Killer Pythons cut in half to fight obesity

Nestle New Zealand has announced it is shrinking Killer Pythons down to 24g and 336kj per snake. Photo / Creative Commons

One of the old-time favourites of the lolly jar - Killer Python jelly snakes - are being cut in half to encourage people to be more responsible when eating treats.

Nestle New Zealand, whose brand Allen's makes the lollies, has announced it is shrinking the wriggly treats down to 24g and 336kj per snake.

Originally, the snakes weighed 47g with 630kj each - which has been deemed too much for a single serving, particularly when eaten by children.

The move follows one made in Australia in October.

Nestle's business executive manager for confectionery and snacks, Martin Brown, said downsizing the pythons was part of a new initiative to get consumers to act more responsibly when it came to their health.

"We're now offering confectionery with responsible sourced ingredients, on-pack proportion education and changes such as revised portion sizes and resealable packaging," he said.

New packaging on Nestle's lolly range would have labels indicating what an acceptable serving would be.

In terms of the snakes, an acceptable serving would be one Killer Python for a small child.

Mr Brown acknowledged that the change would upset some consumers - many of whom have already vented their frustrations via social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

"We know some of the fans will be outraged, but this is the right thing to do. It's part of helping people improve their nutrition."

Spokeswoman for Nestle NZ Margaret Stuart said the packets would still contain the same amount of Killer Python goodness - with eight smaller snakes in a packet instead of four large one - which might still entice consumers to eat more than they should.

However, cutting them in half was about changing what consumers thought was a normal treat.

"The idea is to make it something that's more appropriate for children to eat, so they're not overeating treat food," she said.

"We know people are going to keep eating them, so it's encouraging them to be used the right way. We're introducing resealable packaging which sends that some for now and some for later message."

Supermarkets and shops in New Zealand have already started replacing the old Killer Pythons packets with the new.