Hershey’s faces scrutiny as Reese’s family slams ingredient changes; viral video shows chocolate bar ‘bending like rubber’

The Hershey Company is battling a wave of quality control allegations — with viral videos alleging changes in texture and ingredients. The allegations come weeks after the family behind Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accused the chocolate manufacturing giant of “quietly replacing” ingredients used in its flagship products. The company has also faced lawsuits over the past few years amid allegations that some of its products contained heavy metals including lead.

Clips posted online show consumers critiquing the “slimy” texture — describing it as unusually soft or ‘elastic’. Some echoed claims made by the Reese’s family to insist that Hershey’s chocolate had ‘changed’ recently. It is however pertinent to note that the allegations have not been confirmed officially. There has also been no drastic changes noted on the official ingredient lists posted by The Hershey Company.

“I don’t think chocolate is supposed to look like this. Why is it so elastic and bendy? It’s like slime! This is fake ‘real’ chocolate,” a woman can be heard saying in a widely shared clip.

The post has been shared widely across platforms — drawing mixed reactions from netizens. Some have insisted that influencers are using fake bars of chocolate to make the claims, while others narrated their own experiences.

Reese’s family levels ‘ingredient replacement’ charge

Brad Reese had made waves last month after criticising the company for “quietly replacing” its flagship chocolate and peanut butter ingredients. The grandson of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups inventor HB Reese (a shipping foreman for Milton Hershey) claimed the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut butter‑style crème across multiple Reese’s products. He alleged that the changes had eroded the Reese’s brand and jeopardized consumer trust. 

“Reese’s identity is being rewritten by formulation decisions that replace milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut‑butter‑style crèmes across multiple products….How does The Hershey Company continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” he wrote in an open letter to the company.

Hershey’s has denied the allegations but told CBS News in a statement last month that sometimes it makes “product recipe adjustments”. The company noted that the “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been”.

Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on a viral social media discussion and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The details mentioned are personal to the user and have not been independently verified. This story does not constitute financial advice or an endorsement of any kind.