Talk:The Hershey Company

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[edit] Recent News?

Shouldn't you at least include the recent news about the company's being for sale and probably going to close down its plant here? You can get the details by searching on "Hershey" and/or "Hershey's" on the Channel 6 webpage at http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/ . -- isis 15 Sep 2002

[edit] Three Mile Island

The comment about TMI and radioactive salts in the milk is contentious. It should be removed as it represents a nonscientific point of view (urban legend).

  • I got the story from a Helen Caldicott lecture, I guess people shouldn't take her seriously. I'm making an urban legend subject line and re-inserting the info. Caldicott is important enough a source to at least evaluate the accusation's merit. ShadowyCabal
The comment doesn't belong in the article at all (even in the context of what somebody claims) unless some valid, preferably peer-reviewed source can be provided. A Google search for 'hershey strontium' turns up very little other than this and other wiki mirrors and a "natural therapies" website which I am skeptical of. -TexasDex 05:22, August 30, 2005 (UTC)

I've deleted this section entirely -- neither the unsourced rumor nor the ranting POV "debunking" that replaced it belong here. --Calton | Talk 04:17, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] smell of chocolate

I've been to Hershey many times, and the town has never seemed "permeated by the smell of chocolate" to me. Can anyone who actually lives in Hershey either confirm or deny this claim? Maybe the chocolate smell is only noticeable on particular days.

- It does, in fact, smell like chocolate on some days, depending on which way the wind is blowing, production levels, and other environmental factors.

[edit] Candy

Like many other words, "Candy" has a different meaning in the USA from other parts of the world. In the UK and other parts of Europe, "Candy" means boiled sweets, such as a murray mints or pear drops. Is there another word which is not U.S.A.-specific that could be used instead?

What about "confectionary"? --Zilog Jones 22:14, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Biased

Are the comments about the texture and chocolate content really necessary? There is an obvious editorial slant on this. One person's "waxy" is another person's "smooth". The comment about the chocolate content is fully justified, but their effect on the taste is not.

- "Texture" is a very real description of chocolate. The author is speaking about the commonly held views in Europe regarding Hershey chocolate (which Americans, in turn, regard European chocolate as being waxy). Subjective, yes, but I think it deserves a mention in the article.

I agree. Though even most American people I have discussed with on chocolate prefer European chocolate to Hershey's - including Cadbury's which is also more vegetable-oil based. --Zilog Jones 22:17, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I think that the vegetable-oil reference should be removed from the article - a standard Heshey's chocolate bar does not have any oil other than cocoa butter, according to the ingredients. No reverence was provided in the article about the use of vegetable oil. Also, although this was a while ago, some of the worst chocolate I ever had was in Europe, although this was in 1985 - Sweden and Spain seemed to be making chocolate back then with little or no cocoa butter. If this article is refering to chocolate candies, that have a chocolate(ish) shell, then this criticism could be applied to almost all candy manufacturers. drtrivia

[edit] Availability

In the Netherlands Hershey Bars aren't available. BramvR 11:34, 29 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Poorly Written

The beginning of the History of Hershey's section strikes me as being poorly written enough to warrant a re-write. Am I alone on this? --RioBranden

I agree, it should definitely be rewritten.

[edit] Is Hershey's chocolate considered vegelate?

(moved from SCEhardt's talk page)

You restored the 'vegelate' reference in Hershey's - if you follow the vegelate link, you'll see that it refers to British chocolate, and apparently the use of vegelate is illegal in the US for chocolate. Do you have any evidence that Hershey bars have any vegetable oil other than cocoa butter? I didn't remove the rest of the reference, styles of chocolate differ by country, and people are very picky about their comfort foods. Drtrivia

I think we may be reading the vegelate article differently. It says, "In some nations, including ... the United States, some popular chocolate products contain a proportion of vegetable fat" The article also states, "The term vegelate is sometimes used pejoratively to describe chocolate that contains fats other than those derived from the cocoa bean ("cocoa butter")." I understand the article to mean that the US does in fact allow the sale of 'vegelate,' which is simply chocolate candy with some vegetable oil content. --- As for whether Hershey's products contain vegetable oil, I'm not sure. I'll buy some today and maybe the ingredients list will clear things up. -SCEhardt 14:47, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

I did buy a Hershey's chocolate and confirmed the ingredients before deleting the vegelate reference. Interestingly the newer EU rules apparently allow 5% vegetable oil products to be referred to as 'chocolate'. Drtrivia

The ingredients of Hershey's Milk Chocolate are as follows: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Milk, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Soy Lecithin, And Vanillin, Artificial Flavor) Also, the ingredients of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate are as follows: Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Milk Fat, Lactose (Milk), Soy Lecithin, PGPR (Emulsifier), Vanillin, Artificial Flavor, and Milk.
I don't understand how an ingredient of chocolate is 'chocolate,' but it does not appear from this information that the chocolate bars contain any vegetable oil. Does anyone know what 'chocolate' is defined as when it is listed as an ingredient? -SCEhardt 19:00, 7 August 2005 (UTC)

I omitted the references to vegetable fats and chemicals. It simply wasn't true! U.S. food laws prohibit vegetable fats in chocolate. If the product has vegetable fats it cannot be labeled as chocolate, it must be labeled chocolate flavored candy instead.

As far as the chemicals, I don't know where that came from. Hershey's, like many European chocolates, contains artificial vanilla and emulsifiers. It is no different than some of the highest priced chocolate in Europe in that respect.


[edit] Hershey's company and radioactive contamination urban legend

Regarding the recent reversion of an edit I made to the article adding information on WHY the urban ledgend started by Caldicot is false. I did not add this section to the article. It was there previously. There was call to remove the section entirely by someone on this page and then another message saying it should be kept with a refutation of the claims made by Caldicot and then another message after that wanting to remove it.(this is all at the top of the page here) I just provided the debunking of this myth. It may need some NPOVing but I think because it has obviously become an urban legend enough for someone [1] to post it here it's ok to keep and to explain why it is not a rational concern. I think it is the job of Wikipedia to inform and IMHO this section can be informative in that it provides a rational explanation of why a particularly outrageous claim about the company is false. --Deglr6328 04:31, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

That someone posted what they call a rumor here says nothing -- zip zero nada nil -- about whether a rumor even EXISTS. Justifying the inclusion of something merely because somebody included it is a good example of "Begging the question". Strike one.
That there is no actual verifiable source or citation for the rumor means that rumor shouldn't even be mentioned. Strike two.
Wikipedia has an NPOV policy, meaning that it is neither its job to nor appropriate for it to engage in "debunking" anything. Wikipedia is supposed to lay out the facts and significant opinions. And since the rumor doesn't even appear to be significant, there isn't even anything to debunk. Strike three.
And, of course, the irony of of your fierce debunking is that all you've done is given wider exposure to nonsense. --Calton | Talk 07:32, September 7, 2005 (UTC)


I think you may need to look at begging the question again, as this subject has nothing to do with that logical fallacy. I provided THREE sources ([2] [3] [4]) which state clearly Caldicot's comments, there are others. If you listen to the radio show she appears on in the last link you can hear her say it herself. I don't know what more proof is needed. I do not see how the NPOV policy in any way prevents the thorough scientific explanation and debunking of a nutty urban legend.... Furthermore, I really cannot see how my explanation of why the claim is nonsense "gives it wider exposure", the nonsense claim was already here before without any counterargument! Also, as to the idea that wikipedia should not provide any kind of debunking and skeptical viewpoint to counter claims and urban legends which are obvious nonsense I think is quite false. For example there is a whole PAGE of debunked McDonalds myths which is done quite well. This myth also appears in Helen Caldicott. It is ShadowyCabal who wants to keep the mention here, I am merely suggesting that if it be kept it should be accompanied with a skepical analysis. --Deglr6328 14:04, 7 September 2005 (UTC)
Hello...??--Deglr6328 04:01, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Difference of Opinion

This is not a valid source:

http://www.cybercandy.co.uk/aaasmt/index.php/url_indprod?xlc=77&ltrev=102

So I removed the whole section. Theconroy 17:48, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Good article nomination

This article is currently on hold. There are two minor changes before I make it a good article:

  1. If it is the case, state that the main source of corporate revenue is the manufacturing (and distribution?) of confectionary. A sentence or two on distribution would also be helpful.
  2. Please verify that the Smith Falls, Oakdale and Hershey manufacturing plants are the only major plants of the company. If not state that there are others, if there are no others state this.

Cedars 02:06, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

I've expanded these areas. Iolakana|T 21:59, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
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