Twinkies Are Back?!

The Twinkies are BACK! But under a new name? Mrs. Freshley's is a company in Canada who owns the licenses for Hostess products such as Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Ho-Hos, etc. Mrs. Freshley's creation of the Twinkie is now called "Dreamies" or it's more boring name, "Golden Creme Cakes" with also a new recipe (a healthier one I hope). The new Dreamies isn't the only thing Mrs. Frsehley's had brought back.

The Ding-Dongs, Ho-Hos, Sno Balls. They're all back, but with a more boring name thanks to Mrs. Freshley's. Ding-Dong's are now simply just "Chocolate Cupcakes", Ho-Ho's are now "Swiss Rolls", and Sno Balls are "Pink Snowballs". Boring right? But hey, I can't complain. Despite Mrs. Freshley's inability to give these wonders of the world more fun, playful names, Mrs. Freshley's has prevented  the destruction of our childhood. Will they be as good as our beloved Hostess? Can they live up to the high expectation of the Twinkie?

Recent reviews of the "Golden Creme Cakes" have reported to be not as moist and have less cream as the original, famous Twinkie. The consumer claims unsatisfactory for the Golden Creme Cakes as the famous Twinkie still remains supreme. On the plus side, Mrs. Freshley's snack cakes and pastries contains 0 grams of trans fat. Well how about that. My request has been fulfilled, but in baby steps. We can't expect dramatic changes and expect everyone to be okay.

Up North decided to save our beloved snacks that we have lived with for decades. George Washington Ltd. owns the rights to Wonder Bread, and Snack-maker Saputo inc. will be keeping the memory of our most famous, beloved Twinkie alive under a new name. How long can Saputo keep our holy Twinkie alive? These are obviously the questions we should be thinking about. We all should be grateful and thank Saputo for their  heroic action, and now think about how we are going to protect our one and only baked good that brings us true moments of bliss.

About Hostess, there still may be hope for them as a company. On the 19th of November, 2012, Hostess and Bakers union were to undergo meditation and decide on a deal as a last chance. There has been speculation as to why the union even went on strike in the first place. "Many people, myself included, have serious questions as to the logic behind this strike," stated Judge Robert Drain as he was hearing the case. Can the unions be up to something? It is as if the union workers can't have the jobs, then no one can, seeing how quick they are to take dramatic actions. But can the company also fall to blame as well? Why were they incapable of hiring a lower priced workforce rather than union workers who want everything their way? It is a competition, it is understandable that times get rough, as loyal workers you should help the company all the way. Management is a different story. Why couldn't they higher new management seeing how the actions of their current management drove them down into debt. There's a lot of questions that can be asked back and forth, but is there ever a way to get to the bottom of this issue?

As for the mascot of our Twinkies, Twinkie the kid, we are blessed to be assured that he still lives on in his new home in Canada where hopefully he won't be taken for granted like how us Americans did to him.

"To Be... or Not To Be..."

Is this really the end for the famous Twinkies? Some say yes, other say no. Who is there really to believe? On November 16, 2012, Hostess Brands CEO Gregory Rayburn announced the end of Twinkies. "It's over. This is it." He stated as he was interviewed on NBC news. He said he couldn't reach an agreement with the Bakers union specifically, but has made other agreements with the "Teamsters" which is their largest union who actually supported Hostess in their deal they were proposing. Rayburn stated that the leadership of the Bakers union had already made a decision that they were willing to sacrifice some of the workers because they did not want concessions from other companies. The Bakers union fired back by stating how the Hostess workers and the union has no responsibility for the failure of the company.

Rayburn has stated that the shutdown of the company would be immediate, but the whole process of selling the plants, the stores, and other assets of the company. During the interview with NBC news he basically put most of the blame on the striking union, but he has also acknowledged the mistakes of the management, specifically the ones that has dug the company into debt in 2009 which also contributed to Hostess' current situation. Despite the threats of shutting down and liquidating everything, they still need to get permission to do so from Judge Robert Drain who is overseeing the case. Rayburn added that even though if the strikers accept the 8% pay cut, "It's too late. We're done."

As a shimmering light of hope for the company, Rayburn stated "I'm hopeful we can sell the brands." Others have added, "I imagine they'll definitely be able to find buyers." There may be still hope for Twinkies, with an open mind, and an aggressive competition, I'm sure Twinkies will see the light of day once again, but under another name.

Is This Goodbye to Twinkies Forever?

Is this really the end of Twinkies forever? Due to a dispute between the Hostess company and Union workers, Hostess is filing for bankruptcy. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union ultimately decided to strike on November 9th due to a court-approved pay cuts. over 18,000 workers went on strike against the company.

There are a number of reasons why these workers went on strike. Most of them say it's because of poor management, another reason could be that Hostess refused to pay pension benefits, but more so poor management. Hostess was 450 million dollars in debt in it's first bankruptcy, and still disputing over the future of the company between the owners, creditors, and the union. None of them were able to agree on anything, and time was running out for them. Meanwhile, during their disputes, Twinkies in stores have been vanishing quicker than the speed of light. At Dolly Madison outlet store, Twinkies were being sold for only 50 cents each. Customers line up bright and early for the opening of the store to desperately get their last chance of ever tasting America's favorite Hostess cream-filled snacks.

This is actually an image I took today of recent standings on Twinkies being sold for on eBay. The holder is selling 17 "fresh, new" boxes of Twinkies for a whopping 79 dollars, but hey. He was nice enough to throw in free shipping. Twinkies and other Hostess snacks are being sold all over eBay with prices that ranges from  a simple 25 dollars to a ridiculous 200,000 dollars. Questioning had occurred if the crazy holder pricing those Twinkies for 200,000 dollars was one of the workers freaking out if he or she was going to be unemployed in the future, but then again there's a lot of crazy people out there.

The company was having problems in the past as well. Starting in 2011 is when they started getting into millions of dollars in debt. Their futile attempts to resurrect the company were hopeless. They quickly got deeper into debt and desperate for new management. In 2012, millions went to billions. In hopes of trying to fix the issue, they decided to release it's 18,500 workers and focus on selling their products.

What Are Twinkies?

Many of us have experienced the delightful creation of "Twinkies" by Hostess, which was created during the Depression era, but no one has questioned how this wonderful gift from heaven is created.  Very few individuals realize that Twinkies are able to to stay in good condition for very long periods of time. The reason why is because Twinkies are completely made of artificial ingredients. They contain absolutely no food products preventing it to rot in a short period of time. Twinkies aren't baked either, but you'd think they'd be right? Considering they're called a "baked good". Everything is just done by food coloring, including the bottom, to make it seem as if it was baked.

I have interviewed a few people asking them what kind of ingredients where in Twinkies. Almost all of them would answer the following: Sugar, Flour, Whipped Cream. Only typical baking items were the answers of these individuals. Little do they know, there are over 30 ingredients in Twinkies.

Here are the list of ingredients in our beloved Twinkies:
- Wheat Flour
- Niacin
- Thiamine Mononitrate
- Ferrous Sulfate (Iron compound)
- Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- High Frutose Corn Syrup
- Animal Shortening (Lard)
- Whole eggs
- Modified Corn Starch
- Corn Flour
- Baking Soda
- Monocalcium Phosphate
- Sweet Dairy Whey
- Soy Protein Isolate
- Sodium Caseinate
- Soy Flour
- Monoglyceride
- Diglyceride
- Corn Dextrin
- Soy Lecithin
- Cellulose Gum
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
- FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine (Food Coloring)
- Red 40 (Food Coloring)

Shocked? Surprised? Confused? Don't worry. It's always a natural reaction to find out what is really in our food. Ingredients such as: Wheat Flour, Sugar, High Frutose and Regular Corn Syrup, Whole eggs, and Baking Soda are typical ingredient in baking. On the other hand, other ingredients such as Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, and Ferrous Sulfate sound kind of scary to be in your food, don't you think?

Niacin is actually a prescription drug that lower's cholesterol and triglyceride levels and treats for niacin deficiency. It even lowers reduces the risk of getting a heart attack and narrows arteries in people who have heart disease. Not too bad in my opinion, considering niacin is also technically a vitamin.

Thiamine Mononitrate is also a vitamin. It is a water-soluble B vitamin that's usually found in meats. Not much a harm there, but there is surprising a lot of vitamins in a junk food item.

Ferrous Sulfate is an iron compound pretty much used to treat iron-deficiency amemia. Why would something that's used for treating deficiencies, in a junk food?

 

The food coloring is understandable. There's food coloring in everything these days. People could put whatever they want in our food, and we wouldn't notice because, as Americans, if it tastes good it doesn't matter. Twinkies is a perfect example of this. Twinkies contain Red 40 and FD&C Yellow #5. The food coloring and the vitamins listed above in these Twinkies are derived from Petroleum. That's right, oil. The same oil we use to make plastic water bottles, floor wax, hair coloring, nail polish, etc. That's not all, other ingredients such as the Celluose Gum and Calcium Sulfate are also used to create sheet rock, shampoo, and rocket fuel. If you are having trouble picturing what a sheet rock is, sheet rock is just another word for dry wall. Look to your left. Yes. That wall has an ingredient that is also used in food. What makes the Twinkie so light you ask? The answer to that question is limestone. An actual limestone, grind down into powder and added. What about the cream? Has to have some sort of dairy right? No. The cream has no cream in it whatsoever. The cream is actually made of the Animal Shortening that's listed above. The best part of the Twinkie that we all loved is actually lard. Gross isn't it?

 These findings had came from an author named Steven Ettlinger who wrote a book called Twinkie Deconstructed. The book has actually caught they eye of Hostess' very own Vice President Snack Marketing, David Leavitt. In a recent newscast, Leavitt stated something that proves the very point of Americans continue to eat anything as long as it tastes good. He stated, "Deconstructing the Twinkie is like trying to deconstruct the universe. We think the millions of people … would agree that Twinkies just taste great." I think the rest of the world... would agree those people are ignorant and carefree of their own health. Leavitt's statement does not only prove that Americans would eat anything and everything that tastes good, but it also proves that big name companies do not care about the little people such as you and I as long as they make money.

On an ending note, most of these ingredients such as the vitamins listed come from China and are not regulated. You might want to think twice before poisoning your body with another Twinkie.