For all you Nutella fans out there, take a deep breath... it's going to be OK.
Ferrero, the company that owns Nutella, has secretly updated the recipe for the hazelnut-chocolate spread, according to a report in the Independent. The big change? They're now adding more sugar and powdered skimmed milk.
Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg, (the Hamburg Consumer Protection Centre), posted information about the change to the recipe on their Facebook page, noting that the sugar content has gone up from 55.9 per cent to 56.3 per cent and the skimmed milk powder from 7.5 per cent to 8.7 per cent. They also reveal that the fat content has been reduced to 30.9 per cent from 31.8 per cent.
"Since the colour of the new Nutella is brighter, we assume that more milk powder was added at the expense of cocoa," Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg noted in their Facebook post. "Obviously, Ferrero does not want to grant its customers too much transparency."
They added, "Whether or not the contents of other ingredients such as sugar or palm oil have been altered remains unclear."
As a result, Nutella fans (who knew they were so devoted?) shared their wrath and disappointment on social media.
Some couldn't believe Ferrero would even dare mess with their recipe.
While others chastised the company for putting profit before the health of its consumers.
Ferrero issued a statement confirming that an "adjustment" had been made to the recipe but added that many brands do the same to their products, reports Sky News.
"The quality... and all other aspects of Nutella remain the same," the company said.
Despite Ferrero's reassurances that the new recipe shouldn't affect the quality or taste of Nutella, some consumers weren't buying it.
And some urged others to boycott the brand.
One informed Twitter user even posted a photo of what Nutella looks like in its ingredient form, in an attempt to urge people to pick something healthier to eat.
Despite the sugar and saturated fat, there are some, albeit small, health benefits to eating Nutella (in small doses, that is).
The spread contains key vitamins and minerals that are essential for good health, such as fibre, which can help lower cholesterol levels, and iron and calcium, according to SFGate. Hazelnuts have also been shown to be good for the heart.
On the other hand, it's all that sugar and saturated fat that make Nutella a snack that shouldn't be eaten on the regular.
Meghan Telpner, a nutritionist, advised that Nutella shouldn't be served as breakfast, noting that the spread contains 70 per cent saturated fat and processed sugar by weight, 15mg of sodium, and "just two sad little grams of protein per serving."
"Despite the lovely visual of hazelnuts tumbling across the screen in the television commercial, the first ingredient in Nutella is plain old, white, refined, most likely GMO sugar," Telpner writes on her website.
"Hazelnuts make their appearance after sugar and palm oil. If we were to name this spread appropriately, we might call it 'sugar palm oil spread,' but that doesn't have the right ring to it. Unless you're choosing to hop off your health train while on holidays in Paris, there's no reason to choose Nutella for breakfast."
Another reason why Nutella shouldn't be eaten for breakfast? Spiking blood sugar levels. Meaning if your kids are eating the spread, you (and your kids' teachers!) are in for a major headache.
"High sugar intake first thing in the morning will spike blood sugar levels, resulting in a plummet mid morning and contribute to poor concentration, hyper activity and aggression," Telpner notes.
If you're looking for alternatives, check out this list of delicious low calorie toast spreads.