The Great Chocolate Debate
Americans don't much care about bulk cheese or yogurt, but chocolate, well, that's an entirely different matter, certain to incite riots. An AP story today runs down the battle over a petition introduced last October that would alter the standards for production of 300 different foods. The most important, of course, is chocolate; the petition calls for a bit more flexibility in the fats added to chocolate. Instead of cocoa butter, producers could add less expensive fats like shea or palm oil. Of course, producers have been doing this to chocolate already, but then they can't label the food "chocolate." Chocolate purists already lost the battle in Europe a few years ago, when the EU allowed up to five percent vegetable fat added to chocolate, so now they're hoping to win on this side of the Atlantic. (Not likely, we think.) Our advice: read labels for everything, including chocolate if this petition is given the rubber stamp from the FDA.
Sides Square Off in Chocolate Fight [AP via Washington Post]
Photo: Flickr
