America’s Worst Chocolate Brand is Sold in Massachusetts

Who doesn't love chocolate? Throughout Massachusetts, you can find varieties of chocolate from mass-produced commercial products to independent shops that sell products that will keep your mouth watering for days. Halloween here we come.

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While taste and texture are something that most of us use as a judging tool for selecting our chocolate of choice there are many chocolate brands that you'll want to avoid for various reasons and they aren't necessarily related to taste.

Which Chocolate Brands Should Massachusetts Shoppers Avoid? 

24/7 Wall St. released a list of the eight chocolate brands to avoid. Today we take a look at the the top three brands on the list. These three brands are sold in Massachusetts. Whether you live in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, etc. these brands are available to purchase in Massachusetts. However, you may want to think twice before tossing any of these brands into your grocery basket.

Taking the #3 spot of worst chocolate brands to avoid according to 24/7 Wall St. is Hershey's. Hershey's lands on the list because Hershey uses a secret process to make their chocolate, but part of it includes lipolysis, which produces butyric acid in the chocolate, making it tangy and overpowers the flavor of the cocoa. In addition, Hershey was listed in a lawsuit in 2022 that alleged that Hershey knew about high levels of lead and cadmium in their chocolate but refused to warn their customers. These are just a couple of reasons why Hershey's is one of the top chocolate brands to avoid.

Nestle takes the #2 spot of chocolate brands to avoid according to 24/7 Wall St. The reason for Nestle being included on this list is because the company has faced lawsuits and widespread criticism for its use of slavery, child labor, and child trafficking in its chocolate production. It has consistently misled the public by promising to phase out child labor from its process but does not according to the website.

Mars is the #1 worst chocolate brand to avoid according to 24/7 Wall St. The site notes that Mars has faced criticism for decades about buying cocoa beans from farms in West Africa that use unpaid and underpaid child laborers. The site also notes that in 2023, Mars was listed with one other food company, PepsiCo, as an international sponsor of the war in Ukraine by continuing to do business and pay taxes in Russia. You can check out all eight chocolate brands that made the list by going here.