SWEET lovers have turned sour after bags of Jelly Babies were slashed by more than ten per cent.
Packets of the tot-shaped, sugar-coated chews now contain fewer treats than ever before — in the latest example of rampant “shrinkflation”.
Share bags of Britain’s favourite sweets — also loved by TV Time Lord Doctor Who — have been cut from 190g to 165g.
The sneaky move by Sheffield-based Bassett’s means shoppers now get two or three fewer babies per pack.
A retail source told The Sun: “The cost of producing sweets has increased and big brands can either hike prices or make these sorts of changes, which are always unpopular.”
The sweets were first mass produced at the end of World War One and marketed as “Peace Babies”.
They were rebranded Jelly Babies after sugar rationing ended in 1953.
Bassett’s admitted yesterday: “We are continuing to experience significantly higher costs.
“We have had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight.”
Other brands to adopt shrinkflation tactics include Pringles, which chopped 15 grams from the size of its large tubes last month, and pasta sauce giant Dolmio.
