Remember when Cadbury had to recall a large number of candy bars in the UK earlier due to the discovery of traces of salmonella in their factory? It looks like Hershey's is now having a similar problem. The company voluntarily recalled several brands of chocolate chips, chocolate bars and candies, including Oh Henry!, Reese Peanut Butter Cups and Glosettes, that were manufactured its Smiths Falls, Ontario, factory. All totaled, there are 25 items included in the recall and they can be easily identified "by checking the back of the package for date codes, starting with four digits ranging from 6417 to 6455." The recall did not include any Halloween or Christmas candy, and company spokespeople said that most of the potentially contaminated products were still in warehouses and had not been distributed. The factory was closed last week after "after a routine quality control check detected an 'externally sourced ingredient' which could potentially cause salmonella" and will not reopen until the company can guarantee the safety of its products to consumers.

Baker's Chocolate is one of the most famous chocolate brands in the country, though it is not the kind of chocolate bar that you pick up for a snack. Just like its name implies, almost all of Baker's Chocolate is used for baking. This means that it is a product that is often tossed into a shopping basket without a thought, when it turns out that it is one of the most interesting things on the shelf.

The business began in 1765, when Dr. James Baker went into the chocolate making business with a young man named John Hannon. They formed the Baker's Chocolate Company in 1780 and the company has been doing business ever since, making it America's oldest chocolate company. Their chocolate was also one of the country's first packaged and branded products that were nationally available, as many other goods did not travel or store well.

Originally, their product was primarily used for making sweetened chocolate drinks, grating the solid chocolate into hot water. In 1870, the company came out with their first baking booklet, which was 12 pages long and given away with many products. From that book sprang numerous other recipes and baking books and culminated in a collection of one-bowl recipes that made the chocolate well-known to time-pressed home chefs in the 1990s, over 200 years after the company began production.

The executives at Dunkin' Donuts are considering dropping the word "Donuts" from their sign, rechristening the popular chain "Dunkin'" to reflect their expanded offerings. They seem to feel that potential customers might be confused by the name, thinking that the shop offers only donuts.

Personally, I think that this would be a huge mistake on the part of the company. Over the years, they have built a successful brand that has a tremendous amount of name recognition. Not only does such a move reflect poorly on the perception of the intelligence of the customers, but it is just plain silly. Burger King has not dropped the "burger" from its name, despite the fact that it offers sandwiches and salads. And why not? Because they are most famous for their burgers, just like Dunkin' Donuts is most famous for their donuts.

Their new "America runs on Dunkin'" ad campaign might be a first attempt to see how people will respond to a shortened name.