Cadbury lovers in Britain and Ireland have been told to quit whining by Time Magazine writer Bill Saparito.

In a piece headlined “Quit Whining Brits, Hershey had every right to block real Cadbury’s Bars” Saporito argues that bad management by Cadbury’s is really responsible for the Cadbury’s debacle.

He writes: “Behind the uproar is the view held by some that British Cadbury’s is superior to the American version and that this whole thing looks like a case of a giant U.S. company stomping on little guys for selling a beloved chocolate. It’s candy crush!”

But he points out it was the bad management of Cadbury’s that led to the current situation.

Over 18,000 so far have signed a petition demanding that Hershey’s stop banning Cadbury’s from being sold in America

"Do those outraged petitioners realize that Hershey owns the rights to manufacture Cadbury’s products in the U.S.? Which it bought from Cadbury for a large amount of money? And that it might have a legitimate interest in protecting its property?" Asporito asks.

He points out that since 1988, “Hershey has owned the right to sell Dairy Milk, Cream Eggs and other Cadbury products. Why? Simple – Cadbury needed the money, and decided that Hershey could manage the U.S. business better than it could.”

Saporito sasy Cadbury’s failed because it could not match Nestle and Mars and was acquired by Kraft Foods in a $16.8 billion dollar deal in 2010.

Kraft spun off Cadbury’s into “something called Mondeléz International, where Cadbury currently resides, one of many formerly family-owned brands. So much for that fine British tradition.”

Saporito admits the chocolate that Hershey now calls Cadbury’s is not the same as the old Cadbury’s but says, “It isn’t only Cadbury chocolate that differs by country. If you buy a candy bar called a Mars bar in the U.K. it will differ from its U.S. cousin, known as Milky Way. … As in language, the U.S. and the U.K. are two countries divided by common candy.”

Saporito will not admit European Cadbury's is better. “You can argue over whether the U.S. or the U.K. version of Dairy Milk is better. They are both commodity chocolate products not to be mistaken for the luscious, and pricy, artisan products now available. But you can’t argue that Hershey has the right to call the shots.”

He says Cadbury’s screwed up and Cadbury lovers just have to grin and bear it. “Cadbury blew it in the U.S. The company lost the right to sell its own chocolate bars, and that’s how the cookie crumbled.”