Last week Mr. Tidbit noted the arrival of WhoNu?, the vitamin- and mineral-enhanced cookies that come in versions clearly intended to appeal to fans of the Oreo and Chips Ahoy! franchises, and he pointed out that medical authorities might not suggest eating multiple servings of cookies as the best way to meet your nutritional needs. Having gone that far, he feels compelled to mention the three even-more-peculiar enhanced versions of the no-calorie sweetener Splenda.Yes, it's true: In addition to just-plain Splenda, there are three kinds of Splenda Essentials: The first kind has been available for a little while now; that's packets of Splenda that each contain (besides the Splenda) 1 gram of fiber (4 percent of the daily value). And now there's Splenda Essentials with B vitamins, "to help support a healthy metabolism" (besides the Splenda, each packet contains 20 percent of the daily values of vitamins B1, B5 and B6); and Splenda Essentials with Antioxidants (besides the Splenda, each packet contains 20 percent of the daily values of vitamins C and E).

Although Mr. Tidbit must concede that meeting nutritional needs with Splenda may not be quite as possibly counterproductive as doing so by eating cookies, he must note the distinct difference from the WhoNu? cookies, which contain a very broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals: With Splenda Essentials, there are only a few added nutrients, and you have to choose which ones. (From what do you feel a greater need to have your coffee sweetener protect you: beriberi or scurvy?)

And there's this: At one supermarket, where regular Splenda was $4.25 for 100 packets, the B-vitamin and antioxidant versions were $4.05 for 80 packets (19 percent more per packet), and the fiber version was $4.25 for 80 packets (25 percent more per packet).

Pudding and taking You know those 16-ounce four-packs of Hunt's Snack Pack shelf-stable pudding (4 ounces per cup)? No, you don't; they are now 14-ounce four-packs (3.5 ounces per cup). And a Chicago supermarket's site shows them as 13-ounce four-packs (3.25 ounces per cup).

AL SICHERMAN