Italian food giant Ferrero announced on Tuesday (03) the launch of a vegan version of its popular Nutella hazelnut spread in Italy, France and Belgium.
Vegan Nutella will no longer contain dairy ingredients, which will be replaced by chickpeas and rice syrup, said the Ferrero in a statement.
There has been no change in the flavor of Nutella, which was launched 60 years ago and is sold in around 170 countries, guarantees the italian company.
The new product will be available from Wednesday and is a response to changing consumer tastes. “More and more consumers are choosing to reduce or eliminate animal products,” the company said.
However, the Ferrero warned that people with lactose intolerance should be careful when consuming plant-based Nutella, as it is being manufactured in factories where dairy ingredients are used for other products. Ferrero also owns the brands Children, Tic Tac e Ferrero Rocher.
Like other food companies, Ferrero has been criticized for using palm oil to make Nutella, thus encouraging the deforestation of tropical forests to establish palm oil monocultures.
The company has since created a “segregated” supply chain for palm oil, which Ferrero says allows it to trace its palm oil back to the mills, “ensuring that it does not come from plantations subject to deforestation.”
Traditional Nutella contains sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, lecithin and vanillin, according to Ferrero.
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