Looks like Sunkist has been comparing apples to oranges. On the same day that I was busy blogging about the pre-sliced apple phenomenon, Sunkist announced that it was launching a joint venture with Taylor Farms of Salinas to market pre-sliced Sunkist fruits to grocers, schools and fast-food chains.

Taylor Farms sells more than $750 million in pre-packaged lettuce and vegetables to McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Red Lobster, and the Olive Garden. Bruce Taylor, CEO of Taylor Farms, predicts the sliced-fruit venture could reach sales of several hundred million dollars in the next two years.

“We think there is a tremendous opportunity for fruit at the retail level as a consumer snack. It could be a healthy alternative to what people eat today,” Taylor told the Los Angeles Times.

Sunkist's Chief Executive, Jeff Gargiulo, told the Times that the idea was to make eating fruit as simple as munching on potato chips. “Not even my kids will peel an orange.”

“If you're too lazy to peel your own fruit, get scurvy and die,” was Bill Maher's reaction on last Friday's HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher. “Hoping to appeal to teenagers who say they're too busy to peel oranges,” Maher reported, “Sunkist is introducing a new pre-cut, pre-peeled snack version. Not to be outdone, Baskin Robbins has created a new, coneless ice cream that your mother pre-chews and spits down your throat.”