Food PSA: Cadbury Has Killed The Chocolate Easter Bilby

The Cadbury's Creme Egg is more than just another seasonal sweet - it's an Easter icon in its own right. But how much to you really know about the fondant-filled favourite? From the man who holds the fastest-eaten Creme Egg record to eggs-actly how they're made, here are a few things you might not know about them...

The Cadbury Brothers released the first filled eggs in 1923, but the Creme Eggs we all know and love today didn't hit sweet shop shelves until 1963.

They were initially named Fry’s Creme Eggs. But in 1971, they were rebranded as Cadbury's Creme Eggs.

Easy Easter baking ideas from the Australian Women's Weekly

There's everything from traditional simnel cakes, beautiful bundt cakes and cute cupcakes and meringues the kids will love. Happy Easter!Mini meringue nests © Provided by Bauer Media Pty Ltd Put an Easter spin on this popular dessert, whipping up these sweet and cream-filled moulds ready to house sugar-coated eggs. Learn how to make Mini meringue nests.Orange buttermilk syrup cake © Provided by Bauer Media Pty Ltd This orange buttermilk syrup cake will be an absolute win for everyone in the family.

It had escaped quarantine the previous year to kill 10 million rabbits in the space of eight weeks. The deaths from both viruses are slow and horrendous, causing skin tumours, blindness, paralysis and bleeding from the eyes. A chocolate Easter Bilby . Credit: iStockPhoto.

Progress in the chocolate Easter Egg market was very slow until a method was found of making the liquid chocolate flow into moulds. Decorative and variety eggs soon followed and by 1893, the Cadbury Brothers had 19 different Easter lines.

From 34 grams to 35 grams, the eggs today are one gram heavier than they were in 1977 in the UK. But in the USA, they have become five grams lighter - 39 grams to 34 grams.

The Creme Egg is made by first pouring melted chocolate into a half egg-shaped mould, which is then filled with the fondant egg white and then a drop of yellow fondant.

Combined, the 600,000 eggs manufactured in every 12-hour shift at Cadbury’s factory are three times heavier than an elephant.

Each year, Cadbury makes 500 million Creme Eggs, of which an excess of 333 million eggs are consumed in the UK alone. The company sells Creme Eggs worth £200 million (US $295.9mn) in the UK every year.

In Canada, Cream Eggs are called Oeuf-fondant.

The Creme Eggs were originally packed in green-coloured wrappers, but it was changed to blue in the 21st century. However, the green packaging still exists, but only in the USA.

The Easter treat that's lethal for dogs

No, we're not talking about chocolate.Most people know that dogs shouldn't have chocolate - but there's another sweet treat that should be kept away from pets this Easter.

Oh my gosh you guys have bilby shaped chocolate ?!?! I don't care how many animals will try to kill me, I'm moving to Australia so I can have an Easter Bilby . for every bilgy someone buys here cadbury donates a percentage of the profit to the organisation to save them from extinction.

Cadbury also produces Chocolate Bilbies , although they do not donate or support any bilby conservation projects. This has led to a backlash against Cadbury , with many Australians derogatively referring to their Bilby products as Easter Bludgers: "bludger" is Aussie slang for a lazy

James Jiggs from Lancashire, UK, holds the world record for the fastest eating of a single Creme Egg. He did it in just 8.65 seconds.

Creme Eggs aren't the only eggs Cadbury have to offer. In fact, there are another 25 varieties, including Caramel Eggs, Jaffa Eggs, Orange Creme Eggs and many more.

Each Creme Egg consists of 180 calories and is 28.8% of our guideline daily amount of sugar.

If all the eggs produced each year were stacked on top of each other, they would form a mountain ten times higher than Mount Everest.

Each Creme Egg consists of 2% of our suggested daily allowance of calcium.

According to a survey done by Cadbury, there are different ways of eating the Creme Egg: 53% of people bite off the top, lick out the cream, then eat the chocolate; 20% just bite straight through; whereas six percent use their finger to scoop out the cream.