GV man says decision by Hershey not enough

The Hershey Co. is halting production of Ice Breakers Pacs in response to criticism that the mints look too much like illegal street drugs, the company’s president and chief executive officer said Thursday.

Meanwhile, a Green Valley man who had criticized the product said the company’s decision does not go far enough.

Hershey CEO David J. West disclosed the decision during a conference call about the company’s newly released fourth-quarter earnings report.

Ice Breakers Pacs, which first hit store shelves late last year, are nickel-sized dissolvable pouches with a powdered sweetener inside. The pouches come in blue or orange and bear the Ice Breakers logo.

Members of Philadelphia’s police narcotics squad said the mints closely resembled tiny heat-sealed bags used to sell powered street drugs. They charged that the consequences could be serious if, for example, a child familiar with the mints found a package of cocaine.

“Some community and law-enforcement leaders have expressed concern” about the shape of pouch and the Xylitol sweetener inside, and about the possibility of the mints being mistaken for illegal substances, West said.

“We are sensitive to these viewpoints and thus have made the decision that we will no longer manufacture Icebreakers Pacs,” he said.

Ice Breakers Pacs currently on store shelves are expected to be sold out early this year and no more are being made, West said. Kirk Saville, a company spokesman, said they had been distributed nationally on a limited basis.

Hershey has said the mints were not intended to resemble anything.

Green Valley’s Bill Katzel said the decision “was a major victory for consumers and children’s health, but there are still some unanswered questions.”

Katzel, who had pleaded the case against Hershey before the Tucson City Council and Pima County Board of Supervisors, noted that the candy company’s decision was to no longer manufacture the candy.

“What’s going to happen to that that’s already manufactured, is Hershey going to continue to distribute it?”

He also said he hasn’t seen a recall notice by the candy manufacturer. Katzel also asked “Is Hershey going to distribute the candy in Third World nations?”