Chocolate giant Hershey Company wants to modify the ingredients list in its two famous products by removing artificial flavorings from the production.
The chocolate manufacturer is planning to remove certain artificial ingredients and flavors from its two most popular products, bite-sized Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's milk chocolate bars. The ingredients list on the official Hershey's site has already replaced vanillin for real vanilla. The company added that it has also reformulated its chocolates which will likely be released in the market soon.
"There is a growing expectation for companies to provide more transparency about all that goes into their products and we're at the forefront," said Mary-Ann Somers, Hershey Company vice president, in a press release.
Aside from replacing vanillin with real vanilla, the company will also remove milk sugar lactose and its Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) ingredient from its chocolate bars, which used to be added to make the chocolate flow better during production, and plans to use cocoa butter instead to achieve the perfect texture.
Big changes abound in the chocolate making factory. Aside from using more natural ingredients in its chocolates, Hershey is the first sweets company to use the SmartLabel QR code in its products. The labels give consumers much needed information on product ingredients, nutrition and allergen information by scanning the bar code with the appropriate scanner that usually comes with today's smartphones.
In time, Hershey also hopes to be able to apply the same transition to simpler ingredients in its other chocolate lines.
"We started making our great-tasting chocolate in 1894 with ingredients you might find in your pantry, like cocoa, milk, sugar and vanilla, and we're continuing that tradition today," Somers said.
The transition to simpler ingredients is not a new move made by the company. Last February, Hershey already announced that it's already making efforts to include more natural, easier to understand ingredients in its product manufacturing process. The company believes that this move builds on and expands the company's dedication to include only the best ingredients for its products.
"As consumers, our relationship with food is changing. We spend more time talking and sharing with others about what we eat and why we like certain foods, than we spend actually eating," commented John Bilbrey, CEO-President of the company, in the related press release.
