Hershey's Chocolate Is Going All-Natural And Mostly GMO-Free

Here's big news from Hershey: Hershey's chocolate kisses and chocolate bars will no longer be made with artificial ingredients. The premiere American chocolate company will instead strive toward "simplicity and transparency," meaning that Hershey is taking the junk out of their chocolate. The phrase "artificial flavor" on your package of Hershey's kisses will be replaced by the words "natural flavor," and, by the end of 2015, their chocolate bars and kisses will no longer contain GMO sugar or soy lecithin (an emulsifying agent that is usually made from genetically modified soy).

"We will strive for simplicity with all of our ingredients, but we may not achieve it with every product," said Jeff Beckman, a representative with Hershey.  "We are equally committed to sharing what we achieve and what we don't. For ingredients that are not as simple, we will explain what they are and why we need them to provide the great flavors, aromas, textures, and appearances that our consumers know and expect from our products. Our commitment to simple ingredients is a holistic approach across all of our ingredients and not a specific ingredient." 

 The new list of ingredients on a package of Hershey's chocolate ingredients will contain recognizable components like sugar, milk, chocolate, cocoa butter, and milk fat. Hershey will be taking out lactose (a natural sugar present in milk), PGR (Polyglycerol polyricinoleate, a chemical emulsifier), other emulsifiers, and vanillin (the primary component of the vanilla bean). As always, Hershey's chocolate will not contain high fructose corn syrup. For now, the switch to new natural ingredients only pertains to Hershey's signature chocolate bars and kisses, though Beckman said that the company is striving toward better ingredients for their other brands.

The news comes on the heels of Nestlé announcing plans to remove artificial ingredients from its products.