Down in the mouth: Hershey, Nestle, and the quest for fake chocolate

by Bruce Watson, Posted Sep 12th 2008 @ 2:00PM

I might not be the best person to talk about chocolate. Growing up, my favorite candies were generally the tart, fake-fruit flavored ones, like Smarties, Sweet Tarts, Lemonheads, Runts, and certain Jolly Rancher flavors. However, even in the midst of my deepest obsession with the sour side of the candy chain, I still had a special place in my heart for a few chocolate treats. Reese's cups, Caramello, and Chunky bars have always held a strange power over me and I've never been able to walk past a bowl full of M&Ms without grabbing a handful. After I got married, my wife dragged me over to the dark side, and I discovered the wonders of dark chocolate, particularly when paired with red wine. Even now, though, I will sometimes indulge my deep appreciation of plebian chocolate treats, especially when my wife isn't looking.

Recently, though, I came across an article that makes me a little worried about the future of my favorite mass-market chocolate goodies. Some candy companies, including Hershey's and Nestle, are substituting cheap vegetable oils for cocoa butter in their chocolate bars. While this saves a lot of money, it also reduces the creaminess and flavor of the chocolate; some consumers have described the new products as tasting "waxy and artificial."

On the bright side, the FDA has ruled that products which do not contain cocoa butter cannot refer to themselves as chocolate. Consequently, many former "chocolate bars" now boast that they are "made with chocolate," are "chocolate candy," or have "chocolate coating." Most of the major candy companies have unsuccessfully fought this, while smaller manufacturers are desperately supporting the labeling restrictions.

While Nestle and Hershey's try to decide if they're willing to spend a few more pennies to ensure a top-quality chocolate experience, you might want to take a long, hard look at your candy bar. After all, if you're willing to splurge on calories and cash, shouldn't you get the best possible chocolate experience?

Filed Under: Science, Food Oddities, Trends, Guilty Pleasures, Ingredients
Tags: america, candy, candy bars, CandyBars, chocolate, comfort food, guilty pleasures, Hershey, Hersheys, Mars, Nestle, oddities, trans fats

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-12-2008 @2:32PM Rt said... I suspect some would claim what you ate in candy bars was not chocolate. Too bad for them, it was still good. In general, sweet is good.

I too have enjoyed some dark chocolates. That doesn't mean the milk chocolates are bad. I don't enjoy bitter, sour, or pungent tastes like coffee, lemons, or cilantro so my judgement is biased.

Snobbery is so unbecoming.
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9-12-2008 @3:43PM Astin said... This is news? Removing cocoa butter for vegetable oil is an old practice. Chances are none of the chocolate bars you've eaten in decades from major producers have been real chocolate. Easter candy, for instance, has been labeled as "chocolate flavoured candy" or some variation for years.

The cocoa butter is used in produced white chocolate, which even though it contains no chocolate outside the cocoa butter, is often seen as a "premium" option.

And how are Smarties fruity or tart? They're candy-coated milk chocolate, not that much different than M&M's. Thinking Skittles?
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9-12-2008 @5:14PM Allison said... In the US, Smarties refers to a powdery fruit-flavored candy :) Your Smarties are most like our M&Ms.
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9-12-2008 @10:24PM Sumara said... Big chocolate companies like Nestle are doing far worse things than using cheap substitue ingredients. LIke buying cheap cocoa from farms using child slave labour.

Get over the need for cheap treats and buy organic fair trade chocolate products - it's good quality and just plain Good.
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