Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced Tuesday that his office, along with the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office, reached a nearly $184,000 settlement in a consumer protection case against The Hershey Company for alleged product packaging violations in the sale of food products.
Filed on April 9, the case focused on packages that were misleading, in that they appeared to hold more product than actually was present. No public health implications were alleged, and Hershey has agreed to take steps to assure the future packaging of its products are in compliance with federal, state and local law.
Without admitting wrongdoing, Hershey agreed as part of the settlement to a pay a total of $183,673.60 in civil penalties and investigative costs. In addition, the company will make donations valued at $75,000 to food banks in Sacramento and Yolo counties.
“We take packaging violations seriously,” Reisig said. “Consumers have the right to expect full value in their purchases and compliance with packaging requirements is an integral part of the process.”