Dr. Marion Nestle, longtime NYU professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health, with additional faculty roles at UC San Francisco and Cornell, is best known for analyzing the intersections of food, politics, and health, often exposing how government policy, corporate lobbying, and food industry marketing shape what we eat.
This story starts here with this post.
Really? When I go to the Hershey’s site, I get this:
Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin, PGPR); Peanuts; Sugar; Dextrose; Salt; TBHQ & Citric Acid (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS)
Four kinds of sugar and ultra-processed; it’s hard to believe it could get worse.
Even so, the Reese family doesn’t like what is happening to its iconic brand.
Hershey blasted by Reese’s family over core ingredient changes: Reese family sends open letter to Hershey, challenging whether the confectionery giant is protecting the Reese’s legacy… Read more
Hershey facing criticism from Reese family
- Reese family member accuses Hershey of lowering core product quality
- Brad Reese claims formulations replaced milk chocolate and real peanut butter
- Open letter argues changes threaten brand heritage and consumer trust foundations
- Criticism pressures Hershey to address transparency concerns amid evolving brand strategy
- Debate highlights tension between cost efficiencies and protecting long-held product identity
Comment
As described in yesterday’s post, the chocolate industry is in trouble because of diminishing supplies, increased costs, and climate change. Hershey’s must think its customers can’t tell the difference between simple real food ingredients and ultra-processed concoctions.
Real foods cost more. That’s a problem for food companies.
The post Sweet thought for the weekend: Reese’s v. Hershey’s appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle.
Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, which she chaired from 1988-2003 and from which she officially retired in September 2017. She is also Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been awarded honorary degrees from Transylvania University in Kentucky (2012) and from the City University of New York’s Macaulay Honors College (2016). In 2023, she was awarded The Edinburgh Medal (for science and society).
