To listen to The Hershey's Company tell it, no one in their organization had any idea that the packaging of their new candy had an eerily similar appearance to a heat-sealed bags of cocaine, crack, heroin and other assorted powdered drugs.

Right. And M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hands.

Never mind that when a Philadelphia police officer bought a pack in a Target Store he was so convinced that the candy was an illegal drug that he sent it to a lab for testing,The Hershey's company is sticking by its story. As their spokesperson told ABC News,

"...each pouch made by two dissolvable mint strips bears the Ice Breakers logo. "It is not intended to simulate anything," said spokesman Kirk Saville."

When the story first broke last week, blogger B.L. Ochman criticized Hershey's packaging. She has recently had a change of heart. Today's post is headlined: I Was Wrong: Hershey's Ice Breakers Are Brilliant.

Hershey's is not cracked. Their strategy is, in fact, crystal clear.[]One of my favorite childhood pranks was one my brother played on our parents. He put a "joint" made with pencil shavings, in his desk drawer in his room. Our parents found it and did the obligatory flipout. This stunt proved we knew they spied on us, and gave us all a good giggle. With the same reasoning, and then some, I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there who'll love to flip their parents out with Ice Breakers. And wouldn't it really be fun to have a teacher confiscate your breath mints? The answer's yes if you're a kid. How could I forget. So Hershey's should enjoy the attention.

I suspect they knew exactly what they were doing.

Philadelphia Attorney Sharmil McKee may not share Ochman's admiration for Hershey's marketing savvy, but she believes that the company knew what they were doing and it's a federal crime.

actually, it is a federal and state crime to distribute a substance labeled to resemble the likeness of a controlled substance. The statute calls this product a counterfeit controlled substance. See Section 780-102(b) of the Pennsylvania Statute.

Of course, the statute lists specific steps to proving whether Hershey intentionally packaged the product to look like the controlled substance, heroin or cocaine. For example, perhaps cocaine is only sold in colored, heat-sealed bags in Philadelphia, but is not sold in this manner across the state. The case is not open and shut. However, an interesting question is, how does a company go to jail? The chief executives responsible for the company’s actions go to jail on behalf of the company. So, if the state or the federal government were successful in proving that Hershey violated the Counterfeit Controlled Substance Act, then the chief executives could go the jail.

McKee says even if Hershey's escapes criminal prosecution they can face a whole host of civil lawsuits from shareholders.

In October, before the Ice Breakers hit the market, the Candy Addict sampled the product.

In addition to the general yumminess, Pacs include vitamins A, C, E, and zinc. Really, who could go wrong? Overall, I have to say that I really enjoyed these. I’m not sure if they do anything for your breath, but either way they’re really tasty.

While Ice Breakers may not contain any illegal drugs, it does contain a substance that many have a bad reaction to: Xyitol

Xylitol requires a brief period of tolerance adjustment. It may have a laxative effect when used in large quantities.

In reporting about the new Ice Breakers at the national candy show, Candy Industry reported this:

Hershey has an interesting functional product targeted to teens and slated for rollout later in the year — Ice Breakers Pacs. Available in peppermint and orange flavors, Pacs feature a powder wrapped in film that dissolves easily in the mouth, serving as a delivery vehicle for Vitamins A, C, E and zinc.

The key phrase is "targeted to teens." I agree with B.L. Ochman. I suspect Hershey knew exactly what they were doing. Unlike Ochman I don't think it's funny.Or smart. Or good business. What I do think is that's its a pathetic reflection on business ethics.

Is the filter that they see our society so clouded that they think that creating a drug look alike candy would be a good business practice?

Did they look at the success of gansta rap and say, hey why not gansta candy?

So far, the outcry against Hershey's has been relatively mild. Yes, its been a big deal in Philadelphia where the police "discovered" the candy in Target,but it's been a few days since the story broke and there doesn't seem to be a groundswell demanding that Hershey's change their packaging.

Which is what I assume Hershey's is gambling on.

Elana blogs about business culture at FunnyBusiness