The number of chips in a packet and hokeys in hokey pokey ice cream have long been canvassed, but now there's a new can on the block — the number of cherries in Wattie's tinned fruit salad. Seven Sharp reporter Mary-Jane Aggett investigates.
Hawke's Bay man Kim Salamonson has been a loyal eater of the food brand's fruit salad and has noticed a definite decline in the cherry ratio.
"Might be lucky if there's one whole cherry counting the bits," he said.
"The wife and I love to have a bit of vanilla ice cream with our fruit salad — it's just a nice, easy dessert."
Salamonson thinks cherries are what makes a fruit salad a fruit salad.
"I come from a family of four, and everyone could have a cherry; you certainly couldn't do that now."
Salamonson said you might have to resort to paper, rock, scissors to see who gets one.
So, is this a worrying trend? Or is it just Salamonson's unlucky dip?
Seven Sharp undertook our own fruit salad forensics. We opened 10 tins of Wattie's Fruit Salad. Most of the tins we opened contained two cherries chopped in half. So there were four bits.
Wattie's sent a statement saying it could be a fallout from Cyclone Gabrielle.
"Wattie's Fruit Salad has been a favourite of Kiwis for many years, and we are pleased to let you know that it is back on the shelf.
"There were some supply disruptions following Cyclone Gabrielle," the statement read.
"We have a robust quality control system in place and are pleased to be able to continue offering this long-time iconic Kiwi product to all our consumers."
Salamonson will still be buying.
"I'd certainly like to see a few more [cherries], like there was 40 years ago," he concluded.
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