David A. Stuart

David A. Stuart has been with The Hershey Company for 19 years and is currently the Director of Natural Product Sciences. He has a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from California State University, Sacramento. He holds a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Physiology from the University of California, Berkeley. His thesis was on the growth of plant cells as controlled by plant hormones and minerals. He also completed several post-doctoral studies in St. Louis and Davis California. When Dave started with The Hershey Company, he was manager of the Biochemistry Department where he immediately became involved with cocoa, its genetics, yield and fermentation. He also created and managed the Nut Quality Flavor Center of Excellence responsible for increasing the quality and freshness of peanuts and tree nuts. This program helped extend the freshness of numerous Hershey products and resulted in the development of a new peanut variety with a high monounsaturated fat content similar to olive oil. This peanut is able to extend the freshness of numerous Hershey products. In 2005, he wrote the original proposal for the HERSHEY CENTER FOR HEALTH & NUTRITION. New projects were initiated in the area of chemistry to characterize the nutritional components of nuts and cocoa, clinical trials to determine how these foods interact with the body and communication programs focused on communication with health professionals. The Center is now in its fourth year, having completed a number of critical studies and publications ranging from the effects of processing on cocoa antioxidants to clinicals that show that cocoa and dark chocolate result in vasodilation in humans. The Center has helped to create the flavanol antioxidant seal seen on a number of our products and to create a website on health and nutrition.