Nutella fans the world over have descended into panic in response to news that the recipe for their beloved chocolate-hazelnut spread has changed.
On their Facebook page, the Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg (Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre) revealed that Ferrero, the company behind Nutella, has secretly updated the recipe to include more sugar and more powdered skimmed milk.
The sugar content has gone up from 55.9 to 56.3 per cent, and the milk from 7.5 to 8.7 per cent.
#Nutella has changed, and fans are going crazy https://t.co/5goKLORK3L #NutellaGate pic.twitter.com/qSy4Zd5h5V
— bill ruminski (@bruminski) November 8, 2017
The consumer group state that the new Nutella has a lighter colour, and they suggest that by increasing the milk content, the company has been able to save costs on cocoa.
In a world where most companies are trying to reduce the sugar content of their food products to appeal to more health-conscious customers, the change has not been well received.
What a #Nutella jar looks like when deconstructed. Should be called fatty sugar spread really. pic.twitter.com/EagPLjMXhc
— Didier Bourguignon (@ddabourguignon) November 7, 2017
Whilst Ferrero insist that slight alterations such as these are standard industry practice and won’t affect the taste too much, many Nutella lovers are concerned that their favourite spread will no longer be the same.
"Thanks for effacing childhood memories because of profit maximisation issues," said one disgruntled customer on Twitter.
OMG!! They are changing the recipe of #Nutella!!! NOOOOOOOO HOW DARE THEY!! Leave the sugar & coco alone!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😱😱😞😞😩😩😩 pic.twitter.com/TjN8Xeb60E
— Gemma Byrne (@XGemma_ByrneX) November 7, 2017