A plateful of crunchy pan-fried locusts or a dish of fat-free kangaroo medallions may be just the ticket for those who are counting their calories.

According to English farmer Nigel Dauncey, who is eager to educate the timorous British about exotic eating, such unorthodox meats as kangaroo, crocodile, locust and peacock -- Dauncey recommends that gourmands stuff the latter with wild boar, cognac and prunes -- can be both tasty and healthy, as each of the meats are lean in comparison to beef or mutton and low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Bison meat, the Somerset cattleman whose culinary adventure began when his 200-year-old farm switched from cows to raising wild boar added, has a lower cholesterol level than a fish like cod.

In an effort to take meat-eating in Britain to new limits -- and his cleaver where no Englishman has gone before -- Dauncey is now branching out into emu and rattlesnake but says he draws the line at pickled starlings and bear paws.

None of these meats comes cheaply, of course, with locusts, for example, costing about $13.19 for 10.

Nonetheless, some customers in Britain, which is not known for its adventurous palates, are guzzling the oddities up, with clients emerging from the "top people's store'' of Harrods to a doctors' conference that put locusts and bison steaks on a recent menu.

*** Examining the make-up of several imported Chinese traditional medicines, US government researchers have discovered high levels of arsenic and mercury in Chinese herbal balls, the Reuters news agency reported this week. The balls -- hand-rolled mixtures of herbs and honey that are meant to be dissolved in water or wine and consumed like tea -- are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat illnesses ranging from fever and rheumatism to strokes and cataracts.

The researchers, writing in last week's New England Journal of Medicine, warned that most of the potions "pose a potentially serious health risk to consumers.'' In tests of 32 balls from eight Chinese manufacturers, the research group led by Edgard Espinoza of the National Fish and Wildlife Service found mercury in 29 and arsenic in 23. Some contained enough arsenic or mercury or both to produce chronic poisoning if taken regularly.

*** Nicotine-laced chewing gum works and should be available without prescription to smokers who want to quit, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop told a fgderal advisory panel yesterday.

"Make treatments that have been proven effective available,'' Koop urged the Food and Drug Administration's Non-Prescription and Drug Abuse Advisory Committee. "I believe nicotine gum is one of those treatments.'' Koop, who appeared as a private citizen, was among a handful of public-health experts who testified before the joint panel. It was considering whether to recommend allowing over-the-counter sales of Nicorette, a prescription gum containing nicotine. The committee will make a recommendation to the full FDA.

The agency usually follows recommendations of its advisory panels.

Thomas Cooper, recently retired from the University of Kentucky School of Dentistry, said he has followed some 900 patients over 10 years who have used the gum and "I have observed only minor complications.'' Dr. Alfred Munzr, co-director of pulmonary medicine at Washington Adventist Hospital, said the gum also appears to be safe to use. "Actual abuse of the product has been minimal and easily treated,'' he said.

The drug's manufacturer -- SmithKline Beecham of Philadelphia -- presented results of several studies designed to mimic over-the-counter sales of gum.

The studies found that a small number of participants did not follow label instructions to consult a doctor before using if they had certain health problems, such as heart trouble or asthma. But the studies also found that most people chose the proper gum dosage -- 2 milligrams for people who smoke fewer than 25 cigarettes per day and 4 milligrams for those who smoke more.