Food giant Ferrero announced on Tuesday the imminent launch of a vegan version of its popular hazelnut spread Nutella in Italy, France and Belgium, saying the move was in response to changing consumer tastes.

Vegan Nutella will no longer contain any dairy ingredients, which are to be replaced with chickpeas and rice syrup, Ferrero said in a statement.

"No compromises" were made concerning the taste of Nutella, which was launched 60 years ago and marketed in around 170 countries, the Italian company said.

The new product is to become available starting Wednesday, it said.

"More and more consumers are opting to reduce, or cut out, animal products," it said.

Lactose-intolerant people should, however, be careful about eating plant-based Nutella as it was being made in factories where dairy ingredients were used for other products, said Ferrero, which also owns the Kinder, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher brands.

Along with other food companies, Ferrero has come under criticism for using palm oil to make Nutella, thus encouraging the clearing of tropical forests to establish palm oil monocultures.

The company has since created a "segregated" chain for palm oil, which it says allows tracing its palm oil to the mills, "guaranteeing that it does not come from plantations subject to deforestation."

Traditional Nutella contains sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, lecithin and vanillin, according to Ferrero.

The spread has a cultlike following across the world, with American blogger Sara Rosso in 2007 launching World Nutella Day, celebrated every Feb. 5 when fans share pictures and recipe ideas.

Among Nutella-inspired initiatives was a challenge to make a record-length Nutella pizza in Sydney earlier this year, stretching for a continuous 100 meters (110 yards).