Each year brings with it a new wave of debatable dishes and products, from high-tech innovations to crazy fast food fusions. We’ve seen supersized avocados, pumpkin spice Spam and a $5,000 (£4,118) burger hit the headlines all for being outrageous. Whether you love them or loathe them, here are the most in-the-news foods of 2019 so far...

Oreo isn’t short on incredible limited edition products, but its biggest was The Most Stuf Oreo on shelves in January. Promising “Most. Creme. Ever.” it had three times the creme of an original Oreo (and nearly three times the calories). The excitement over it was far greater than any of its other promo products such as Pumpkin Spice Oreos, Birthday Cake Oreos or Double Stuf Oreos.

Early in 2019, Brits were in shock when bakery chain giant Greggs, known for its meaty steak bakes, pepperoni pizzas and sausage and bacon baguettes, started selling vegan sausage rolls. Mimicking the non-vegan sausage roll, it’s made with puff pastry and has a Quorn filling. The product is so popular, Greggs’ sales went up 9.6%.

In January, McDonald's UK launched a vegetarian Happy Meal in a curveball move to offer less meat options. Customers can opt for the Spicy Veggie Wrap, two red pesto, yellow pea-based goujons, spicy relish, tomato, lettuce and red onion in a toasted tortilla or a non-spicy option. All the ingredients are suitable for vegans, but it’s labelled vegetarian due to risk of cross-contamination. It’s also certified by The Vegetarian Society.

In a ground-breaking blend of low and highbrow culture, Heinz celebrated its 150th birthday in February with a surprising new product: ketchup caviar. Though seaweed pearls from Ikea and vegan caviar from Holland and Barrett have been done before, condiment caviar is new. Sadly, however, it doesn’t match up to its squeezy bottle counterpart as the little balls are difficult to pop and the liquid within is thin and acidic.

You’ve probably heard about the controversial high-protein, low-carb keto diet, but have you heard of keto beer? Notoriously high in sugar, both beer and fruit are usually off-limits for those trying to slim down on the plan. However, Michelob Ultra launched a game-changing fruity Lime & Prickly Pear Cactus beverage in March that has just 5g of carbs, which those on keto-diets are allowed to drink.

Though you won’t find it on menus in restaurants just yet, in March, scientists at the University of Bath, UK claimed they had successfully grown pig cells in the lab. Meanwhile, a US company called Just has successfully produced chicken nuggets from cells taken from a bird's feathers – without harming the animal. If these processes can be scaled up and made affordable, it might be the answer to some of the world’s food shortage problems.

Truffles are not something you’d expect to find in fast food, which is exactly why this Bacon Truffle Burger from Carl’s Jr. got people talking in March. A Black Angus beef patty is topped with applewood-smoked bacon, crispy onion strings, Swiss cheese, caramelised onions and mayo, then doused in truffle-infused white Cheddar sauce. We don’t for one second believe it was made with anything other than artificial truffle, but it was still described as rich and savoury.

Forget IPAs and rosé wine, the hottest drink of summer 2019 was spiked sparkling water – not just with alcohol, but with cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is one of the chemical compounds found in cannabis plants, which is said to have calming and pain-relieving effects without the high. Recess claims its drinks give you “balance and clarity”. However, there are ongoing discussions over its legality.

This pungent Asian fruit hit the headlines in May after being found out to be the culprit behind a suspected gas leak. It was brought into the University of Canberra library and caused the building to smell so bad it was evacuated and the fire brigade were called. This isn’t even the first time it has happened. We guess, despite its stench, students can’t get enough of its unusual taste.

For Mental Health Awareness Month 2019, Burger King launched the Unhappy Meal at select US locations. Whopper meal boxes representing different moods such as the Blue Meal, Salty Meal, YAAAS Meal, Pissed Meal and DGAF Meal were made to get people talking about mental health and say it’s OK not to be OK. They were also a slight dig at McDonald’s Happy Meal.

At the start of the year they were hailed the future of food, now they’re off the menu. So, what’s the controversy around creepy crawlies? While supermarkets such as British outfit Sainsbury’s rushed to stock snacks like Smoky BBQ Crunchy Roasted Crickets and restaurants incorporated them in dishes, new opinions claim they’re not as environmentally-friendly as first thought.

There’s no better pairing than summer and rosé wine, which is why in June Driscoll’s started selling rosé strawberries and raspberries. Made by cross-breeding dark and light berries, they’re said to have floral and peach notes just like your favourite tipple. The berries are available until the end of September. Who knew the world of fruit and veg had gotten so high-tech?

Earlier this year, in June, Kraft caused controversy on social media asking parents to lie to their children. It was to promote Salad Frosting, ranch salad dressing disguised as sugar icing to get kids to eat their greens. The best part? To win free samples, parents had to share on social media the lies they’ve told their children with the hashtag #LieLikeAParent.

Now in its ninth year, the world’s most expensive burger, the FleurBurger 5000 from Fleur at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, remains unbeaten despite a contender in June. Made with Wagyu beef, seared foie gras, truffle shavings and served with 1995 Chateau Petrus from Bordeaux it costs $5,000 (£4,118), but is said to be totally worth it.

This year Burger King caused a stir when it swerved out of its lane and into Taco Bell’s with the $1 (82p) Crispy Taco. Though it self-confessed “crunchy, cheesy tacos didn’t used to be our thing”, the seasoned minced beef, iceberg lettuce, shredded Cheddar and “savoury taco sauce” tacos were made available for a limited time only at all outlets across the US in July.

There’s a sure-fire way to grab headlines: take two of people’s favourite foods and combine them. It worked for the cronut, the cheeseburger pizza and now the Cheeto Sandwich. Available in the US nationwide for a limited time in July, it was crispy fried chicken, mayonnaise, Cheetos and Cheetos sauce in a bun. For more tasty food fusions you have to try read here.

A turning point in the plant-based food movement came when fast food giant Burger King took note and introduced the Impossible Whopper to its menu at an outpost in St. Louis, Missouri at the start of 2019. Containing patties supplied by Impossible Foods, its ingredients include soy protein, potato protein, coconut oil, sunflower oil and heme. At 630 calories versus 660 calories it’s hardly healthier, but its popularity saw it rolled out nationwide from 8 August.

In one of the most outlandish food news stories to come out this year, Miami Fruit farm in Florida reported in August to have grown 1.5 feet (46cm) long avocados that cost £12 ($15). It’s not a hoax, their whopping size can be attributed to the hot and humid Floridian conditions which are ideal for the fruit. We wonder how many avocado toasts you could make with one...

Nothing caused a stir this summer quite as much as Buckfast BBQ sauce. A condiment made by Scottish butcher Rendalls combining Scotland’s favourite beverage (other than Irn Bru) and the tangy condiment. Buckfast tonic wine is produced by Benedictine monks in Devon, UK, is 15% ABV and contains caffeine. It’s also sweet like port, so we reckon the fusion probably works well.

Cheese tea is not what it sounds, but it’s exactly because of how it sounds that it got people’s attention. It debuted in Taiwan in 2010, but America is only just catching up with the opening of shops such as U Tea, New York, in August inciting serious curiosity. Similar to bubble tea, it’s cold green or black tea, sweetened or flavoured, without milk. It’s then topped with a foamy layer of something creamy like cream cheese, vegan coconut cream or creme brûlée.

Standing behind all those who are treated with contempt for mixing mayonnaise and tomato ketchup, Heinz released a new sauce that married the two. Heinz Saucy Sauce debuted in the UK in August, however a similar product called Mayochup was released in the US in September, 2018. But there’s only one question on our lips, does the ketchup-mayo ratio match your own?

Read more: Meatless meat and other food trends taking the world by storm

There’s nothing controversial about spicy chicken nuggets. In the UK, KFC has Hot Wings, Burger King has Spicy Nuggets and Pizza Hut has Hot & Spicy Chicken Strips. What made the McDonald’s version grab headlines in August was its promotional campaign, a faux fashion line named Schnuggs (a portmanteau of spicy and nuggets). It poked fun at hipster culture and branded clothing, and the items weren’t actually available to buy. The nuggets, on the other hand, were available for a limited time and saw massive queues on their first day.

Read more: Bananas are radioactive and other surprising food facts that are actually true

Every fall more products join the pumpkin spice shelves in the supermarket, we’ve seen some crazy stuff including squash-themed dog treats, deodorant and fancy dress. But Pumpkin Spice Spam? That’s something we didn’t expect. On sale from 23 September, it’s described as sweet, spicy and porky, and said to pair well with waffles. Would you dare to try it?

Read more: Food trends we're glad no longer exist

A giant tub of Quality Street is a festive staple for Brits, with the best choccie in the box proving a constant source of dispute among families – and one fish and chip shop in the UK has found a way to make these colourfully wrapped sweets all the more indulgent. Poppies in London has set tongues wagging as, come December, it will add battered Quality Street to its menu. You’ll get five deep-fried chocolates for about £2.50 ($3.24) in the Soho chippy.

In the UK, nothing screams Christmas more than a generous helping of pigs in blankets: juicy cocktail sausages in a jacket of crisp bacon. And one supermarket has taken the festive favourite to a new extreme. Much to the delight of many a Brit, Aldi has hit the headlines as it’s now offering a gargantuan pig in blanket that’s more than 6-foot (2m) long – that’s purportedly the longest being sold anywhere in the UK. Your Christmas dinner just reached new heights. 

Love this? Check out these 6 surprisingly brilliant supermarket foods for Christmas 2019