Who knew 2019 would be the year everyone would fight for their right to eat gelatine?
Like the Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake and G&T in a can, Marks & Spencer’s Percy Pig sweets are a staple of British food culture. The pig-faced chewy gums (flavoured with raspberry, strawberry and cherry) have been in stores since 1992, and hit their peak in the late noughties when they made the business £10,000,000 in sales in the last six months of 2009 alone.
A Percy Pig appreciation society on Facebook has also gathered 250,000 members. Proving one thing – Brits are really serious about their sugar.
But M&S is now facing criticism after switching up its Percy Pig recipe to be 100% animal-free.
The sweets were previously available in two versions: a vegetarian one and one with gelatine (which, for those in the dark, is derived from animal skin, bones and cartilage).
But not anymore. Now, M&S is only selling the veggie (or gelatine-free option) so there is no animal trace in the piggies at all.
“Rest assured,” the supermarket says. “We’ve tested the new recipe thoroughly to make sure he’s as close to the original as possible and we have haven’t changed any of the really important things that people love about Percy.”
But the change hasn’t gone unnoticed by some who say the taste is totally different and so “awful” they won’t be buying Percy Pigs again.
Despite the criticism from some customers, others have said the change in taste is barely noticeable and people are getting upset over nothing.
Some people have even said that they prefer the veggie option.
And others are just confused about why anyone would defend their right to eat gelatine so much.
So is it really a problem or are people just making something out of nothing?
HuffPost UK has contacted Marks & Spencer for a comment and this article will be updated with a response.