Hershey's

[isto]

Thanks, Al! Chocolate lovers will be happy!

[BrendaLee]

Hi all--Merry Christmas! I'm pretty new to this site....been lurking for a while, but this is my first post! LOL!

I was diagnosed as having celiac disease in July. I've been doing ok--been trying SO hard to not eat any glutens!

Anyway...one of the first manufacturers I contacted (back in July) after my dx was Hershey Foods---big Hershey chocoholic!!!

I emailed them, explaining my disease, and asked if they could tell me if any of their products contained glutens. They emailed back, saying they needed more specific info, and gave me a number to call.

When I called, the lady I spoke with told me she didn't have a list of gluten-free products, but if I told her a specific product she could look it up. I inquired about the milk chocolate (my fav). She told me it was GF, but to make sure it was the plain milk chocolate.

So, for the past 5 months, I've been eating Hershey's plain milk chocolate, and now after reading this, I feel like I've been lied to! I'm so discouraged/angry! How can we trust manufacturers if they can't give us straight answers?? Sorry so long...had to vent! LOL!!

[glorya]

Hello just got off the phone with Hershey's, they said all kisses and the ones with peanut butter were GF. Also Peppermint padies were good.
and the Hershey's milk bars and with almonds and Jolly Ranchers were good. So they are trying to change!! Lets work with them!
_________________
I am a celiac, and am glutenfree, and I enjoy the forum, I love reading new sites, all the time. I would love have comments also.Forgive
me for asking alot of questions? You are all very helpful. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

[aklap]

Thanks for the update G!!
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[The Edifying Conscience]

[nancw]

M&Ms are my inexpensive chocolate of choice. Good for all you OCD/GF types too (I went back and read a thread where you all talked about your obsessive behavior with M&Ms) LOL!
However, there are only two steps in eating M&Ms: 1. open bag 2. eat.

I won't touch Hershey's anthing since TEC spanked me in December when I admitted I'd gotten burned by Hershey's minis. I got my Nestles and Hershey's mixed up - I swear!

[The Edifying Conscience]

[Fidissimus]

[The Edifying Conscience]

So we should continue to stay away from Hershey's. Wonder what the website now states?

So, which Hershey's product was used in the baked good? Is there any chance it could have been something else that caused the episode?

Hope you're feeling better very soon!

[nancw]

I gave up on Hershey's completely, including Chocolate Syrup, and then realized that Hershey's produces Cadbury Eggs, which have been deemed GF. It sucks that they are so flaky!
Arg...I eat too much chocolate anyway. I have my assistant buy Hershey's chocolate for the office so I won't be tempted to eat any!
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Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

[ostrich]

Yup, here's their allergy page. Even more info from their ingredients page:

[The Edifying Conscience]

I just had an interesting conversation with a Hershey rep and ultimately with her manager, David. I first asked for a list of all Hershey owned companies.

Hershey Owned Companies

Cadbury
Maunaloa
Jolly Rancher
Dagoba
Grupo Lorena - candy
Joseph Schmidt
Leaf
Lowney
Sharffenburger
York
Y & S

Then I asked how I as a celiac would know if a particular product contained gluten. The rep told me "the product label includes an accurate listing of ingredients." I asked how would I know if the natural flavoring contained a gluten ingredient. She said that I would have to call the company. I got a little TEC-like as Al would say at the craziness of the statement and asked to speak to her manager.

After I calmed, could listen and hear, David and I had what I would consider a good conversation. It's absolutely true that "the product label includes and accurate listing of ingredients." The problem is with how I/we interpret this statement due to my/our communications with celiac/GF friendly companies like Kraft. When I heard this statement I 'heard' something totally different than what they were saying. I gave the above statement a different meaning than the words intended.

I shared with David the fact that the statement is confusing to those of us who frequently contact companies and are familiar with other celiac-friendly labeling practices. I then asked him to ask the powers that be to change their response to the gluten free question. I said there is probably someone else who interpreted their GF line as I did and it would probably be safer to just say "Hershey does not list any gluten-containing ingredients on the label. In order to get the gluten-free status of a Hershey product you will need to ask a representative." He did concur in that there was confusion and they needed a more clear way to share gluten-free information with the public. He said he would forward the call transcript to the nutrition department.


Hershey Products that are Gluten-Free and Were Tested*
Kisses - Milk chocolate
Hershey Bar and Hershey Almond Bar
Jolly Rancher hard candy and lolly pops
Hershey's Cocoa - plain unsweetened
Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Bar and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar
Hershey Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Hershey Chocolate Syrup

*I asked David which tests were used to determine whether or not the products are gluten free and he didn't have an answer to this question.

[GFPolarBear]

GARRRGH and here I love Dagoba, which *is* labeled gluten-free, and Schaffenbarger...

Time to go refresh my memory on Ghirardelli's site on what of theirs we can have and what we can't...

Oh, and thanks for the info on Nestle, Al! <3 for Nestle right now!

Quick follow-up - it looks like Dagoba may have its head on straight even if its corporate parent doesn't...

[NorthernElf]

I dunno....I am 99.9% sure I get a reaction to Hershey's kisses.

We had a kid party a little while ago and that was the only thing I ate, and drank water, and didn't touch anything wheat like.

For me it's M&Ms only...and Purdy's chocolate if I can get it.

[Fidissimus]

TEC I really appreciate you calling Hersheys and nailing them down on the accuracies of defining what is and isn't GF. ((hugs)) Hopefully the ultimate outcome will be better understanding for them of the Celiac condition and consumer care. Did they say if they'd get back to you on what tests they might have used to make a definitive statement about those products you listed as GF? To what ppm did they test that they're saying they're GF? (Big diff between 10ppm and 200ppm...)

In regards to my own reaction, according to my branch manager (I'll call her Helen), "the only Hershey's product I used was natural cocoa, so that shouldn't be a problem I wouldn't think." And according to TEC then it really shouldn't be a problem. The other ingredients she listed were, "I used Authentic Flours, jello brand, Polanor Jam (which is marked gf), Tillamook butter, Hershey's products..." Everything else she lists is GF. She's also got a 100% GF household so CC wouldn't be an issue.

So I don't know then. I really despise the term "Phantom Gluten" - it had to come from somewhere and I think I'd be better off to figure out from where so I could avoid it in the future instead of shrugging my shoulders and repeatedly making myself sick. I didn't eat before I left. I had a cup of coffee (of course!) on my way there and was fine during the whole two hour meeting (98% of the time I react in 20 minutes). I strongly feel it was not the coffee - which I've also had a least 500 times before from the local coffee shop. After the meeting ended there were two sets of treats laid out on the back table. Angel Food cake and Helen's Raspberry Layered Chocolate Cake. I had a slice of Noreen's Angel food cake. It was amazing - so light and delicate with a hint of lemon... really a beautiful dessert. Then I started eating a small slice of the chocolate cake and a little red flag went off somewhere in the back of my head - "no, no, no - don't eat any more of this" so when poor Helen wasn't looking I pitched it in the bin! (and then ate another piece of the angel food cake ) It wasn't that the chocolate cake didn't taste good, but my body knew before my brain did and was trying to get the message out... Anyway maybe I won't ever know for sure and even though Helen listed all her ingredients which now seem to me to be GF - I can't pin point it. It's just frustrating for me. I have it in my head that I've been GF long enough and know enough about the diet that I shouldn't ever have to be sick again.

Anyway - thanks all for letting me vent. It was a rough weekend and a longer than usual recovery time...

As as side note I've never had a single problem with Dagoba... actually it's what I usually get when I need my chocolate fix because they've been so reliably GF for me. I think I'll stick to them and hope corporate Hershey doesn't muck about in their business.
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/