At Nestle, the dedicated staff who investigate these preferences are members of an elite squad called the Allen's Lollies branding team.

These are their decisions.

Spearmint Leaves? Gone. Green Frogs? Terminated. Sherbies? Well, actually, they're staying - contrary to reports in rival media.

Following a veritable outcry over the apparent lolly massacre, manufacturer Allen's and its parent company, Nestle, were forced to come out and clarify the state of affairs at confectionery headquarters.

The company stopped production of Spearmint Leaves and Green Frogs late last year, spokeswoman Margaret Stuart told Fairfax Media. By that point, they were only being produced in bulk bags anyway.

A few packets may be lingering in corner stores or wholesalers' warehouses, but apart from those, the green treats have expired; passed on; ceased to be.

"They just stopped selling. People stopped buying them," Ms Stuart said. Red frogs were outselling their green rivals by a factor of 10 to one. The writing was on the wall.

News Corp's Melbourne tabloid The Herald-Sun incorrectly reported that Sherbies, Marella Jubes and Oddfellow Mints had been axed. But those lollies were staying, Ms Stuart said.

The newspaper also claimed that Jelly Tots, Violet Crumble bags and Butter Menthol kids had disappeared - and while that is true, those products ceased production more than five years ago.

Another allegation that Allen's Redskins - those chewy, raspberry flavoured strips of sugar - were going to shrink was also untrue, though the company has downsized its Killer Python lolly, but it did so in October last year.

Still, Ms Stuart admitted to being somewhat taken aback by the public's passionate response to the phantom discontinuations.

"We know that people have deep connections to their favourite iconic lollies," she said.

"What I do sometimes find a bit sad is when they're sad about products that they haven't actually been buying."

Green lollies have often been maligned by confectionery connoisseurs, perhaps the least-loved of all lollies apart from the notorious black licorice jelly bean. But Ms Stuart said the colour of nature maintains its presence throughout the Allen's range.

"We still find green lollies are popular in other categories," she said. "[But] there's no point in continuing to sell a product that people don't want to buy any more."

Allen's was founded in Melbourne in 1891 and was sold to a British company in 1985, before being bought by Nestle. It is the biggest lolly-maker in the country and has made Spearmint Leaves since 1961. SMH