Milo Has Changed It's Recipe And NZ Is Losing It's Mind!

Publish Date
Monday, 8 June 2015, 10:55AM

Fan's of the drink say it now tastes more malty and less chocolatey and is "gross and disgusting". 

A Facebook page has already been put up, "Change Milo back to the old recipe", which has over 3,000 likes and is rising.

Nestle have come out and said that the changes have been made to make Milo healthier. 

They confirmed that a number of things had been removed including vitamin A, B1 and magnesium, and added vitamin D, B3, B6, and B12, to "help active kids, and adults, perform at their best".

Mum Taryn Ibell, started the Facebook page and she discovered the change after opening a new packet last week.

"It tasted disgusting. Like all malt and nothing else."

She said she used Milo as a way to encourage her daughter, who was born premature and was fed through a tube for two years, to drink milk but now she won’t touch it.

Others commented that their families weren't happy with the new taste.

Rachel Lee wrote: "With 3 teenage boys in the house we go through ALOT of Milo each week. My boys are not happy and I agree, the new recipe tastes awful! if it doesnt get changed back, I wont be buying it again!"

Another commenter said that her mother, who had been buying Milo since 1965, "had to go throw up in the toilet after tasting it".

On the Milo Australia and New Zealand Facebook page, the company was also fielding angry complaints about the change.

The Milo Australia and New Zealand Facebook page have responded to a number of complaints.

Their response to one complaint, the company said: "We've made a small change to our NZ recipe in order to focus on the four primary ingredients that make up MILO which are Milk Powder, Malt Barley, Sugar & Cocoa."

In response to another complaint, it explained: "We've just recently adjusted the vitamins and minerals in MILO so now it is delivering a balance of vitamins to really support energy production to help active kids, and adults, perform at their best. We've added vitamin D, B3, B6, B12 and taken out vitamin A, B1 and magnesium. Magnesium is naturally found in milk though so you'll still be getting some with every glass of Milo and Milk."

Nestle spokeswoman Margaret Stuart admitted there had been a slight shift in flavour, but the drink's four main components remained the same and there were no plans to change new formula despite protest.

"We understand that many people don't like changes being made to favourite products, so this change was not made lightly."

The changes were part of a global change to Milo, Ms Stuart said.

"[The changes] reflect our research into the nutritional needs of children.

"The key component is Vitamin D - recent research shows that kids nowadays are deficient in this vitamin, despite all the milk they drink. For this reason, we will not be changing the recipe."

NZ Herald

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