Nutella Day arises from the dead

While many food-related controversies don’t require much comment, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to enjoy a minor triumph of reason, rationality, and taste. For those of you who have been spending your time on more important things (family, jobs, etc.) and aren’t aware of the Nutella Day controversy, here it is in a nutshell.

Sara Rosso is a passionate fan of Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut mixture) and, as such, several years ago declared Feb. 5 as World Nutella Day. She has spent a considerable amount of time creating a web site, media postings, and other actions  to publicize this and obtained a strong following – all for no money or official credit from Ferrero (the company that makes Nutella). Therefore, she was more than floored when she received a cease-and-desist letter from Ferrero’s attorneys effectively telling her to banish all traces of World Nutella Day.

So in a tearful farewell letter on the World Nutella Day site, she agreed that  “On May 25, 2013, I’ll be darkening the World Nutella Day site, nutelladay.com, and all social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), in compliance with a cease-and-desist I received from lawyers representing Ferrero, SpA (makers of Nutella).”

However, apparently Ferrero has had a change of heart. Obviously, the media had a field day celebrating the complete lack of reason and rationality in this legal decision, but it was also surprising how truly upset many of Nutella’s customers were, as they began threatening a boycott. So Ferrero changed its mind.

Therefore, all is well now – she has updated the World Nutella site to say, “I‘m relieved to say there’s been a positive resolution to the situation. Ferrero employees reached out to me directly after I had posted my fan letter online and sent my formal reply to their C&D. They were very gracious and supportive and we were able to have a productive discussion about World Nutella Day living on for the fans, which is the whole point.”

So you Nutella fans may now continue to enjoy Nutella without worry. And if some of you are looking to expand or start eating Nutella, the EYB library has 230 online recipes to get you started (the gluten-free chocolate torte from Serious Eats looks amazing).

Photo by Yvonne Ruperti