Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Snack Size, 13.75 oz (25 pieces) — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Snack Size, 13.75 oz (25 pieces) by Reese's DUMP — score 20/90.

America's favorite candy is peanuts and sugar held together with cost-cutting chemistry. PGPR thins the chocolate so Hershey can use less cocoa butter, and TBHQ — a petroleum-derived preservative — keeps it 'fresh'. Tastes great; reads like a shelf-life experiment.

Why this verdict

• TBHQ is a synthetic, petroleum-derived preservative — an avoid-tier additive in what could be a five-ingredient candy
• PGPR in the 'real milk chocolate' replaces cocoa butter to cut cost — an emulsifier doing a fat's job
• Sugar and dextrose double up as refined sweeteners around the peanuts
• The 'peanut butter' center is peanuts, sugar, dextrose and salt — sweetened peanut paste, not peanut butter
• Multiple concerning additives together rule out TREAT — this is engineered shelf-stable candy, so DUMP

Ingredients (9)

• Sugar (moderate) — Commonly used sweetener but contributes empty calories.
• Peanuts (safe) — Whole-food base: protein, fiber, and mostly mono/polyunsaturated fat.
• TBHQ (avoid) — Synthetic preservative; a marker of long-shelf-life industrial food, capped by regulators for a reason.
• PGPR (caution) — Polyglycerol polyricinoleate — an emulsifier that lets manufacturers swap out expensive cocoa butter.
• Dextrose (caution) — Sweetener #2 — pure fast-absorbing glucose.
• Soy Lecithin (moderate) — An emulsifier derived from soybeans, generally considered safe but indicative of processing.
• Skim milk / lactose / milk fat (safe) — The dairy trio that makes it milk chocolate.
• Salt (moderate) — ~260mg sodium per packet — sweet AND salty is the palatability play.
• citric acid (safe) — Benign acidity regulator paired with the TBHQ.