interesting and might make a good Slashfood post (she's always looking out for me, that mother of mine). When I got home, I checked my email and found a link to this article, published on January 2nd, that discusses a study in which people in 13 countries were asked whether they agreed or not with the statement, "I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up."

Forty-five percent of Britons agreed with the statement, just barely ahead of the 44 percent of Americans who agreed. Canadians are in third place, with 37 percent of them unable to give up their junk food. Only 19 percent of people from France thought that junk food was too tasty to give up (and who can blame them, food in France is amazing).

They also asked questions about how people from the different countries thought it was best to lose weight, how often they weighed themselves and how often they went to the gym.

I'm an absolute sucker for novel junk-food packaging. Doritos X-13D stopped me dead in my tracks when I was at 7-Eleven the other night. The white panel read "This is the X-13D Flavor Experiment. Objective: Taste and name Doritos flavor X-13D." I felt as if it were my civic duty to name this flavor, so I purchased two bags. I also wanted to win a years supply of the orange-colored treats. Mmm...powdered cheese.

I munched on a few on the walk home. They tasted vaguely of something familiar. The front of the package has a line that reads, "All American Classic." After I thought about it for a while I figured out what X-13D tastes like, and it is indeed a classic. It also helps explain why beef tallow and pickle juice are among the ingredients.

I went to X-13D with the intention of entering my name for this experimental snack. The jet-black pages, creepy futuristic music and Flash animations including a 3-D rotating animation of the package that displays the name you've chosen led me to believe that is a Web site created by stoners for stoners. I imagine eight-year-olds kids typing "Monkey Poo" and such, laughing their heads off. Don't worry, that's not the name I chose for X-13D. Actually I never officially entered since I couldn't get the dang site to cooperate with my dinosaur of a PC. The contest ends July 14. Can't get X-13D where you live? Worry not, some genius is selling them on eBay for $9.99 a bag. I'm not sure if it's the large size or not. Either way, that's a ridiculous markup.

To say that the awareness campaign against childhood obesity has been a big one is something of an understatement. There are healthy vending machines getting put into schools, students' BMIs are getting put on report cards and junk food ads have been banned from many televisions. But despite all efforts, there hasn't yet been a noticeable change in the way children eat or a reversal of the trend towards obesity.

A new study illustrates the fact that the impact of all such measures has been minimal. Kids snack more than other age groups, with the average 5-9 year old child consuming $114 worth of candies and sugary treats, $30 of ice cream and $58 of salty snacks each year. "Tweens," the next age group up, consume "40 percent more carbonates per capita than the population average." The same study found that kids are exercising less than ever before, as well, leading to their prediction that childhood obesity rates (including both "overweight" and "obese") will move up from the current 32% to 42% by 2011. European kids aren't too much better off with rates around 35%.

The advice for a turnaround - eat less, exercise more - still stands, but unless something motivates a change, it doesn't look like there will be a radical decrease in the near future.

For this edition of Midnight Snack I decided to crack open probably some of the strangest stuff I've come across in a long time: Fried Chicken Snack and Hot Chicken Snack. Both of these junk food oddities come to the States from Korea's Nong Shim Co.

First a few words about the packaging. While I've taken this photo vertically with shaky late-night hands to better display the "chicken," the boxes open horizontally not unlike a package of takeout fried chicken. That folks is where the resemblance ends, almost. At least the pieces look like fried chicken drumsticks. Each is about an inch long and has a rough surface resembling breading.

But how do they taste? Sooooo very glad you asked. Even though it bears the words "Fried Chicken Taste" on the package this variety tastes only like fried bird because of its crunch and slightly greasy texture. I prefer the hot variety, which again tastes nothing at all like fried chicken, but rather like a wheat-based version of Andy Capp's Hot Fries. But it's all good, I was down a quart of palm oil anyway.

For those of you who think I'm all about junk food, you're right. But don't worry, future editions of Midnight Snack may feature me eating cold leftovers while standing in front of the fridge.

Now here are two web sites that a compulsive consumer of all manner of Asian snacks can really use, Sinosplice's Junk Food Review and Junk Food Review 2. To think that this random walk through various kinds of Chinese snacks has been around for more than a year without showing up on my radar boggles the mind.

The intrepid John and Wilson work their way through a dozen snacks and beverages rating them either thumbs up or thumbs down. The items range from Salami, a jerky-type product that neither like to Peppermint Plums, a preserved plum product that combines sour, sweet and minty and draws raves from both. SSS Carrot Juice gets a unanimous pan, with John calling it "Nasty, nasty, nasty."

I'm not sure where in China these two did their first tastings, but Junk Food Review 2 was done in Taipei. This time around the boys cover 10 items. My favorite thumbs-down items were Recover snack bars, a Powerbar type item that John calls "shortbread gone wrong" and dried juruo, which Wilson likens to chewing on peppery dead skin. The boys sometimes disagree. President Papaya Milk draws a rave from Wilson, but John hated it. [via Serious Eats]

Where once cans of Spaghetti-os, mixed fruit and green beans were prevalent, many food banks now have a very different selection of goods, including Cookie Crisp cereal, Everlasting Gobstopper jawbreakers, Mini Oreos and Wonka Donutz.

Most of the food donated to food banks comes from grocers, manufacturers and growers. Perishables are the first items to be distributed, and take more handling and faster shipment than non-perishable goods, but with the upswing in the amount of junk foods with long shelf-lives - possibly an indication of larger food trends - some food banks are trying to make changes in their programs. They want to increase the work they do with growers of fresh foods and improve their storage systems.

Greetings dear reader if you're perusing this post while slumped over your desk at your day job then it's probably time for a snack to boost the old blood sugar. Of course there's a right way and a wrong way to get your munch on as a recent Forbes article points out.

Forbes "Snacking Survival Guide" notes that the junk food in that office snack machine is bad for two reasons. It's crammed full of calories and often trans-fats, but more important while it may give you a temporary lift, you're bound to feel a crash once your blood sugar falls from its peak. Better options include fruits, vegetables and nuts.

The article also includes a 10-item slide show with a suggested item for various types of snackers and the benefits of the treat. The reccomendation for athletes is pomegranate juice because it contains loads of nutrients and antioxidants. For those on the go, the suggestion is protein bars. And for the bachelor it's eggs because of their ease of preparation and high protein content. That reminds me I've been meaning to rewatch Cool Hand Luke.

Legislators in Illinois have voted against a proposed junk food ban. The bill would have eliminated all junk foods from vending machines in elementary and middles schools, grades K-8, in the state.

Though the governor supported it, the rest of the law makers said that it was not enough to look only at the foods offered in vending machines. A bill that was to support good nutrition in schools should require that the nutritional content of cafeteria food be examined as well. Not only would the bill have to be more balanced, it would have to apply equally to all children. Some of the original drafts contained rules that varied by age and were full of product exceptions. For example, children through grade 5 "would be limited to beverages containing 100 percent fruit juice, while drinks for middle school students could contain as little as 50 percent juice" and pretzels would be allowed, though almost no other "chips" would be.

It sounds as though the school board, which is collaborating with the law makers, and the government are on the right track in their desire to have healthier kids. Once a balance is reached, the legislature is sure to push a bill through.

Scott Martin, age 20, was killed by his diet of French fries, white toast and, on occasion, a tin of baked beans or spaghetti. He refused all fruits and vegetables. The young British man was stricken with cirrhosis and autoimmune hepatitis, caused by malnutrition brought on by an unhealthy diet. Both diseases destroyed his liver and his body's ability to stave off infection, ultimately resulting in his death. Scott was told that he needed a liver transplant last year, but was afraid of surgery and unwilling to change his diet. His family reported that Scott did not drink and that his preferred activity was watching Manchester United on television.

To make a gross understatement, this is a very sad story. I feel for the family of this young man. Wouldn't you change your diet if your life depended up on it?