SHOPPERS have been left asking “what have you done” after finding that beloved Rowntree’s sweets now “taste like soap”.
Nestle, which owns the confectionery brand, has been bombarded with complaints on social media about its Fruit Pastilles and Jelly Tots.
Users on X have been writing to the food and drinks giant to tell them that the lime-flavoured green sweets now “taste like soap and perfume”.
Writing on the platform, one angry customer said: “Green ones taste like soap – I used to love them.
“I thought it was a one off bag but got some more and they’re the same – like disinfectant.”
Another asked: “Why do the green Fruit Pastilles suddenly taste of soap and perfume?
“They used to be really nice and lime. I can’t get rid of the taste now.”
A third cried: “What have you done to Jelly Tots?
“I’ve bought two packets recently, and a packet of Fruit Pastilles, and they all taste soapy?? You’ve ruined them!
“Green ones, once a fave, now the worst! Thought it was just a dodgy pack!”
While a fourth said: “Have @Rowntrees changed the fruit pastel recipe? The green ones taste like detergent!”
Another curious shopper asked the manufacturer if the change in taste was a result of a recipe tweak.
But a Nestlé spokesperson confirmed The Sun that there have been no recent recipe changes to the chewy, fruit-flavoured sweets.
They added: “We know how passionate fans are about Rowntree’s products and we are committed to ensuring that they remain mouth-watering, deliciously chewy and taste as great.
“If consumers do have feedback, we would love them to get in touch using the contact details which can be found on the back of every pack.”
Fruit Pastilles come in five flavours – lemon (yellow), lime (green), strawberry (red), blackcurrant (purple), and orange (orange).
They are known for their vibrant colours and tangy, fruity taste, which is in contrast to the recent complaints from shoppers.
A 1435 bag of the sweets between £1.25 at Poundland and up to £1.75 at Waitrose.
They contain 350 calories by 100g.
Meanwhile, Jelly Tots flavours include lemon, lime, orange, blackcurrant, and strawberry.
Jelly Tots also cost between £1.25 and £1.75 for a 150g bag and contain 347 calories by 100g.
It’s not the first time that customers have taken to social media to complain that a popular item tastes differently to how it used to.
Heinz was recently slammed for changing the ingredients to its baked beans with sausages.
The classic flavour now comes with Richmond sausages inside, which contain glutenous wheat protein.
But the previous sausages contained Heinz-own bangers, which were gluten free and suitable for coeliacs.
Shoppers described the change as “cheap and vile”.
Costa Coffee found itself in hot water for swapping freshly ground coffee out of its frappés and using instant instead.
Customers of the major coffee shop chain branded the switch “shrinkflation” and complained of the new recipes tasting “vile” and “awful”.
Coca-cola tweaked the recipe of Fanta Orange Zero Sugar earlier this year.
The fizzy drinks giant used to sweeten its sugar-free Fanta Orange alternative with just two ingredients – acesulfame K and aspartame.
However, the brand’s “new and improved” Fanta Zero Sugar soft drink now contains several different sweeteners which are likely to explain the changing flavour.
“Fans of the drink have been left fuming over the change, describing it as a “Fans of the drink have been left fuming over the change, describing it as a “phenomenal downgrade”.
ANALYSIS by James Flanders, The Sun's Chief Consumer Reporter:
Food and drinks makers have been known to tweak their recipes.
They often say that this is down to the changing tastes of customers.
There are a number of reasons why this could be done.
For example, government regulation, like the “sugar tax,” forces firms to change their recipes.
Some manufacturers might choose to tweak their recipes to cut costs.
They may opt for an alternative ingredient that’s cheaper, especially when costs of ingredients are rising in order to keep prices the same.
One major element that’s been causing a lot of change in recent years is the hot-topic debates around the use of certain sweeteners.
Fizzy drinks giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have long relied on the use of aspartame to give their sugar-free alternatives that sweet flavour without the extra calories.
Discovered in 1965 by American chemist James Schlatter, aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than granulated sugar.
The low-calorie sugar substitute can be found in soft drinks, gelatin, confectionery, desserts, and sugar-free cough drops.
It is also used to enhance the flavour of baked and canned foods, powdered drink mixes, sweets and puddings.
However, aspartame’s use in food and beverages has been debated for decades and has also prompted some companies to remove the compound from their products.
The World Health Organisation’s cancer arm deemed the sweetener a “possible carcinogen” last year, but agreed it remains safe to consume at its current agreed levels.
Fanta’s removal of the sweetener from its sugar-free alternatives isn’t a first.
PepsiCo removed aspartame from some of its fizzy drinks in 2015 but soon reintroduced it after customers complained.
Last August, Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I tweaked the flavour of its flagship Lucozade Original and Orange energy drinks.
While the amount of sugar in every bottle remains unchanged, the supplier swapped out the sweetener aspartame for sucralose.
Again, fans of the iconic drink were left furious.
It’ll be interesting to see if Fanta’s new zero-sugar recipe holds its place now that the soft drink’s fans are already in uproar.
Despite the warning on aspartame, I think it’s highly unlikely that it’ll be disappearing from our drinks anytime soon.
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