PSA: The New Turkey Twizzlers Officially Land In Store On Thursday

Big news, guys. Turkey Twizzlers are officially *back* and we're practically bubbling over with nostalgia.

You might remember the meaty fried treat from your childhood, before celebrity chef Jamie Oliver rid them from school lunch menus back in 2005.

Well, as of Thursday 20th August, Bernard Matthews is sellin them once more - this time with double the turkey meat used in the original, and a promise that the snack is "healthier and tastier than ever before".

Landing in two flavours, Original Tangy Tomato and Chilli Cheese, the company is keen to re-launch the products on school menus eventually.

But in the meantime, you can pick them up in Iceland stores, retailing at £3.00 for a pack of eight.

Bernard Matthews)

"We have been discussing the return of the Twizzler for some time," David Leigh, marketing director at Bernard Matthews, told the BBC.

"Obviously we'd like the product to go into schools, but for the minute, we've focused on going into what I guess you'd call mass market retail."

He added that the new, improved Turkey Twizzler contains between 67-70 per cent turkey meat content, an improvement from the original 34 per cent.

Plus, the new recipe was only 87 calories, as supposed to the original 137.

Bernard Matthews)

"If you look at our product now and let's say you compared, say, two pork sausages to two Twizzlers, there's 83 per cent more saturated fat in two average pork sausages compared to two Twizzlers," he said.

"So we have spent a lot of time making sure that we are delivering a healthy, a significantly healthier, product than it was before. It is very much a different product."

The meaty snack's return is said to be, in part, thanks to a 2018 Change.org petition, that amassed 27,700 signatures.

Plus Bernard Matthews bosses say they noticed "increased demand," which encouraged them to relaunch.

Following the news of the Turkey Twizzler's revival, James Toop, the chief executive of Jamie Oliver co-founded healthy food campaign group, Bite Back 2030, said: "Covid-19 has brought the importance of a healthy diet into sharp focus for us all.

"Any brand that chooses now to relaunch an HFSS (high fat, salt and/or sugar) product should be questioning their organisational values."

Meanwhile, Barbara Crowther, from the Children's Food Campaign, said: "The fact it's taken Bernard Matthews 15 years to reformulate the Turkey Twizzler shows what a truly terrible product it used to be.

"Doubling the turkey content still only takes it to 67-70 per cent meat content, and while it's a healthier version of its former self, it remains an ultra-processed product."

And what did Bernard Matthews do in response? They erected a huge Turkey Twizzler statue outside their offices, of course.

PA)

Healthy or not, they are clearly aiming to come back with a bang.

Topics: Tasty Food, Tasty, Iceland

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

@joannafreedman