HERSHEY’S SYRUP — FAR FROM HOMEMADE™

Information updated April 2024

Homemade Chocolate Syrup or Sauce contains only a few possible ingredients:

As a way to increase the appeal of milk among children, Hershey’s Syrup was initially linked to children’s health:

For those of you old enough to remember . . . omigosh, remember it used to come in a can?

Today — lower right — Hershey’s Syrup has only 4 out of 12 ingredients we would use at home to make homemade Chocolate Syrup. The remainder of the ingredients in Hershey’s Syrup are Not In Kitchen.

Today, Hershey’s Syrup contains three ingredients banned at Whole Foods >> ingredients which Whole Foods cites as “Unacceptable in food.” (Source for Hershey’s Syrup ingredients: Hershey’s Hersheyland Web site 4/24; Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 4/24)

The #1 ingredient in Hershey’s Syrup is High Fructose Corn Syrup which is a Not In Kitchen ingredient >> we never have High Fructose Corn Syrup in our home kitchens >> it is a commercial-grade sweetener which is less expensive than sugar. HFCS is banned at Whole Foods along with Potassium Sorbate which is a Chemical Preservative recognized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (Source: U.S. FDA 2024).

Hershey’s Syrup also contains Vanillin with an ‘in’ which is an Artificial Flavor plus Monoglycerides, Diglycerides, Xanthan Gum and Polysorbate 60.

FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, THERE ARE MULTIPLE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WTIH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Consider watching the Ingredient Inspector video on High Fructose Corn Syrup to understand more about concerns surrounding its propagation and consumption:

Let’s see what’s in some other Chocolate Syrups and Sauces . . .

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SYRUP AND SAUCES: These products below have no Corn Syrups, no Added Flavors, Colors or Gums, and no Chemical Preservatives. Sunday Night Premium Dessert Sauces made with Cream + Butter — also available in Dark Chocolate Sea Salt; Joe’s Syrup Organic Dark Chocolate Sauce; Fran’s Organic Dark Chocolate Sauce which is Certified Fairtrade with Organic Cream, Organic Fair Trade Dutch Cocoa and Organic Fair Trade Cane Sugar, and Wildly Organic Chocolate Syrup which is Certified Fair Trade and Non-GMO Project Verified >> it contains only two ingredients: Organic Fair Trade Raw Cacao + Organic Fair Trade Agave Nectar. (Sources: Brand Web sites 4/24)

Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list

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