Hershey is not a company that clearly lists gluten-containing ingredients despite what you may have read online. Generally reputable sources like the Delphi Forums Celiac Site and the National Foundation for Celiac Disease are notorious for providing erroneous information regarding Hershey's gluten-free labeling policy. The former states that Hershey is a company with good labeling practices and the latter includes many Hershey products on their 2007 Gluten-Free Candy Listing.
It's time to clear up the misinformation on the internet and attempt to get Hershey to adopt good labeling practices or at the very least get a clear and concise response when calling to find out about the gluten-free status of one of their products.
Speaking to a Hershey customer service representative is an exercise in frustration and one almost needs a PhD in interrogation to get a straight forward answer regarding their gluten-free products. I've called Hershey many times in hopes that they have added items to their gluten-free list and generally the phone interactions go the same way.
Note that I'm paraphrasing the Hershey response to my questions in the example listed below:
Me: Hello, I'm calling to find out if Cadbury Mini Eggs are gluten free.
Hershey Representative (HR): Hershey has good labeling practices and the top 8 allergens are clearly listed on the label.
Me: Gluten found in rye, barley and oats is not included in the top 8 allergens. Are gluten containing ingredients clearly listed in the ingredients on the label?
HR: No, the FDA doesn't require us to list gluten containing ingredients.
Me: How can I find out if Cadbury Mini Eggs are gluten free.
HR: Natural flavoring is proprietary information and the flavoring house won't reveal whether or not it's gluten free. At this time the only guaranteed gluten-free Hershey products are:
- Kisses - Milk Chocolate
- Hershey Milk Bar
- Hershey Milk Bar with Almonds
- York Peppermint Patties
- Jolly Ranchers
- Hershey Syrup - Milk Chocolate
- Baking Cocoa, Semi-Sweet Chips
- Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate.
HR: Not at this time, but Hershey is always adding to their list of gluten-free products. *
Me: I'm disappointed that Hershey doesn't list gluten containing ingredients on their label. Both of your competitors, Mars and Nestle, are Celiac-friendly companies and their labels clearly reflect the ingredients used.
HR: I'll forward your comments to Marketing and Research Department.
Me: You do that.
*Nothing has been added to the list of gluten-free products in at least 2 years.
Having my comments as well as the other Celiac callers comments forwarded to the Marketing and Research Department has not impacted the Hershey policy in two years. So, I decided to call the COO of Hershey David J. West.
My call to David J. West landed me with an operator who took a message and had David J. West's assistant call me back. I told his assistant that my favorite candies are Hershey products but due to Celiac Disease I can not eat them because the company will not disclose whether or not they are gluten free. I rattled off a few statistics regarding Celiac Disease. I also mentioned the Mars and Nestle policy and I that I couldn't understand why Hershey doesn't adopt the same. She took the information and said that she would forward it to the Marketing and Research Department. I of course responded that I want the information to go the David J. West and she said that he gets reports from Marketing and Research.
We've all heard that the over used cliche the squeaky wheel gets greased. In my experience it's true so I'm asking you to consider two things:
1. Make a phone call to COO of Hershey, David J. West and ask that Hershey join the ranks of it's competitors and adopt good labeling policies that will clearly list any gluten containing ingredients.
David J. West
COO of Hershey Incorporated
100 Crystal A Drive
Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
Phone: 717-534-4200
Fax: 717-534-6550
2. Boycott Hershey until at the very least the information their customer service representatives offer clear and concise information regarding their gluten-free products. You can find a listing of Hershey products to boycott here.
3. Don't depend on information you've found online to determine if a product is gluten free it may be incorrect.
Until Hershey's updates it's antiquated policies I'll happily eat M&M's. I hope you will too!
