Garlic Festival 'Breath' Committee Identifies Wrigley's Eclipse Gum as Most Effective Antidote.

GILROY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1999--

"Eclipse" sugarfree gum has been confirmed as The Official Breath Freshener of the 1999 Gilroy Garlic Festival it was announced today.

The Garlic Festival, a 21-year-old international food festival is scheduled July 23-25, 1999 here in this community 30 miles south of San Jose, Calif. The event will serve over 20 tons of garlic and garlic-enhanced food to an anticipated attendance of 130,000 visitors.

The identification of Eclipse came at a Festival press conference that introduced two new entrees to the menu on The Festival's Gourmet Alley. The two new dishes -- Garlic Salsiccia Polenta and Garlic Pollo Polenta Tre Colori -- are the first additions to Gourmet Alley in 16 years.

Eclipse is a new gum from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company of Chicago, targeted towards baby boomers.

"The new dishes alone enhanced the need for The Festival to provide an effective recommendation for a breath freshening product," said Cristin Reichmuth, chairman of the committee charged with identifying a preferred product.

Reichmuth's selection committee was formed two years ago to offer Festival attendees a recommendation on an antidote to "garlic breath." The committee, consisting of six men and six women (the women former queens of the Garlic Festival) tested any products available to Northern California consumers before selecting several items for an extensive "field test."

"Eclipse was actually a last minute consideration because it is just coming on the market," explained Reichmuth. "It was actually the first gum to ever make the final review and in our group's ultimate comparisons it ran the table."

Promising to "quickly eliminate strong mouth odors," Eclipse will be distributed free of charge to the Festival's visitors, courtesy Wrigley's.