Hershey Closing Peppermint Patties Plant in Pa. (moving to Mexico)

Business Week ^ | 2/20/09 | AP

[Dr. Scarpetta]

A flag is flying at half-staff outside The Hershey Co. plant in Reading where production of York Peppermint Patties is ending.

After 23 years in Reading, the chocolate maker is closing the plant Friday and moving production to a new factory it has built in Monterey, Mexico.

It will mean the loss of 300 jobs in the southeastern Pennsylvania city. The plant also makes 5th Avenue and Zagnut candy bars and Jolly Rancher hard candies.

[Toddsterpatriot]

There’s a difference between sucrose and glucose.

Yes there is.

[High Fructose] Corn syrup.

Contains approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

Hmmm maybe that’s why they keep saying corn syrup isn’t good for you!

Obviously table sugar (sucrose) which is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose (50-50), is much better for you than that yucky HFCS (55-45).

[Netizen]

Following the great melamine scandal of ‘07 a few other China-linked disasters have emerged into public view. In early May the New York Times ran a lengthy investigative report on tainted cough syrup in Panama killing people. The cause was toxic, cheap ethylene glycol from China sold as harmless but more expensive glycerine and used in the manufacturing. The ethylene glycol has been getting around, apparently, as it has also found its way into Chinese toothpaste (proxy link) exported to Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica (and, for good measure, smuggled into Nicaragua) and, it has been discovered, the United States.

Thanks. This is precisely why people are leery of products from Mexico. Other Central American countries have used it. I wonder what the USA source was, or was it merely distributed in the USA, thus found in the USA.

[mysterio]

Cutting taxes can stimulate growth, yes. But when your southern neighbor is a third world state where slave labor exists, removing tariffs is going to result in job loss. And if your economy is driven by consumer spending, it's a good idea to keep some jobs here for those consumers.

If not, all of the sudden the population can no longer pay its bills. And they stop buying stuff.

As for the sugar tariff, I see no need to keep it in place. I truly doubt, however, that removing it will overcome the hurdle of the slave labor and lax pollution controls available in Mexico. I also doubt that you think it will, either, since you refused to answer my question.

[1rudeboy]

I wonder what the USA source was, or was it merely distributed in the USA, thus found in the USA.

The source was those "dollar store"-type places that sold brand X generic toothpaste imported from the affected countries.

[not2worry]

Well, as gross as it sounds if you start to have stomach problems it may be parasites from these Countries.

They can invade your entire body and you won’t even know it!
Most medical doctors don’t even consider this possibility.

Most grocery stores don’t even say where the Country of orgin is on their fruits, vegtables and meats.

I found out first hand! Thought I was just getting older and my tummy was expanding. Turned out to be parasites.
UGH!

[1rudeboy]

I also doubt that you think it will, either, since you refused to answer my question.

I answered your question, you just didn't like the answer because you are a Keynesian and I am a supply-sider. And here's something else for all you protectionists out there: you paid to have those Hershey jobs move to Mexico when you bought all that sugar at the artificial price. Think of all the jobs you saved in the sugar industry. LOL

[Netizen]

I found a blog where someone checked t osee how much antifreeze it would take to hurt you, and they tasted it.

I also did something very stupid. I looked up how much Antifreeze I needed to ingest before it would be fatal. Satisfied with my research, I took a dab of Antifreeze and placed it on my finger and tasted it. It wasn't enough to cause a reaction. And indeed- it really does have a sweet taste. However, it also burnt my tongue after a while. My tongue burned for a few minutes. My husband thought that I had finally lost it. But I assured him that I knew what I was doing. We went to Nevada the next day. Well, I admit that I was troubled by a recurring stomach ache for er, ah most of our visit. All in the name of curiosity eh?!! ehhehehehehehahahahha

Does your table sugar burn your tongue?

[1rudeboy]

Most grocery stores don’t even say where the Country of orgin is on their fruits, vegtables and meats.

Then you are shopping at the wrong grocery stores. I can see that if you live in some rural location with few alternatives, but in NW suburban Chicago it is nearly impossible to find groceries that are unlabeled.

[McGavin999]

This is the result of protectionist policies choosing sugar beet growers over those who produce candy products.

It's only going to take the drug cartels taking over a few plants and beheading the execs and their families for them to figure out they didn't have it so bad in the USA.

[nufsed]

Drug cartel taking over a chocolate factory. Isn’t that redundant?

[1rudeboy]

Does your table sugar burn your tongue?

Melted, yes. Dude, give it a rest . . . I just responded to some guy who claims he had some unnamed candy from Mexico that tasted funny.

[Netizen]

The source was those "dollar store"-type places that sold brand X generic toothpaste imported from the affected countries.

Phew! Good thing we don't regulate what comes into this country! /sarcasm

[allmendream]

I was going to say the same thing...

“Thanks a lot Florida sugar producers! You successfully have driven out most US candy and cookie companies due to an artificially high price for sugar inside the USA. Good job, you have successfully reduced the market that you have near monopoly control over.”

[1rudeboy]

Whew. Good thing the government is there to protect us! /sarcasm

[Netizen]

Most grocery stores don’t even say where the Country of orgin is on their fruits, vegtables and meats.

One store I shopped at, had product of mexico on the tomatoes, so I stopped buying those.

I found out first hand! Thought I was just getting older and my tummy was expanding. Turned out to be parasites. UGH!

Isn't there something over the counter that you can take that will get rid of worms and parasites? Seems I read that some place.

[mysterio]

I won’t be paying for those jobs to stay there.

[Netizen]

Maybe they will start doing their jobs, and we’ll find out.

[1rudeboy]

No argument there.

[1rudeboy]

I won’t be paying for those jobs to stay there.

And that, in a nutshell, explains the back-assward protectionist way of looking at things. Help the jobs leave, bitch about it, and blame the company.

[org.whodat]

Hershey doesn’t hire illegals, all of its sub contractors do.