tesco liquorice pic

Source: Nigel Kendrick

The retailer confirmed its supplier has had an issue with its machinery

Tesco Liquorice Twists have lost their twist as the result of a manufacturing fault.

The retailer confirmed its supplier had suffered an issue with its machinery, which had caused the bagged liquorice batons to be straight instead of twisted.

“We are sorry our Liquorice Twists are not as twisty as usual, but the recipe is exactly the same and they still have the same traditional taste,” a Tesco spokesman told The Grocer.

This isn’t the first time the own label sweets have suffered a change in shape. In 2019, Twitter user @angelofmuzak posted a photo of Liquorice Twists and tagged Tesco to say, “Does this look like a twist to you? It’s clearly a log!”.

The latest loss of twist follows a string of production issues faced by other confectionery makers in recent months, forcing them to alter or recall products.

Nestlé had to temporarily wrap two Quality Street chocs in different colours ahead of Christmas 2022 due to a shortage of suitable foil. Green Triangle was wrapped in gold, while Orange Crunch was packed in dark bronze.

Kinder faced a more serious problem in 2022. The brand was forced to recall several of its Easter lines amid salmonella fears, leading to a £4.7m year-on-year sales drop for the four weeks to the bank holiday weekend [NIQ 4 w/e 16 April 2022 vs 4 w/e 3 April 2021].

Similarly, Barry Callebaut shut its Wieze plant – the world’s largest chocolate factory – two months later, after detecting a salmonella contamination in a batch.