Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar: Nutrition & Labelgrade D (53/100)
D 53 / 100 — Notable saturated fat load, notable sugar load, and very low sodium.
🛒 Buy on Amazon →The short answer
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar delivers 3g of protein and 210 calories per 1 bar (USDA FDC 2769915). Per 100g that’s 7g of protein; per oz, 2g. The Labelgrade is D (53 / 100): Notable saturated fat load, notable sugar load, and very low sodium.
Why this Labelgrade
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | C | 61 / 100 | 7g per 100g — below the high-protein bar; not the right product for protein hunting |
| Ingredient quality | B | 75 / 100 | 8 ingredients, recognizable, no significant additive flags |
| Saturated fat load | F | 23 / 100 | 8g per serving (18.6g per 100g) — high; FDA daily limit is 20g |
| Sodium load | A+ | 100 / 100 | 34.8mg per serving (23mg per oz) — low |
| Sugar load | F | 0 / 100 | 25g sugar (21g added) — substantial added-sugar load |
| Fiber | D | 46 / 100 | 0.989g per serving — modest fiber contribution |
| Overall | D | 53 / 100 | Weighted blend: protein 23% · ingredients 21% · saturated fat 18% · sodium 15% · sugar 15% · fiber 8% |
It’s candy, and we graded it like candy
There’s no honest way to give a milk chocolate bar a good grade on a nutrition scale, and we didn’t try. What the D actually says is narrow and specific: as a thing you eat, this is sugar and saturated fat with a little milk in it. That’s not a moral judgment — a chocolate bar at the end of a meal is a perfectly normal thing to want, and 210 calories is a modest treat as treats go. The grade just refuses to pretend the label says something it doesn’t.
The tell is the ingredient order. By US labeling rules, ingredients run heaviest-first, and on a Hershey’s bar the first word is sugar — ahead of milk, ahead of chocolate. Cocoa (“chocolate” plus cocoa butter) shows up, but sugar is the largest single component by weight. That’s the difference between this and a dark bar: it’s not that milk chocolate is uniquely bad, it’s that this particular formula is built sweetness-first. The 25g of sugar (21g added) and the 8g of saturated fat aren’t contaminants to be engineered out — they are the product.
What the D is and isn’t telling you
It would be easy to read “D” as “don’t eat this,” and that’s not what it means. The Labelgrade scores the panel, not your week. A bar of milk chocolate eaten occasionally, as a treat, is a normal part of a normal diet — the score is simply a fact about its composition, the same way a nutrition label is. Where it earns the D rather than an outright F is in the small honest upsides: the milk base brings 3g of protein, 80mg of calcium, and 1.6mg of iron, and sodium is genuinely low (35mg, an A+). Those nudge it above the floor.
The practical read: if you’re reaching for chocolate as a treat, enjoy it as one and don’t overthink the grade. If you’re reaching for it expecting “not that bad for you,” the 21g of added sugar — 42% of a full day’s allowance in one 43g bar — is the number to keep honest about. And if you want chocolate that grades better, the lever is cocoa percentage: a 70%+ dark bar trades sugar for cocoa and lands meaningfully higher on this same scale.
How it compares
We’re still building out this category. As a benchmark, plain cooked chicken breast contains 31g of protein per 100g (8.8g per oz). Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar delivers 7g of protein per 100g (2g per oz).
Scope
This page covers Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar (1.55 ONZ), UPC 00034000002405, as represented in USDA Branded Foods FDC 2769915. Hershey’s sells multiple variants in this product line — other sizes, flavors, or fat levels may have different macros and Labelgrade scores. Manufacturers periodically reformulate; always cross-reference the actual package label, especially if you have allergies or dietary restrictions.
Ingredients (from the USDA Branded Foods entry)
MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, MILK, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, MILK FAT, LECITHIN (SOY), PGPR, NATURAL FLAVOR).
Where to buy
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The Labelgrade score is independent of affiliate relationships. More.
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 1 bar
See how this fits your day — protein calculator · macro calculator
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (1 bar) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 210 |
| Protein | 3g |
| Total Fat | 13g |
| Saturated Fat | 8g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 26g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.989g |
| Total Sugars | 25g |
| Added Sugars | 21g |
| Sodium | 34.8mg |
| Cholesterol | 9.89mg |
| Calcium | 80mg |
| Iron | 1.6mg |
| Potassium | 150mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Milk Chocolate Bar (1.55 ONZ) · UPC 00034000002405. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains animal-derived ingredients
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar healthy?
No — and it isn't trying to be. It's candy: a single bar carries 25g of sugar (21g of it added) and 8g of saturated fat for 210 calories. Graded as the treat it is, it earns a D (53/100). That's not a verdict on whether you should eat it — a chocolate bar is a perfectly reasonable thing to enjoy — just an honest read of the label. Sugar and saturated fat are the whole story.
How much sugar is in a Hershey's bar?
25g of total sugar per 1.55 oz bar, of which 21g is added sugar — that's 42% of the FDA's 50g Daily Value for added sugar, in one bar (USDA FDC 2769915). The remaining ~4g is naturally-occurring lactose from the milk. Sugar is the first ingredient on the label, ahead of milk and chocolate, which tells you most of what you need to know about the formula.
Is dark chocolate healthier than Hershey's milk chocolate?
Generally yes, on the label. Dark chocolate is more cocoa and less sugar, so a typical 70%+ dark bar carries roughly half the added sugar of milk chocolate and more of chocolate's fiber and minerals. Hershey's Milk Chocolate is the opposite balance — sugar-forward, with cocoa solids well down the list. If you want chocolate that grades better, higher-cocoa dark (or a low-sugar brand like Hu) is the move; if you want the specific creamy-sweet milk-chocolate taste, this is what that tastes like, and no dark bar replicates it.
How much saturated fat is in Hershey's Milk Chocolate?
8g per bar — about 40% of the FDA's 20g daily limit. It comes from cocoa butter and milk fat, both naturally saturated. That's a meaningful load for a 43g serving, and it's the second reason (after sugar) the bar grades a D rather than higher.
Does Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar have any nutritional upside?
A little, and it's worth being fair about it. The bar carries 3g of protein and 80mg of calcium per serving from its milk content, plus 1.6mg of iron — modest, but more than a pure-sugar candy delivers. Sodium is genuinely low at 35mg (an A+ on our scale). None of that offsets the sugar and saturated fat, but it's why this grades a D rather than bottoming out.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-05, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 2769915. We re-verify top-traffic pages monthly and update within 7 days when a manufacturer reformulates.