Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

The green chocolate and peppermint candy Snifters is the latest iconic New Zealand lolly to be axed by confectionery giant Cadbury Schweppes.

The death of Snifters follows the recent dumping of popular chewy movie lollies, Tangy Fruits, and the colourful boiled candies Sparkles.

Snifters were produced under Cadbury's Pascall brand in their later years, but the company claims falling demand means it's no longer to economic to manufacture the discontinued products. In reality that's because they're NZ-only items, and don't really fit into the company's wider regional plans.

Cadbury is embarking on a massive restructuring programme in Australasia, which will see most New Zealand Cadbury products (including the popular kiwi Moro bar) produced offshore in Australia.

For the moment it seems that Jaffas - the bright orange chocolate covered candies - have been spared the knife, although the familiar rectangular box may disappear in favour of a simple plastic bag.

Cadbury may look to retain Jaffas for a while longer... The colourful candies form the basis of a key promotional event in Dunedin's annual Chocolate Week, with the Giant Jaffa Race down Baldwin Street, believed to be the world's steepest.

* One News: Not so sweet a goodbye to Snifters
* Stuff: End of the line for iconic Kiwi lollies