The sizzle of hot grease and the smell of seasonal favorites like funnel cake and boiled peanuts are all part of the sensory patchwork of fall fairs. Food is as much a part of the scenario as pony rides and country crafts.

Some folks go for the barbecue; others seek out the classic hot dog, which always seems to taste a little better coming from the window of that little white trailer. Salty pretzels washed down with an icy Coke compete with the sweet nothingness of cotton candy.

But that cotton candy may come prepackaged instead of spun around a paper cone these days. A four-year-old Lithonia-based business called Dulce Foods Inc. now produces the pink confection and bags it. According to the company, the heat-sealed prepacked cotton candy has a shelf life of several months and can be readily sold at snack food venues without the mess and fuss of the old machine-made variety.

The process was developed by William Madden, president of Dulce Foods, when he was a student at Georgia Tech. He sells much of his product to church and school fairs, as well as concession stands run by school booster clubs. The company also sells to convenience stores and retail markets. Madden's cotton candy is set to debut at the world's largest candy show in Cologne, Germany.

Madden estimated the company sold more than 30,000 bags of the pink fluff during last year's Halloween week alone. For more about cotton candy, visit their website at www.cotton-candy.com or phone 770-978-2572.

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