Classic Foods That Seem To Be Getting Worse

We all have fond memories of our favorite childhood desserts, meals, and snacks. From sickly sweet candy bars on Halloween to crispy buttery crackers and chips after school, our favorite form of nostalgia usually comes in a pre-packaged treat that is filled with fats and sugars. However, there is nothing more disappointing than buying one of your childhood favorites again only for it to taste nothing like how you remembered. In some cases, it may be that our sophisticated adult palates have adapted to actual food and our taste buds have simply changed. But in other cases, there are definitive changes to classic snacks that are undeniably noticeable to customers.

Many classic foods and snacks have changed over the years, and not always for the better. When the FDA banned trans fats in 2015, for instance, a whole host of former favorite foods and snacks received recipe changes. From ingredient swaps and production changes to rebrands and shrinkflation, fans have noticed a significant change in taste, texture, and size of these formerly famed snacks — and not for the better.

There was a time when Twinkies were such an iconic American snack that Bill Clinton even put one in a time capsule as a token of the American way of life. However, tragedy struck the Hostess company in 2012 as it was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to rising debts and decreased sales. For the first time since their inception in 1930, Twinkies were not available to American consumers.

During the bankruptcy, many Hostess bakeries and distribution plants were closed down. Thankfully, the company recovered under new ownership and Twinkies returned to the shelves the following year, in 2013. Unfortunately, the new version of the former favorite cream-filled sponge cake is drier and tastes less fresh than the original version. The new Twinkies also have an extended shelf life of 45 days compared to the previous 14, which might have something to do with the change in flavor and texture. Not to mention, the new Twinkies are smaller than the originals, which the company claimed was a decision made before the bankruptcy.

When it comes to our favorite snacks, the texture is just as important as the taste. Fans started to notice a significant change in Ritz crackers today compared to the ones they remember from childhood. One Redditor posted, "I remember Ritz crackers being less... crumbly. They used to be firm, now you can barely spread cream cheese on one without it breaking." The reason for this noticeable change in cracker integrity? Trans fats.

In the early 2000s, many food production companies, including Nabisco (which owns Ritz), began to phase out trans fats due to rising health concerns, especially related to cholesterol. However, trans fats are known to improve the texture of baked goods and prolong the shelf life of products, so removing them from the cracker recipe caused the crackers to become more crumbly. So, while the removal of trans fats was positive for health, the replacement of these fats with oils such as soybean and canola certainly made a difference in the texture of the cracker that fans do not approve of.

Campbell's SpaghettiOs were introduced in 1965 and became popular in the post-World War II era among other canned and prepackaged goods. The canned soup quickly became a convenient pantry staple, especially for busy moms. However, like so many other foods that are advertised to kids, the company made a recipe change to attempt to make the product healthier in 2009.

The company announced it would be making some recipe changes, including reducing the amount of sodium in SpaghettiOs by nearly 35%. Unfortunately, adults who are feeling nostalgic for the original SpaghettiO soup are out of luck. Fans claim the sauce and meatballs in the soup are now particularly bad. One Reddit user shared a photo of the recipe change and stated that the "meatballs lack substance," potentially as a result of water added to the beef. Another Reddit user commented on the thin sauce, noting that it "may as well have been water."

A lot of nostalgic fans tend to get upset when brands switch up their childhood favorite snacks with healthy changes to the recipe. However, in the case of the Fruit Roll-Up, popular opinion is that the original "healthier" version of the snack was actually better. The original Fruit Roll-Up was a dull brown color and tasted like actual fruit, according to fans online. One Reddit fan fondly recalls when the Strawberry flavor Fruit Roll-Ups were made of real fruit and you could tell because the fruit snack had actual seeds in it.

Fans of the original snack from the '80s lament the new artificially-colored (and flavored) Fruit Roll-Ups that taste more like chemicals and sugar than fruit. However, the good news is Redditors have found a good replacement for the original roll-ups in "fruit leather," which has more of the genuine fruit taste and less food coloring than the modern Fruit Roll-Ups.

Customers online threw a full-on tantrum when Oreo's parent company, Nabisco, shut down its Chicago plant and started producing some of its cookies in Mexico in 2016. Even Donald Trump himself claimed he would swear off Oreos, protesting the move that left 600 workers from the Chicago plant without jobs. The company claimed that the change in production plants would have no impact on the taste of America's favorite cookie and that there was no recipe change, but fans online begged to differ.

The overwhelming consensus from consumers is this: There is less filling in between the cookies, the cookies are chalky, and you wind up paying more for less. Fans are particularly peeved by the double-stuffed Oreos, which don't come close to what they remember from years ago. Some Redditors also speculate that modern-day Oreos taste different as a result of the trans fats phase-out in the early 2000s.

In early 2018, the Butterfinger candy bar underwent a recipe change that was meant to be an upgrade but had almost the exact opposite effect. The crispy, flaky, peanut candy bar coated in chocolate (but not real chocolate) was previously owned by Nestle, but when Ferrara bought it in April 2018, fans were not impressed by the recipe change to their favorite candy bar. The base flavors that make up the delicious bar are simple: peanuts, milk, and cocoa. Ferrara aimed to improve upon this classic recipe by adding more milk into the mix to make the chocolate smoother and to use U.S.-grown jumbo peanuts to give it a more roasty peanut flavor.

Notably, the chocolatey coating around the bar is still not technically chocolate because it does not contain cocoa butter. Despite the new packaging that reads "Improved Recipe," public opinion has not been positive in reaction to the change. The consensus is that the new peanuts taste more like actual peanuts than the sweet, salty, and flaky peanut butter center they recall from the original bar. One user on a Reddit thread posted, "They completely and utterly ruined the Butterfinger innards. It tastes like nothing... I really hope they go back because they ruined one of my favorite childhood candies."

Pop-Tarts are the self-proclaimed king of the toaster pastry. With tons of different filling flavors, a flaky buttery crust, and cool frosting to top it all off, they tasted more like a dessert than a breakfast item. Naturally, they were an instant hit with kids and adults alike, sparking spirited debates and rankings of the best flavors of Pop-Tarts. However, fans claim that the beloved pastry has not quite been the same since 2015. Many assume shrinkflation is to blame.

Namely, people have noticed a distinct decrease in the amount of frosting and filling, causing the overall pastry to be thinner and smaller than they remember. One Reddit user posted, "Mine are thinner than a saltine cracker! No more! Waste of money!" In fact, customers are so unimpressed with the modern-day pop-tart that many of them are turning to off-brand alternatives. Commenters suggested Walmart's Great Value brand and Trader Joe's version of Pop-Tarts as a tastier and cheaper alternative.

In March 2020, Chips Ahoy! (under the company Nabisco) released a press release announcing a recipe change to its famous chocolate chip cookies. When the cookies first hit the market in the 1960s, they were advertised as being just as delicious as homemade cookies. After the recipe change, however, many consumers do not agree. The company added more vanilla extract and uniquely-blended chocolate chips to give the cookies a better flavor and cut out any bitterness. They also rolled out a change in the mixing process that is meant to improve the texture of the cookie, along with the flavor. However, customers suspected a recipe change to their favorite cookie long before the recipe change was implemented.

Customers claim the cookies today are nothing like the ones they enjoyed when they were younger, stating that they now have a powdery, sandy texture and fewer chocolate chips than before. One Reddit user simply stated, "They should go back to the recipe that made them famous." Despite some consumers' dissatisfaction with the change to the cookie, it remains one of the top-selling cookie brands in the U.S. in 2025.

What would you do for a Klondike Bar? According to customers online, apparently very little. And it appears shrinkflation is to blame. Klondike Bars have an illustrious history and fans are nostalgic for that iconic square of creamy vanilla ice cream coated in a thick chocolate shell that they remember from childhood. But the ones that grace grocery store shelves today are simply not the same and fans are none too happy about it.

Customers took to Reddit to share their disappointment with the Klondike Bars today, which are noticeably thinner than they used to be. One Redditor posted, "It's more like a Klondike wafer now." Consumers are really disappointed with the change and feel overwhelmingly ripped off. Another Redditor complained that, "The chocolate coating is so thin. I know because I specifically remember whenever I ate a Klondike bar in the past, the chocolate would break in big sheets when you bite it, and it would kind of fall apart." Some claimed that the chocolate coating didn't even cover the entire ice cream bar.

When Girl Scout Cookie season rolls around, most of us do not have the willpower to deny ourselves a box or two. From coconutty Samoas to creamy peanut buttery Tagalongs, there is a reason these cookies have become a household name. But perhaps none hold a candle to Thin Mints, which are consistently the highest-selling cookies. In recent years, though, some customers started to notice a change in the quality of their favorite cookies, with many speculating that the dip in quality and spike in prices may have something to do with them now being sold in grocery stores.

However, some people claim the cookies taste just as they remember. The inconsistency may be because the brand uses two separate bakeries to produce its cookies, meaning a Thin Mint might taste different based on where you live and which bakery made it. The company uses ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers; ABC Bakers is known for making a crunchier Thin Mint, while Little Brownie Bakers makes a more peppermint-forward cookie. So, if you think your favorite Girl Scout Cookie has gone downhill, you might just need to procure some from the other bakery.

Cheez-It has long been in the running for America's favorite cheesy cracker snack. And they have only gained consumer favor with the introduction of flavors like white cheddar and cheddar jack, as well as the extra-toasty version that came on the scene as burnt snacks rose in popularity. But like so many other packaged goods that customers once loved, many people have noted a disappointing dip in quality over the years.

Consumers note that Cheez-its now taste bland and stale, compared to the flaky crackers they remember from childhood. Some chalk it up to corporate greed, like this commenter on Reddit: "These large corporations always compromise quality for profit." But others claim that there are just bad batches, and while some boxes have less seasoning, others still have that classic Cheez-It flavor they remember. Rumors have been swirling about a decrease in quality for years, and in 2014, Cheez-it even commented on it in an X post, "We didn't change the recipe, but the flavor can change slightly in the box since it's made with real cheese." So there you have it.

If you didn't get sent off to school with a Cosmic Brownie in your lunchbox back in the day, you were missing out. These chewy chocolate fudge brownies topped with colorful candy sprinkles were a childhood staple. In a Reddit thread called "Did Cosmic Brownies change or did I?" commenters debated whether their favorite chocolate brownie from childhood has in fact changed or if their tastebuds have just outgrown the treat.

The original poster on Reddit tried the brownies for the first time since childhood, saying: "I unwrapped them and was so excited, only to feel like I'm straight up eating cardboard coated in sugar. Did the recipe change in a significant way, or am I just an adult now?" While some believe they just taste different now that our tastebuds are all grown up, others claim to have tasted a noticeable difference around 2019-2020, in which the icing became less creamy and the brownies became harder to chew. Since the company has not announced a recipe change, this one is still up for debate.