Nutella is invites us to rise and shine with the hazelnut spread.

SHE was sweet on Nutella for years, but the spread super-fan Sara Rosso has been ordered to quit talking about her favourite flavour online.

Nutella. It’s the gooey hazelnut spread that inspires a slavish devotion among fans. Students hoard it. Thieves steal tons of it. American Sara Rosso started World Nutella Day as her personal tribute to the product.

Established in 2007 and held on February 5 each year, World Nutella Day quickly grew into a global celebration with fans gorging themselves on jars of Nutella and posting recipes, videos and songs online.

But not anymore.

Ferrero, the Italian company that makes Nutella, has ordered Ms Rosso to "cease and desist" from publishing anything with the Nutella name or logo on it.

"On May 25, 2013, I'll be darkening the World Nutella Day site, nutelladay.com, and all social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), in compliance with a cease-and-desist I received from lawyers representing Ferrero, SpA (makers of Nutella)," Rosso posted on the site.

"The cease-and-desist letter was a bit of a surprise and a disappointment, as over the years I've had contact and positive experiences with several employees of Ferrero, SpA., and with their public relations and brand strategy consultants, and I’ve always tried to collaborate and work together in the spirit and goodwill of a fan-run celebration of a spread I (to this day) still eat," she wrote.

In six years, Ms Rosso, who works as a writer, photographer and digital strategist while blogging about food on the side, has built up an army of nearly 40,000 followers on the World Nutella Day Facebook page and almost 7000 followers on Twitter.

Fans vented their anger on Facebook, suggesting Ms Rosso re-name it "Spread that must not be named day" and commenting "Nutella...more nuts in company management than in every jar. Idiots".

Nigel Patient, managing director of brand and marketing specialists Head Mark, said while it's difficult to speculate why Ferrero ordered the page shut down, social media means brands are forced to relinquish control of their product.

"With the social media age, you’re basically opening up for customers to have their say and for them to share good things so the idea around it is that I guess you can't just shut it off, you’ve got to just fine tune it and try and get involved with those things," he said.

"In this market, consumers brand your product more than you do so you need to be open to not only allow them to give feedback but to be involved with the brand."

Mr Patient said while the World Nutella Day would be a dream result for many companies, there is also a critical line where companies need to be careful.

"Their brand equity is at stake and their job is to protect that so it's a delicate area and every scenario needs to be treated according to the facts and information at hand," he said.

Comment is being sought from Ferrero.