Hershey's, how could you do this to us? You fill my often dark world with gleeful chocolate goodness, an apparently orgasmic thing. You've been doing it right for more than a century, why change?

Apparently, because of the economy.

MSNBC reports that a number of chocolate lovers are upset because Hershey is changing the formula for their chocolate in certain select candies. They are switching out cocoa butter, a luxurious and thick ingredient that helps make chocolate melt-in-your-mouth good, for vegetable oil in some of their less popular candies such as Krackle and Mr. Goodbar (my personal favorite). Vegetable oil is a much cheaper commodity, and Hershey's thought no one would notice:

Experts say that while many manufacturers cope with higher costs by increasing their prices or reducing their product sizes, Hershey’s change was meant to be less noticeable to customers.

Apparently, the company now has to change the labeling to meet FDA regulations:

The removal of cocoa butter violates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s definition of milk chocolate, so subtle changes have appeared on the labels of the Hershey’s products with altered recipes. Products once labeled “milk chocolate” now say “chocolate candy,” “made with chocolate” or “chocolatey.”

 

Well that just makes me feel great. Nothing makes me want to eat something more than it being labeled "chocolatey" with a "y". Some consumers feel cheated, with a few candy enthusiasts calling the new concoction "Mockalate". While nutritionists say that the switch doesn't make a significant difference, they did point out that cocoa butter actually has some health benefits that vegetable oil certainly lacks. 

Apparently, in the unstable world we live in, you can't even count on chocolate being chocolate anymore. What's next? Pizza being made from Tofu? 

Fortunately, products such as Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars, and Hershey's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups will have the same recipe. And thank God, because having to switch to a "Hershey's Chocolatey Bar" would probably make me cry.