TURKEY Twizzlers have been quietly axed — two decades after TV chef Jamie Oliver’s campaign saw them banned in school canteens.
The controversial snack disappeared from shop shelves without an official announcement from makers Bernard Matthews Foods.
Turkey Twizzlers have been quietly axed again[/caption]
Jamie Oliver led a campaign to get Twizzlers removed from schools 20 years ago[/caption]
Twizzlers launched in 1997, but got the chop in 2005 after Jamie’s healthy-eating “Feed Me Better” campaign for school meals.
He highlighted how they only contained 34 per cent meat, but lots of other additives.
An online petition for their return gained 28,000 signatures in 2018, before a healthier version was relaunched in 2020, containing 63 per cent turkey.
The relaunch saw a statue of a Twizzler erected outside Bernard Matthews Foods’ headquarters in Norfolk.
Schoolteacher and lifelong fan of the snack, Mehmet Salih Suleyman, 31, of Crystal Palace, South London, noticed something was up when the turkey treat was out of stock for longer than usual.
Writing to Bernard Matthews Foods, he said: “Honestly, I think they’re part of my DNA at this point.
“I grew up eating them at primary school lunches.
“Those delicious spirals of joy were the highlight of my week.
“Imagine my heartbreak when I’ve gone searching for them in every supermarket, only to find empty shelves or ‘out of stock’ signs mocking me.
“If I’d known they’d vanish again, I would’ve stocked my freezer like it was the apocalypse.”
Bernard Matthews said: “Unfortunately, the Turkey Twizzler range has been discontinued and we have no plans to bring these back.
“The manufacturing site was closed back in March 2024, so the product sadly had to be discontinued thereafter.”
