Twinkies are back, but some fans are upset that they're smaller than they remember.
Hostess Brands, the new company that bought the rights and recipes to make Twinkies, says the iconic snack food is the same size as it was last November, when the previous manufacturer went out of business.
But the fans aren't mistaken - for much of 2012, and in earlier years, a box of 10 Twinkies weighed 15 ounces. The boxes on store shelves now weigh 13.58 ounces.
A reduction in weight apparently took place late last year, just before the previous company went bankrupt in November. Boxes in stores at that time actually weighed 13.5 ounces. So technically it seems that the boxes now weigh eight one-hundredths of an ounce more than they did before the company's shutdown.
"They are exactly the same size as they were when the old company went out of business last year," said company spokeswoman Hannah Arnold.
Twinkies returned to the shelves of most retailers for the first time in nine months on Monday.
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Fans expressed displeasure with the change.
"So Twinkies are back, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME SIZE, WHAT THE CRAP HOSTESS?!" tweeted Zack Ferguson.
"Apparently making 'the sweetest comeback in forever' takes a toll on your size," tweeted David Proper, referring to the company's new advertising slogan.
The reduction in size wasn't the only change that occurred last year before the shutdown. A change in recipe also extended the shelf-life of Twinkies to 45 days from their previous 26-day shelf-life. That change took place on Nov. 1. But a strike by the Bakers union halted production soon after that. The company announced on Nov. 16 it would halt operations.
