I took two bites and had to spit it out': candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolate

"I took two bites and I had to spit it out, Reese says. I've never had that happen to me, ever, in the 70 years of my life. There was no taste. It was inedible. Reese took a closer look at the packaging, specifically the ingredients. He noticed that instead of milk chocolate, the mini hearts were covered in a chocolate-flavored coating that was mostly sugar and vegetable oil; the list of ingredients contained a disclaimer that the candy contained less than 2% cocoa."

"He visited the candy aisle at a nearby supermarket to investigate further and found that several other Reese's and Hershey products, including Take 5, Mr Goodbar, and Heath bars, also lacked milk chocolate. Cocoa, obviously, is the central ingredient in chocolate. It's a complex food that, on its own, tastes almost bitter."

Brad Reese, a grandson of HB Reese who invented the peanut butter cup in 1928, discovered that new Reese's Unwrapped Peanut Butter Creme Mini Hearts contained a chocolate-flavored coating instead of milk chocolate. The coating consisted primarily of sugar and vegetable oil with less than 2% cocoa. Upon investigation, Reese found that multiple other Hershey and Reese's products, including Take 5, Mr Goodbar, and Heath bars, had similarly replaced milk chocolate with this substitute coating. Cocoa serves as the central ingredient in chocolate, naturally bitter in taste, traditionally combined with sugar, milk, and oil to enhance palatability. Reese expressed disappointment with the product quality and ingredient changes.

Read at www.theguardian.com