Fish paste canning leaves a bad taste, but do you remember THIS iconic ‘Wedwo’ ad?

South African consumers were split over the news that Pioneer Foods has discontinued distribution of Peck’s Anchovette and production of its local rival Redro.

Fans of the products – and those who detested the smell – took to social media in equal measure this week to voice their displeasure – or joy – at the news.

Peck’s Anchovette, originally from the United Kingdom, dates back 131 years to 1891 as the bottle states.

However, it only arrived in Mzansi in the 1960s and up until that point South Africans settled for Redro, a local fish paste spread developed from a family recipe in the 1930s.

The Redro brand did give rise to one of the more iconic advertisements ever screened on South African TV back in the early 1980s.

This is not the first time South Africans have been hit by the discontinuation of one of their favourite food items.

In 2020 Nestle announced that it would be discontinuing the production of its Chocolate Log while last year Lay’s Salt & Vinegar chips also bit the dust.

Reportedly the decision to discontinue production of the two products was taken towards the end of 2021.

“We made the decision to discontinue production of our Redro and Peck’s fish paste products towards the end of last year.

“This was part of our ongoing portfolio review.

“We communicated this to our customers, stopped production, and discontinued the sale of related items in December 2021.

“Products will therefore remain available for purchase by consumers as long as the retailers have stock on hand.

“We are in the process of finalising the sale of the related assets or brands to a third party,” said a Pioneer spokesperson.