Top Chocolate Companies Eliminate Cocoa Butter
Many Chocolate Products No Longer Have Smooth and Creamy Taste
Sep 2, 2008
If you have noticed a change in the taste of your chocolate candy lately, there appears to be a logical reason. Large chocolate manufacturers have removed cocoa butter from the ingredients of many of the most popular candy bars. Cocoa butter is the main ingredient in chocolate that gives it that smooth creamy taste.
Large chocolate manufacturers, such as Hershey, have replaced cocoa butter with palm, shea, sunflower, and safflower oil in many of their products. Hershey spokesperson, Kirk Shavill, states that Hershey still includes cocoa butter in their Kisses, peanut butter cups, and pure chocolate products.
Cocoa Butter Removal Reason
Many chocolate manufacturers are substituting vegetable oils for cocoa butter to conserve costs. The reason for this change from cocoa butter to vegetable oils is that the price of cocoa butter has doubled to more than $8,000 a metric ton in the past two years (J. Ganes Consulting, Katonah, NY).
The reason for this doubling of price is due to the increased demand for cocoa butter around the world. Vegetable oils are much cheaper than cocoa butter; this is why it is being substituted for the real thing (J. Ganes Consulting, Katonah, NY).
Candy Ingredients Labels
How can you tell if cocoa butter has been removed from the chocolate? Simply read the label. According to the Food and Drug Administration standards, cocoa butter must be an ingredient in a chocolate product to be labeled – chocolate.
The labeling on candy products which include chocolate have been altered slightly. A chocolate bar that contains vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter cannot be labeled a chocolate bar. The labeling differences are subtle; however the differences are there. Example replacement phrases are:
- Chocolatey
- Made with Chocolate
- Chocolate Candy
- Chocolate is not Mentioned in the Name
The best way to determine if a candy bar has real chocolate is to read the ingredients label. If the ingredients include cocoa butter it is real chocolate, otherwise according to the Food and Drug Administration it is not.
Fallout over Cocoa Butter Removal
The Grocery Manufacturers Association petitioned the Food and Drug Administration in 2007 to update their standards to include the vegetable oils or cocoa butter in the standard. Their reasoning for doing this is to account for innovations in the food industry.
When Mars, Inc and many small chocolate companies heard about the requested change in standards, they broke ranks with the Grocery Manufacturers of Association.
Chocolate Consumer Impact and Health Risks of Vegetable Oils
The impact may not be important to many people, however for those who crave real chocolate there is a difference in taste, less creamy and waxier according to some chocolate lovers.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has warned that the use of palm, shea, sunflower, and safflower oil in food products is not healthy and may lead to higher cholesterol in people. Also in her book Hungry for Health (2008), Susan Silberstein states that these oils are high in Omega 6 and should be avoided.
Excess intake of Omega 6 can lead to long-term diseases such as heart disease, cancer, asthma, arthritis, and depression (University of Maryland Medical Center).
The excess intake of chocolate can lead to adverse health conditions in most people, which is an important fact. The replacement of cocoa butter with palm, shea, sunflower, and safflower oils does not seem to be in the best interest for the chocolate consuming public.
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