This could be the death of a tradition. Jaffas (orange coated chocolate) are a kiwi tradition… sine 1931. The soon to be closed Cadbury (Mondelez) factory sponsors a chocolate carnival and the highlight is letting 30 000 of them down a really steep street.

It had to be postponed this year because the winter has been vicious.

But with the factory closing, this could have been the last one.

The came, they rolled, they got eaten.

Thousands of people occupied every nook and cranny of Dunedin’s Baldwin St – the steepest street in the world – for the annual Cadbury Jaffa Race.

That included children spotted collecting bags of broken sweets from the gutters.

Last month the race, which features three races of 25,000 different coloured Jaffas, was postponed due to severe weather which battered the region

The three races were for charities; Make-A-Wish, Surf Life-Saving New Zealand and Parents Centre.

Mondelez, the company which owns Cadbury, was yet to announce whether the annual chocolate festival and Jaffa Race, would be held again.

Last month a spokesman confirmed to Stuff that the company did not apply for any Dunedin City Council funding for the 2017 event.

“In relation to the future of the carnival, no decision has been made as yet.”

The global food giant announced earlier this year it would stop manufacturing Cadbury products in Dunedin in March 2018, with the loss of 350 jobs.

The company was still in talks with a third-party producer to take over the manufacturing of Jaffas, Pineapple Lumps, Buzz Bars and Pinky Bars.

Jafa has another meaning. Just another fragrant Aucklander. As one born and raised there, now living in Dunedin, I will miss the orange ball of lethal sweetness.

UPDATE.

Today’s paper reported that the jaffa race raised 75K for charity.