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Maltesers are a confectionery product manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. Maltesers consist of a roughly spherical malt honeycomb-like structured centre, surrounded by milk chocolate. Maltesers are sold in a variety of packaging, including plastic bags (ranging in size from small 'fun-size' upwards), larger cardboard boxes and tubes, and plastic buckets (ranging in size from medium to very large). They also have medium-sized "teasers" in Celebrations boxes. Maltesers are also one of the types of sweet included in Mars's Revels assortment.
Contents
History
Maltesers were created by the American Forrest Mars, Sr. in England in 1936, and first sold in 1937. They were originally described as "energy balls" and aimed at slimming women.
The current Maltesers' slogan is "The lighter way to enjoy chocolate" - earlier slogans have included "The chocolates with the less fattening centre", "No ordinary chocolate" and "Nothing pleases like Maltesers". The Australian version also contains the line: "Made in Australia... ...exported to the world." In the 1930s, advertisements claimed that the Maltesers honeycomb centre is seven times less fattening than ordinary chocolate centres; this led marketers to claim it was beneficial for weight loss.
In 2011, the product gained Fairtrade accreditation in the UK and Ireland by sourcing all their cocoa and sugar under Fairtrade Terms.
In January 2017, Maltesers officially became available in the United States for the first time.
Ingredients
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the ingredients are: sugar, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, glucose syrup, barley malt extract, cocoa mass, palm fat, lactose, demineralised whey powder, milk fat, wheat flour, emulsifiers (e442, soya lecithin, e492), palm oil, raising agents (e500, e501, e341), salt, gelling agent (pectin), flavouring.
In Canada, the ingredients are: sugar, modified milk ingredients, malted milk powder (malted barley, corn syrup, modified milk ingredients, wheat flour, modified and hydrogenated palm oil, sugar, wheat gluten, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, salt), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, corn syrup, palm and palm kernel oil, lactose, malted barley extract, soy lecithin, ammonium salt of phosphorylated glyceride, pectin, sorbitan tristearate, artificial flavour.
In Australia and New Zealand, the ingredients are: sugar, milk solids, cocoa butter, glucose syrup (sources include wheat), barley malt extract, cocoa mass, vegetable fat, emulsifiers (soy lecithin, 492), wheat gluten, raising agents (501, 500), salt, natural flavour (vanilla extract), pectin.
In the United States of America, the ingredients are: sugar, skim milk, cocoa butter, barley malt extract, chocolate, glucose syrup, whey permeate, fractionated palm oil, whey, corn syrup, milkfat, less than 2% - palm oil, palm kernel oil, wheat flour, soy lecithin, sorbitan tristearate (emulsifier), leavening (potassium bicarbonate, monocalcium orthophosphate, baking soda), wheat gluten, lactose, pectin, salt, flavor.