Nutella secretly changes its spread recipe leaving fans unimpressed

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.

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.

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.

Some are even threatening to boycott it.

A spokesperson for Ferrero said: "There has been a minor fine-tuning of the Nutella recipe. The content of hazelnuts, cocoa, sugar and palm oil remains unchanged. The fine-tuning consists of substituting whey powder with an equivalent quantity (2.1g/100g total product) of milk powder (from 6.6% to 8.7% of total product). This enables us to improve the overall quality of the milk content and to ensure a better consistency of our unique taste over time. That's all. Our recipe contains seven simple ingredients, with no colourings and no preservatives."