By Andrew Garcilazo, co-founder
If you've seen white, powdery patches or a white, thread-like substance on your Hiker's Gold bars recently, there's nothing to worry about. It's simply sugar that has crystallized.
You can see an example of what I'm talking about in the image above.
A few customers have reached out wondering about this issue. Most seem to think the white substance is mold, so I figured I should write a Founder's Journal post explaining what's going on.
I'll admit, when I first saw one of our bars with crystallized sugar on it, I, too, assumed it was mold. I immediately reached out to our manufacturing partner to get their opinion on it, and samples were sent to a lab for testing.
I was relieved to hear from our manufacturer that the white patches were likely just sugar that had crystallized. Mold needs both water and oxygen to form, and our bars are both vacuum sealed and have a water activity level below the threshold needed for mold to grow. A few days later, the lab results confirmed that the white spots were not mold (or yeast), and we were able to conclude sugar crystallization was causing them.
Dates are the culprit behind this issue, as the natural sugar found in them can sometimes crystallize. Dates are one of the main ingredients in our nut & chickpea bars, and they're also the only source of sugar, as we don't add any sugar or have any other ingredients containing sugar. Fluctuations in temperature can also prompt sugar crystallization (such as during shipping), or it can simply develop over time.
The bottom line is there's nothing to fear if you see white patches or spots on your bars. It's a natural occurrence that's simply cosmetic. The taste will be the same great taste you've come to expect.
For any further questions on this, you can reach out to me at the below links or use our Contact Us page here.
Thanks for reading!
You can email me any questions or comments at andrew@hikersgold.com or follow me on Instagram (@andrewgarcilazo).
