Well, like other women, I love chocolate.
A little piece is just what you need sometimes!
Hersheys has changed some of its brands to "mocklate" instead of chocolate.They have removed cocoa butter from some of the candies and replaced it with vegetable oil.
These products can no longer be called “milk chocolate”.
Now they must carry the words: “chocolate candy,” “made with chocolate” or “chocolatey.”
Untouched are: the Hershey's bar, Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Heath bars.
But take a closer look if you eat any of these: Krackel and Milk Duds (two favorites of mine), Mr. Goodbar, Hershey’s Kissables and Whatchamacallit no longer have milk chocolate!
Almond Joy (LOVE these in the little snack size) got changed then changed back after a firestorm of complaints.
There are five things that bother me about this change:
1) I Feel betrayed. These products have a history, a taste, that should not be tampered with. Selling a product that is lesser quaility for the same price, under the same name is telling the consumer that "we know you are too stupid to notice the change".
2) Vegetable oil is not as healthy for you as cocoa butter. Lets face it, we don't each chocolate for health reasons. But in reality, taking out one of the good ingredients and replacing it with something that has less beneficial effects (and less taste/texture satisfaction) is wrong.
3) The company hid the changes. Packaging is so close that you don't know of the change til you taste it. Yes, I am one of the 50% that can taste the difference. At first I thought I got a bad bag of candy...just didn't taste right.
4) They have changed long-standing products and tried to hide/disguise what they have done. They have even lobbied the FDA to change the definition of "milk chocolate".
5) Hersheys has launched a campaign called "Pure Hersheys" and print/tv ads tout the purity of their candies. YA. RIGHT! Saw the tv ad twice last night and that made me so mad I had to post.
So... This halloween, when I buy the candy for the office and my home, I will strongly consider what I give out.
And when I go to the theater, I will no longer buy the Milk Duds that we always shared together.
I will spend a bit more and get REAL chocolate.I recommend you READ the labels on everything you buy these days. Yes sizes are getting smaller, but ingredients are changing too. Can effect taste, texture, allergies, and even recipes if you use the ingredient to make other things!Read more about this:
Today show program Sept 19, 2008 about Hersheys change and
a blog entry that described what happened to a lactose intolerant person that ate the new versions of the mocklate.