To the surprise of all of the cookie makers, consumers found little in the product to excite them.

The Campbell Soup Company made a $590 million bid yesterday for the two-thirds of a large Australian cookie maker that it does not already own.

At its height, the company distributed cookies throughout the United States, and was one of the leading cookie makers in the country.

Nabisco, for example, has announced intentions to buy a $250 million to $300 million stake in one of the country's largest cracker and cookie makers, Terrabusi.

The agency examined 85 companies of all sizes that were likely to use common allergy triggers in abundance: cookie makers, candy companies and ice cream manufacturers.

So for investors, the question is which of the two stocks that track the cookie maker represents the better bet.

Pepsico bought control of Mexico' biggest cookie maker for $300 million.

And they are both accomplished cookie makers.

The cookie maker would have been "moving into a different line of goods and coming much closer" to those sold by the department store chain, he said.

"Not a cookie maker is more like it," she said.