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Gooey treat Fluffernutter proposed as official state sandwich

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 23, 2009 08:28 PM

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

The Fluffernutter, a gooey combination of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff that has given countless children a sugar rush, is again being proposed as the state sandwich.

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“I associate the Fluffernutter with a really good childhood sandwich," said Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein of Revere, who filed a bill in the Legislature that would elevate the status of the sandwich.

Marshmallow Fluff was invented in Somerville and has been produced in Lynn for 80 years.

“Well, it’s very flattering,” said Don Durkee, co-owner of the Marshmallow Fluff company, based in Lynn. “I can’t think of any other sandwich that has the equivalent association with Massachusetts.”

In 2006, former state senator Jarrett Barrios attracted national attention when he sought to limit the serving of Fluffernutters in school lunch programs statewide. As a reward for trampling on people's sweet memories, Barrios was blasted on talk radio and sales of Fluff went up sharply.

Reinstein, whose district is near Lynn, jumped to the Fluffernutter's defense at the time. She supported a previous bill and this time is the bill's lead sponsor, saying the sandwich contains good protein and is the product of a local company.

The sandwich is one of three sugary foods that the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight will consider for official state status Thursday. Other bills would make Necco wafers the official state candy and Charleston Chews the official state candy bar.

The parade of wacky bills doesn't stop there, though. Lawmakers will hear proposals to designate the elephant as the official state mammal, the 2005 Red Sox-themed Jimmy Fallon movie “Fever Pitch” as the official state movie, and "6" as the official state number.

Many of the bills are filed by school groups, who get an inside look at how laws are made through the process, said Lainey Titus, chief of staff for Representative Steven Walsh of Lynn, co-chairman of the committee. A handful of bills eventually make it through the House and Senate and are signed by the governor.

“It can be a great educational tool," said Representative Antonio Cabral of New Bedford, a former co-chair of the committee.

Massachusetts already has five official state foods, among the most in the country: the baked navy bean, corn muffin, chocolate chip cookie, Boston cream pie, and Boston cream doughnut.