Technology

When Chocolate Isn't Chocolate

by jordan | April 24, 2007 at 09:28 am | 677 views | 4 comments | 5 recommendations

Looks like by "modernizing food standards", the US Chocolate Manufacturers' Association means "get away with foistinga substandard product upon the consumer". The less charitable would call it "ripping [us] off." If I take a strawberry margarita and remove the tequila, replacing it with rum, I no longer have a margarita. I have a daiquiri. Same story here: Chocolate without chocolate ingredients is not chocolate.

The Chocolate Manufacturers Association wants to change how chocolate is defined so that crappy imitation chocolate-flavoured stuff can be reclassified as actual chocolate.

It has asked the Food and Drug Administration if the much cheaper vegetable oil may be substituted for cocoa butter, and whey protein for dry whole milk, and still be called chocolate.

(and, no, white chocolate is not technically chocolate either)

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jordan

at 10:05 on April 24th, 2007

That is the best ChocoBunny photo I have ever, ever, ever seen.

ricknight

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:58 on April 24th, 2007

If they could get away with it, they'd sell us air in a bag -> Good stuff.

Victoria Revay

at 15:01 on April 24th, 2007

White chocolate is not chocolate? Of course it is.

goldcoaster

at 17:38 on April 26th, 2007

Good story.

Over here 'fake' chocolate is called Choc - eg Choc covered ice-cream but I wouldn't doubt it will change.

We have ice-cream which is meant to have a certain amout of milk fat and anything less was called ice-confectionary. Now, because of self -regulation and government wanting to let businesses rule all, it is called low fat ice-cream. Same goes for yoghurt and many other products.

I have read a consumer report that had a premixed Gin and tonic with Lime - it didn't have Lime, it didn't have tonic - and amazingly it didn't even had Gin (it used Vodka)!!!