Mass. Lawmaker Drops Opposition to Fluff

Ingredients of a Fluffernutter sandwich -- Marshmallow Fluff, peanut butter and bread -- are shown in Marlborough, Mass., Tuesday, June 20, 2006. The beloved New England sandwich now finds itself at the center of a sticky political debate at the Massachusetts Statehouse. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes) (Bill Sikes - AP)

BOSTON -- A Massachusetts lawmaker is trying to get himself out of a sticky situation by dropping his opposition to Marshmallow Fluff.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Jarrett Barrios to limit the availability of Fluff in schools sparked impassioned defense of the marshmallow spread, a lunch box staple of children for generations.

The proposal was panned on talk radio, and another lawmaker even suggested legislation to make the Fluffernutter _ a Fluff and peanut butter sandwich _ the official state sandwich.

Colin Durrant, spokesman for Barrios, D-Cambridge, said Barrios was abandoning the proposed amendment to the school nutrition bill. Barrios originally proposed the limitation after he learned his third-grade son was given a Fluffernutter as his school lunch.

"It got to the point where the larger story overshadowed or obscured his original goal, which was to have a discussion about what is a healthy and nutritious meal for kids in school," Durrant said Tuesday.