Since we wrote about Hershey’s reformulating some of their products into “mockolate” that can’t legally be called “milk chocolate,” the story has been getting some play in the media, prompting Hershey to respond to the controversy. So, why did they reformulate their candy? Because you like fake chocolate better!
From the Patriot-News:
“Consumers love this, and people prefer the change,” [Hershey's spokesperson] said.
Cybele, who runs the Candy Blog, and has been working to make consumers aware of the changes in Hershey’s products, has been keeping a close eye on what she calls misleading statements on Hershey’s website. For example:
I don’t know if they can get away with calling the product Hershey’s Miniature chocolate bars when I found that 41% of my package were not chocolate bars at all.
Milk Duds haven’t been chocolate for years, but the description is still there:
Bite-size chocolate-covered caramels, MILK DUDS candy is a perfect snack for a night at the movies or anytime!
Slightly more disturbing was Cybele’s attempt to find out what is actually inside the Hershey’s Krackle Bar. They flat out wouldn’t tell her.
I called this morning and gave the representative my case number and she read back my request: What are the ingredients in the Krackel bar. The ingredients list on the Miniatures bag lists them all together and I want to know just what’s in that bar.
She asked me why I want to know.
I stammered that I wanted to know what I’m eating.
She asked if it was an allergy issue.
I replied that I wanted to know what was in that bar. If I ate only that bar, what would I be eating? (The package does say “something for everyone” so Hershey’s understands that sometimes people just pick through and eat only one variety.)
She said she did not have that information. It doesn’t exist in her records. If she wanted she could escalate me to a supervisor, but they had only the same info that she does.
Surely someone must know? Ultimately, the company decided that the recipe for the bars could not be shared.
The recipe for this bar is proprietary and cannot be shared.
Do they really think we’re going to try to make them at home?
Hershey changes recipes for some candies [Pennlive]
Hershey’s Website Inaccuracies [Candy Blog]
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Honestly, the level of food snobs (especially to chocolate) always irritated me so it may very well be that people in their focus groups did prefer it (or never noticed the difference.)
I’m going to say something that will cause every chocoholic to go queasy:
My favorite chocolate is white chocolate.
@battra92: *dies*
To each their own though, personally I have tried many different brands of white chocolate and I just have never found one I liked.
Gimme dark chocolate any day!
@theblackdog: I used to like the Nestle white which came in a red wrapper.
The Hershey’s cookies and cream was good too.
Here’s my two-cents: Hershey’s and Mars do not want to change the definition of chocolate to make it “better.” They want to change it so that they can make it “cheaper.”
If exchanging cocoa butter for plant oils made chocolate candy taste better, I would be all for it.
They can already call chocolate solids mixed with plant fats “Chocolate candy,” which is already pretty deceptive. My advice, the Brits/Cannucks/Aussies all have standards for chocolate quality. Go to your World Market or drugs store and find a brand that you like, ignore American chocolates. It’s only a matter of time before the industry sneaks what they want through the FDA.
Because that is, apparently, how our government works.
@QuenbyJuicy:
I like most varieties of chocolate, but tend toward the higher cocoa content. The one milk chocolate that I enjoy (seems to just be a matter of taste on this board, so I won’t say it’s “good” or “better”) is Dove.
Once in a while, someone I work with brings in a bag of little Dove chocolate nubbins, individually wrapped, and the consistency, cocoa level, and sweetness are all perfect for me.
Better than anything I’ve ever had from Hershey’s – they got the balance right IMHO.
I’ll bet anyone twenty bucks that future generations remembering our time will have a running joke about how knowingly American’s poisoned themselves into obesity and idiocy.
Like I said in my message to Hershey recently ( [www.patentlystupid.com] ) I will NEVER purchase another one of their frankenchocolate products nor any of their other products again.
Frankenchocolate SUCK Hershey you can take that to the bank.
One word: Neuhaus.
I haven’t been a fan of Hershey’s anything for a very long time. Even their “reserve” cocoa bars are not really all that good when compared to other, similarly expensive, alternatives.
At this point I buy Lake Champlain Chocolates… although with the current financial strain I am under, I cannot order them for the foreseeable future.
Sacrifices suck. I miss my 5star caramel bars.
“Milk” chocolate is barely chocolate anyway, and Hershey’s has always been at the bottom of the milk-chocolate rung. Ever since I came up with my brilliant idea to control my weight by only allowing myself expensive junk food (here: [www.puredoxyk.com]) , I’ve started eating good chocolate and realizing just how sickening that stuff is — it’s basically vaguely-chocolate-flavored-sugary-plasticpaste, if you ask me.
You want chocolate? Go buy a Dagobah bar, to start with. THAT’S chocolate; medium-high-grade lowbrow chocolate to be precise. There’s a reason it’s $3 a candy-bar, but you’ll also find that you need a lot less of it to be satisfied. Then you can graduate to even better stuff, like real chocolate made in small shops and that rainforest-raw-cacao stuff they sell online, *faints*.
Good chocolate is really some of the best food on the planet…but bad chocolate, and especially fake chocolate, is just a shame. Don’t waste the calories on it!
Given that Hershey makes brown wax with chocolate scent, and the American people are stupid (just look at the two corrupt morons running for president and all the fakeality shows on TV), this should not come as a shock.
Hopefully this will make them go out of business or get bought out sooner so the U.S. can finally get proper Kit Kats made by Nestlé.
Hint, try some real chocolate by searching for Taza chocolate. They make small batches of real chocolate and it’s real good! But since no one really like real chocolate, you will certainly love Hershey’s much better.
If you want good milk chocolate, try the Norwegian company Freia. Although they were bought by Kraft Foods in 1993, they still use the Freia recipe. In my opinion, it is the best Milk Chocolate out there. You can read about it on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freia_(chocolate)
Not sure where you can get it in the US, but if you can find it and you like real milk chocolate, you’ll love this. I’ve started eating more dark chocolate in recent years but when I have a craving for the milk chocolate this is my goto.
What’s in it? Nobody’s telling.
“Melamine melts in your arteries, not in your hands,” must be their new slogan.
@sixsnowflakes:
Dark Chocolate is FAAAAAB!
I love it. And you’re right; you do tend to eat less of it. It’s much richer.
the best fine milk chocolate – imho – is Lindt. Yum! Also, a brand of chocolate made in Berkeley CA called Scharffenberger makes the most wonderful milk chocolate that’s not so sweet. Scharffenberger makes the BEST dark chocolate, too.
I have had quite a bit of good chocolate- in high school I worked at a local chocolate shop in Canada, and as a young adult I did some work on contract at Ferrero in Italy. I don’t have a problem paying $2 or $3 for an individual piece of chocolate if it’s really good- I can get nice dark chocolate-chili truffles from a local chocolate maker and have no problem splurging on them. Lately I’ve been cutting back on processed foods, but I’ve been dealing with my cravings by having a little square of dark chocolate every day. I’ve tried quite a few different varieties, with hundred-gram bars ranging from about $4 to $8, and I would definitely rate the Hershey’s 95% cacao bar as one of the best. Now, when I buy chocolate I buy two bars: one of the Hershey’s 95%ers and one of another brand as a trial. It’s really thin and it comes wrapped in foil then sturdy paper, and I get it in the junk food aisle at the grocery store (in case you want to investigate). EXCELLENT value. I would say the worst one that I’ve tried was Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate… it barely tasted of chocolate. It had a strange “green” note to it (no pun intended).
Yeah, I’m sure Hershey did a real in depth survey that resulted in date proving America wants to eat more crap.
Has anyone also noticed that Hershey is not the only company changing things. Cereal boxes, coffee cans, cleaning items, paper towel rolls, etc., etc., are getting smaller right before our eyes. The changes happen over time so they are almost not noticeable. However, I have a pantry where I can put items I stock up on when I take advantage of a sale. Lately, when I put something on the shelf next to the same product purchased months ago, the newer container is smaller, and the price has increased. Pay more for less.
So, believe me, we are getting taken to the cleaners at every turn. And, unless we protest by sending e-mail messages to the companies doing this, and boycott their products, then we are nothing but lambs waiting on line at the grocery store for the slaughter.
I think Hershey should use REAL chocolate! They have been around for years, and they are popular for their Hershey’s MILK CHOCOLATE. Why make people unintentionally eat stuff that’s fake and might be bad for them?