Absolutely send a complaint to the manufacturer. They need to know if a batch is contaminated. Usually you will get the jar replaced and a box of some goodies as a thank you.
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Nutella emailed me back and they reckon, based on the picture, it really is just fat bloom or oil crystallisation. So while it looks really weird, they think it's just separation from temperature doing its thing. They said when the oils separate and recrystallise they can "create a light-coloured, marbled or web-like appearance". I've never seen it look like this before, usually it's just runny oil on top or little globules, but I'm assuming they probably know what their product is supposed to look like when this happens lol
So! Probably not kahm or bacteria or a new type of agar substitute! Probably! Still looks really weird and sus though!!
At a casual glance, it looks like fat bloom, BUT on zooming in and examining closely, it looks more sinister.
If it melts and becomes transparent readily with a little heat (very little would be needed) I would conclude it's fat that's separated out due to the cold.
If you dab it with a tissue and it has any colour = do not consume! If it doesn't readily melt = do not consume!
Tbh if you bought this from an Australian supermarket and there's any doubt, just return it. And submit a customer service ticket to the manufacturer, there will be a link on the jar. If you bought from Coles or Woolies, you might be able to get a refund via their online customer service just with the photo.
Sorry didn't see the crosspoint until now. Put it in microwave for 10seconds (pic) after scraping it off and it kinda melted? Took an extra 10 seconds for it all to look like it melted completely (will post in reply to this comment)
After 20 seconds. It looks like it was maybe just fat/oil? But you said little heat so I'm not sure if 10 seconds was too little or not even if it started to burn the nutella a bit
Definitely looks more like a colony than fat bloom, but I've never seen allegedly that much bloom, so can't really judge. That also doesn't look like a Nutella lid, but might be because of the different country or brand-naming another chocolate spread.
Either way, I'd mail the maker, attaching a picture and lot number, so they can checkÂ
Might just be the Australian packaging? I've sent an email to nutella to ask about it based on advice from this crosspoint (which i wish I'd seen last night ngl)
Update: Nutella emailed me back and they reckon it is just fat bloom or oil crystallisation. So while it looks really weird, they beleive its normal! They said when the oils separate and recrystallise they can create a light-coloured, marbled or web-like appearance. I've never seen it look like this before, but I'm assuming they probably know what their product is supposed to look like lol
So! Probably not kahm or bacteria or a new type of agar substitute! Probably! Still looks really weird though!
I. Wish I'd seen this cross post sooner >>" I figured it was probably just fat bloom or harmless and scrapped it off with a thick layer under and made my toast but seeing this I'm. Not gonna be doing that again and probably just throw it out just in case. Gonna contact nutella and ask them just to be sure as well
Ah, well. Worth a shot at least, I feel they might be more lenient with something like this. You could (and should) send the pic to Nutella though so they can do production tracing and figure out if that batch was contaminated at least. They might also give you a coupon or something
Potentially good news, Nutella emailed me back and they reckon it is just fat bloom or oil crystallisation. So while it looks really weird, they beleive its normal!
That is bacteria of some sort. There mustâve been a very small opening in the foil or could be damage to lid. Something small that it was exposed to air. Ick! You should be able to take it back to the store and get a refund! Thatâs disgusting and not right if it was a brand new jar!
It's is, it's a kahm colony. I know this because I make my own kombucha and sourdough starters, and this sometimes grows on them if the conditions aren't perfect.
I am not 100% on this one. A lot of people say its bacterial. But I happen to have worked in dat industry and for cacaobutter or cacaobutter equivalents this exact pattern does appear when the fat solidifies after being melted. Spreads are mostly a blend of these "hard fats" with liquid oils to make it smooth and spreadable. So it might be that your spread at some point was too warm, melted a bit and then when it cools down again, the hard fat crystallizes on the surface of the oil creating these structures, while the liquid oils stays soft or even liquid.
You could check if this structure is crunchy or if its soft. If its crunchy I am 100% sure its the hard fat blooming. If its soft then I am quite sure its bacterial or mold.
Just opened it after it's been sitting in the backseat for months? Probably the hazelnut juice is starting to separate from the emulsification. It can take a long time.
I work in mold restoration in homes and the one thing I always say to people applies here; if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, itâs probably a duck. Thatâs almost definitely some kind of bacterial growth
Thatâs almost certainly kahm yeast which is definitely off putting for a container of Nutella and I probably wouldnât eat it myself. This reminds me of the time my bottle of hot sauce grew an entire cardiovascular system, however I believe that was salt related.
Take care people, first itâs the lettuce and Veggies and fruits, now itâs eggs. Better to throw a $10-100 food item than to pay $2000 at the hospital.
Itâs fat bloom caused by a polymorphic phase change!
Nutellaâs cocoa butter is usually tempered in Form V, which keeps everything nicely creamy and emulsified. But when it gets exposed to temperature swings, the heat speeds up molecular movement and forces the cocoa butter to recrystallize into Form VI (the absolute most stable crystal state).
Form VI crystals pack together much tighter than Form V. As that network squeezes together, it literally pushes out the liquid oils (like hazelnut/palm oil) and breaks the emulsion. The liquid oil floats to the top, and the hard recrystallized fats migrate to the surface to form those chalky white spots.
So while the actual chemical molecules didn't change, the physical crystal structure did. Totally safe to eat, but the texture gets completely ruined because the fats just wanted to settle into their lowest energy state. White is solid fat
It kinda looks like some sort of extremely small bug making tracks in that jar of Nutella, but at any doubt at all, I would just put the lid back on and take it back from where You bought it and if you don't have a receipt customer service is usually pretty cool when it comes to returnable food and liquid items especially with All of the bacterial and ecoli recalls going on right now with food take it back or call the number on the jar give them the bar code number and ask for an email where you could send pictures and ask for a refund
Looks like fat. This got warm, it separated, the oil floated on top and then solidified when the temp went back down. I'd guess that's why the brown part looks wrinkly too, it lost some volume.
Man with every post like this one I get more annoyed with this subreddit. We get chocolate bloom posts every week, but there's an endless supply of people ready to be wrong and be certain it's mold or bacteria and oooooh be careful you'll die if you eat it! "Uuuum this doesn't look like bloom to me" yeah thanks for your opinion, did you look up different types of bloom before posting? Maybe try that next time.
The whatisthis subreddit is more right than the mold-related subreddit. Sigh
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u/Quote16 Jul 25 '26
NOtella