Bought a new packet today and they have shrunk by .5 cm.

The old ones are 5.5 cm diameter and the new are 5.0 cm.

Booo Hisssss!!

Can you remember the price of the old biscuits Kerry - & & isn't that how some companies change their product pricing - by the size of the item (eg the can or biscuit etc) but keep the price the same & try to fool the buyer - it seems that Griffin is just carrying on with what lots of others are doing already,
Lyn

I agree too with you Kerry also the malt biscuits are not the same flavour & thinner. I bought a bag of porridge & noticed there was a smaller amount in the bag now but same price. Yes they are giving us less in lots of things if we were to look. more carefully.

I don't drink coffee but was very surprised just before Christmas when I picked up a packet of Nescafe to add to my son's Christmas Hamper. It was only 90g not the 100g that was the norm. Pam's butter is now 400g instead of 500g. So many products have been downsized and not a word from the manufacturers. But then, if they were to put the price up, would they be making big announcements? No, of course not, so it's grin and bear this fact of life.

They don't even taste the same any more either Kerry and their texture is awful. I was offered by a friend yesterday to have one with my cuppa at work - she was eating them and commented on how small they have become and texture not the same. They looked as if they had been rolled into a cylinder and sliced into biscuits and the underside had a round looking 'blob' the size of a 5 cent piece in the centre which is an unusual appearance in my opinion. They were not even nice when dunked - they just didn't soften and remained hard without absorbing fluid, taste not as nice either. Broken in half even the texture didn't look as usual. Huge thumbs down from me too - Griffins economising and thinking we won't notice the difference!

My friend announced that she had written to Griffins telling them to change the recipe back to the original! I'm going to do the same.
Regards,
Dawn.

I didn't actually measure said gingernuts before and after. My husband used to enjoy a couple with an early morning coffee and then I noticed that the supply had hardly been touched. He said they are not the same. I tried one and had to agree, at first I thought we must have a rogue batch but it all comes clearer now.
Lyn V I am going to scream if they have dared to change the malt biscuits, too. It looks as though I will be doing a lot more baking.

Boo Hisssss!! is right, Kerry. Or should that be Boo Hi$$$$$ !! ?

Marnie

I noticed the difference in flavour and they don't dunk and soften anymore and they have lost that special something. Until now, they had been a staple in this house.

It was only a coincidence that I was able to compare the sizes as I still had half an old packet left. Sorry Lyn but I don't remember the price of the old as they were something I just threw into the trolley, having complete faith in dear old family favourite, trustworthy, dependable Griffins. No more. I will have every product they make under the microscope from now on. I have had to resort to making Nellie's this morning which are far nicer anyway.

As an aside: Eight months ago I began dosing myself with 1 tbsp of cod liver oil daily. The first 500 ml bottle I bought cost $12.95 and I thought - sheesh, that's more than a bottle of olive oil. Each month I go to buy a new bottle, the price has risen and yesterday I paid a whopping $21.95 for that 500 ml bottle. Liquid gold? Gold liver oil?
I went to the pharmacy and asked what price they charged and they only stocked 200 ml - $11.00. Just as well I'm now on a maintenance dose of once weekly instead of daily.

Sweet almond oil is also going the same way.

This is very disappointing. I tried some of the mini Griffins Gingernuts which I did not like the taste or texture of, but have not purchased the standard ones recently. It seems a shame to mess with a classic product - I can only assume it is cost cutting?

To me there are a very few sacrosanct products that I don't like to see messed with:

Sanitarium Weetbix
Watties Tomato Sauce
Sanitarium Marmite
Griffins Gingernuts
Watties Baked Beans

These are real NZ staple products/kiwiana that I choose despite other brands being cheaper. I would have also had Cadbury Dairy Milk on the list but we all know what happened here!!

don't forget if you are a Tip Top Icecream fan, not all packs are 2 litres now, and some are 1.6 or 1.9 - can't remember which it was. Another one gets ticked off the list of purchases to make.

I was told by a vaguely reliable source a few years ago that Griffins have been worried about gingernuts for some time as the oven they made them in or something made them how they were and it was needing replacing and any alternative didn't make them taste the same so maybe they have new equipment or a new place to make them and are hoping everyone will forget the old taste. As I say this maybe untrue but kinda interesting if it is true.

- Fiona

I was not impressed they changed the shape of the arrowroot and malt bikkie. i know its a mental thing but they tasted better being oval and rectangular.

Things like M&Ms are smaller too, same price (shock horror not dearer) but smaller, im not happy.

But im like Cheese lover there are a few thing that should not be tampered with.

Whittakers chocolate
Watties spaghetti
Watties tomato sauce
Eta peanut butter
Twisties

Im not impressed about the ice cream, they remove 400ml but keep the same price, what a bunch of so and so's at Tip top.. How hard is it to lower the price for change?? huh tip top huh?????!!!!!!!!

Do the gingernut packets still say Made in NZ?

I believe with the arrowroot and malt biscuits they could remove the inner plastic shell if the biscuits were round like the wine and crispie biscuits. Removing packaging is a good thing so I support this move. But I know what you mean Zeetra that it is a psychological thing when you are used to something that way.

I will check out the gingernuts again wrt origin. I am not a huge consumer of them but somehow when I am sick or really tired I do very much enjoy a gingernut with a cup of tea, but only the Griffins ones.

On the packet is written - manufactured and marketed in Ellerslie, Auckland.

The ingredients are: wheat flour, sugar, golden syrup, vegetable fat, antioxident 306,brown sugar, ginger 1%, salt, flavour, raising agent 500, milk solids.

I wonder what the vegetable fat is. Nothing beats butter.

I am shocked to see that some butter is 400g - I never look at packaging but instead buy using price as a guide, I will check from now on.

Interesting article about how some of Griffins Creme biscuits are now made in Fiji.

[www.stuff.co.nz]

Kerry, you mentioned sweet almond oil in an earlier post - is that the same as almond oil or is there a difference? My reason for asking is I want to get some for my cleaning kit (I'm an avid Shannon Lush devotee).

Sweet almonds are used to make the almond oil you would normally buy in the pharmacies and supermarkets. I was unaware of it being used for cleaning purposes, although I use it every night to cleanse my face and as an addition in my own face creams - so yes, this is the oil you will be requiring.

The other is Bitter almond oil and this is used medicinally, as spices and used to make essential oil of almonds. Medicinally they are used for high blood pressure, the flue, as an anti-spasmodic and also in perfumes. It has poisonous properties and must be used with caution. The flowers of the Bitter almond are larger than the Sweet and mostly white with a deep rose base, while the Sweet has smaller flowers that are entirely pink.

I have dried bitter almonds that have lasted me ages that a friend brought back from Goa and I use them to make my almond icing when I remember that I have them and if I haven't reached for the almond essence first.

How much oil is used in your cleaning product Nozzie.

Hi Kerry

Thanx for your very informative reply! Very little oil is used for a task but the tasks include glass cleaning - especially in the bathroom where 'glass cancer' has occurred (glass looks like it has been etched, happens when caustic products have been employed and have eaten into the glass).

It is also supposed to be a good cleaner for bone, ivory, bakelite and plastics (Shannon Lush). According to Shannon a couple of drops on a cloth and some rubbing will solve this problem, may need to be re-applied after several months.

Sorry to hijack your gingernut thread - I too am incensed at the way manufacturers and retailers try to blind us with new gimmicks to conceal the fact they are giving us less - whether it be quality or quantity!

Cheers
Nozzie

That's interesting to read Nozzie and thanks for that info. I have plenty of things to try it out on now that I'm aware of another use for almond oil. Always learning something. Feel free to highjack anytime you want. The gingernuts have done their dash now anyway.

Kerry

I wonder if they've changed the Toffee Pop recipe too - the last few packets consumed have been horrible. So much so, I don't bother buying them anymore. It was the biscuit that seemed to have changed - it was hard and crunchy.

Yes I thought that too last time I had the toffee pops too. Not tempted by them at all now so probably a good thing!

Thought I'd report back on the results of my complaint to Griffins. In the mail this morning was a letter with apologies regarding their product (Griffins Gingernuts) and stating that they have passed the matter onto their quality team who are dedicated to ensuring that all products meet customer expectations. Attached was also a voucher for $10 as a gesture of goodwill which I thought was really nice of them to do that.

Those of you who feel as I did and have the time, complaints en-masse wouldn't go astray to help bring back the good old fashioned Kiwi icon gingernut recipe and make their famous jingle true to word:

"There's no gingernuts taste quite the same, ask for Griffin's Gingernuts by name!"

For complaints about gingernuts or any other of their products - Griffins link to contact them [www.griffins.co.nz]
Regards,
Dawn.

Well done Dawn - I am writing my letter now. Love your tearful icon.

Yay Kerry and anyone else interested, have you noticed Griffins old fashioned recipe is back? A friend has told me and she said they are good. I've bought a double barrelled packet which was on special, but can't for the life of me remember what the price was. I don't think they are back to the normal old fashioned gingernut size, but they certainly look and taste far more appealing that the insipid, cardboardy looking ones they have tried to dish out to us earlier in the year.

For all the people that gave Griffins a MOAN - it was worth the effort.
Regards,
Dawn

I gave them a huge snail mail moan and said not to bribe me with a $10 voucher because their product sucked big time.

Well done Dawn for starting the ball rolling with your complaint to them and subsequently inspiring mine.

PS. Love your Joyful icon even more.

My afternoon tea of gingernuts sandwiched with tab of dark lindt chocolate is hard to beat - surely a marriage made in heaven.

thanks for the update, I will buy them again, I bet they didnt sell so had to do something anyway

Yes we noticed the difference in the gingernuts , nibbled and dunked to our hearts delight