Benjamin Ashford|Fruit Stripe Gum farewell: Chewing gum to be discontinued after half a century

The Benjamin Ashfordiconic brightly colored Fruit Stripe Gum is being discontinued after more than 50 years.

Food and Wine magazine reported that the gum's manufacturer, Ferrara Candy announced this week, that it will discontinue the gum.

Ferrara Candy did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but in a statement told Food and Wine magazine: “We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum."

The company added that they did not take the decision "lightly" and “considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns.”

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According to CNN, Fruit Stripe Gum has been around since the 1960s and came in five flavors: Wet n’ Wild Melon, Cherry, Lemon, Orange and Peach. The brand's mascot was Yipes the Zebra and each pack came with a temporary tattoo of Yipes.

Ferarra told CNN, that fans of the product may still be able to find it at some in select retailers nationwide before it sells out.