The Horror: Nutella Maker Changes Spread's Recipe

Does your Nutella taste different lately? That's because Ferrero, the maker of the hazelnut cocoa spread, has changed the recipe—without announcing the move. Rather, the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre, a German consumer group, noticed the difference and posted about it on Facebook; it says Ferrero is "the first to change the recipe of Nutella for many years." The sugar content went from 55.9% to 56.3%, while skim milk powder went from 7.5% to 8.7%. (Mashable reports that probably caused some cocoa to be lost in the new recipe, which would explain why the new version is slightly lighter in color.) Meanwhile, the fat content went from 31% to 30.9%.

Ferrero confirms changes have been made to the recipe, but says in a statement to the Guardian, "the quality ... and all other aspects of Nutella remain the same." (The Guardian claims there are also fewer hazelnuts in the new recipe.) The news led to calls on Twitter to #boycottNutella. "Don’t experiment with my brown jar of happiness," one unhappy consumer tweeted. Added another, "I mean.... should I even get out of bed today?" As Bustle notes, Nutella has previously come under fire for its use of the controversial ingredient palm oil. (More Nutella stories.)