IN HOT PURSUIT OF HIGH-TECH FOOD The health craze, the growth of
two-career households, and increasingly sophisticated palates
have technologists scrambling to concoct new edibles. They're
supposed to be nutritious, non-fattening, and convenient. And,
by the way, taste good. By Anthony Ramirez RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Sarah Smith  (FORTUNE Magazine) – BIG FOOD-PROCESSING companies
guard their technical secrets with all the zeal of defense
contractors. Last year, after Keebler, Nabisco, and Frito-Lay
marketed cookies that were crisp on the outside and soft at the
center, lawyers for Procter & Gamble marched into court to
accuse them of infringing P&G's patents. The competitors deny
the charge; the suit is pending, and no trial date has been set.
But one thing is clear: P&G and its rivals were all hoping to
pull off a bit of legerdemain by using the fruits of newfangled
industrial research to make people think they were eating old-
fashioned cookies as good as Mother used to make. Because the
commercial stakes are hig