Different taste to new Milo

Nestle admits the classic Kiwi hot drink Milo now tastes different but says it was ‘‘improved’’ for health benefits.

Milo’s recipe has prompted howls of outrage from customers who say it’s lost its chocolate taste and is ‘‘disgusting’’.

A Facebook page, "Change Milo Back to the old recipe’’, was set up after parent company Nestle added vitamin D, B3, B6, B12 and took out vitamins A, B1 and magnesium and vanilla flavouring.

Commenters on the page said the ‘‘little bit of chocolate it had is all gone’’ and one woman, Niki Wright Jackman said ‘‘Omg knew i wasnt going mad – going to return my tin for a refund its disgusting’’.

Nestle’s Australian-based external relations manager Mary Stuart said the company had made ‘‘a number of small changes to Milo to improve it’’.

She said a glass of Milo with trim milk now earned 4.5 stars using the new Health Star Rating system – an Australian health rating system that Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye signed New Zealand up to last year.

Along with taking out the vanilla flavour, Stuart said Milo had moved to ‘‘sustainably sourced cocoa’’ and ‘‘sustainably sourced palm oil’’. Stuart said there had been a ‘‘slight shift in flavour’’ though Milo was still ‘‘based on the four main ingredients – milk powder, malt barley, sugar and cocoa – that have been at its core for more than 80 years’’.