Europe Accepts Britain's Definition of Chocolate: Less Cocoa, More Fat

Food & Drink Weekly, March 20, 2000

After a 25-year battle, the European Parliament lifted a ban on the sale of British milk chocolate on the continent following years of debate over what chocolate should consist of. The vote opens the way for final approval by the 15 member states at a European Union (EU) ministerial meeting this week.

The parliament passed the proposed new chocolate regulations, which allow products with as much as 5 percent vegetable fats -- other than cocoa butter -- to be called chocolate. If the measure gets final approval, traditional British chocolate, which has less cocoa and more vegetable fats, will become widely available in the rest of the EU. The British version also is cheaper. The compromise proposal, which was first approved by EU ministers last October, will call for clear labeling of chocolate. Packages of chocolate containing non-cocoa fats will have to state this on the wrapping, and British milk chocolate will sport the catchy label "Family Milk Chocolate" in the rest of the EU.

As expected, Belgium and the Netherlands voted against the new regulations but were overruled by the majority, including Britain, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, which all allow other vegetable fats in their chocolate products. Continental chocolate purists have argued that British milk chocolate is an inferior product. Some say that cost, quality and competition are at stake. Others put the fears down to taste and pride. The Belgian government has proposed creating a quality label as a means of defending the industry's image. The first of the labels could be placed on sweets packages within three to four months. The EU consumes about half the world's cocoa crop worth $15 billion in annual sales (the United States, $13 billion).

U.S. regulations were the same as European regulations (chocolate is defined as processed with 100 percent cocoa butter, and vegetable fats are not permitted). But, for right now the effect of the EU's decision on the U.S. market will be minimal, according a spokesperson for the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. However, there may be more pressure to change the agreement internationally meaning the Codex Alimentarius must get involved, said the spokesperson. Every year, the United States imports 3 to 4 percent of the 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate it consumes, according to the chocolate group.