Chocolate and cocoa, the EU rules for production and labeling

The cocoa and chocolate sector is regulated in the European Union by strict standards that protect their identity and quality. Directive 2000/36/EC, transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree 178/2003, precisely governs the conditions for using the legal denominations of cocoa and chocolate-based products. This guide analyzes the composition requirements, the use of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter and other ingredients, the mandatory and optional labeling of such products, and other ingredients thatthey contain as ingredients.

Cocoa and chocolate products: legal sales denominations, definitions and characteristics

Annex I of Legislative Decree 178/03 establishes the legal denominations for sale of the following cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption, as well as their characteristics:

⁃ cocoa butter: ‘the fatty substance obtained from cocoa beans or parts of cocoa beans having the following characteristics:

a) free fatty acid content (expressed in oleic acid): not exceeding 1.75 percent;

b) unsaponifiable matter (determined using petroleum ether): not exceeding 0.5%, except pressed cocoa butter which may not exceed 0.35%;

⁃ cocoa powder, cocoa: ‘product obtained by powdering cleaned, shelled, and roasted cocoa beans and which has a minimum cocoa butter content of 20% (percentage calculated on the weight of the dry matter), and a maximum water content of 9%';

⁃ defatted cocoa powder: ‘defatted cocoa, heavily defatted cocoa powder, heavily defatted cocoa, cocoa powder with a cocoa butter content below 20% (percentage calculated on the weight of the dry matter)';

⁃ chocolate powder: ‘product consisting of a mixture of cocoa powder and sugars, containing not less than 32% cocoa powder’;

⁃ common chocolate powder: ‘sweetened cocoa, sweetened cocoa powder, product consisting of a mixture of cocoa powder and sugars, containing not less than 25% cocoa powder; such definitions are completed with the term 'defatted' or 'heavily defatted', if the product’ has a cocoa butter content below 20% (percentage calculated on the weight of the dry matter);

⁃ Chocolate: ‘the product obtained from cocoa products and sugars that has a minimum total dry cocoa matter content of 35%, of which not less than 18% cocoa butter and not less than 14% defatted cocoa solids’. Such denomination ‘is completed by the wording:

a) «vermicelli» or «flakes», for the product presented in the form of grains or flakes containing not less than 32% total dry matter of cocoa, of which not less than 12% cocoa butter and not less than 14% defatted dry cocoa;

b) «covering», for the product containing not less than 35% total dry matter of cocoa, of which not less than 31% cocoa butter and not less than 2.5% defatted dry cocoa;

c) «with gianduia hazelnuts» (or one of its derivatives tonnine) for the product obtained, on one side, from chocolate whose minimum total dry matter content of cocoa is 32% and defatted dry cocoa is 8%, and, on the other, from finely ground hazelnuts, in such proportion that 100 grams of product contain not more than 40 and not less than 20 grams of hazelnuts. The following may be added:

1) milk and/or milk dry matter obtained by evaporation, in such proportion that the finished product does not contain more than 5% of milk dry matter;

2) almonds, hazelnuts and other varieties of nuts, whole or in pits, in such proportion that their weight, added to that of the ground hazelnuts, does not exceed 60% of the total weight of the product';

⁃ milk chocolate: ‘the product obtained from cocoa products, sugars and milk or milk-derived products and which has a minimum content of:

a) total dry matter of cocoa of 25%;

b) milk dry matter obtained from partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats of 14%;

c) defatted dry cocoa of 2.5%;

d) milk fats of 3.5%;

e) total fats (cocoa butter and milk fats) of 25 percent‘. This denomination may also be completed by the wording:

a) «vermicelli» or «flakes» for the product presented in the form of grains or flakes containing not less than 20% total dry matter of cocoa, not less than 12% dry matter obtained from partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats, and not less than 12% total fats (cocoa butter and milk fats);

b) «covering», for the product that has a minimum total fat content (cocoa butter and milk fats) of 31%;

c) «and with gianduia hazelnuts» (or one of the derivatives of this latter term), for the product obtained from milk chocolate whose minimum content of milk solids is 10%, obtained by partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats, on the one hand, and finely ground hazelnuts, on the other, in such proportion that 100 grams of product contain at most 40 and at least 15 grams of hazelnuts.Almonds, hazelnuts and other varieties of nuts, whole or in pockets, may also be added in such proportion that the weight of these products, added to that of the ground hazelnuts, does not exceed 60% of the total weight of the product.

When, in the aforementioned denomination, the wording «al latte» is replaced by the wording:

a) «alla panna», the product must have a minimum milk fat content of 5.5%;

b) «al latte scremato», the product must not contain more than 1% milk fat';

⁃ common milk chocolate: ‘the product obtained from cocoa, sugars and milk or milk-derived products, which has a minimum content of:

a) total dry cocoa solids of 20%;

b) milk dry matter obtained from the partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats of 20%;

c) defatted dry cocoa of 2.5%;

d) milk fats of 5%;

e) and total fats (cocoa butter and milk fats) of 25%';

⁃ white chocolate: ‘the product obtained from cocoa butter, milk or milk-derived products and sugars, which contains not less than 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk dry matter obtained from the partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats; the latter must be present in an amount of at least 3.5%';

⁃ filled chocolate: ‘the filled product whose outer part consists of one of the products 'chocolate', ‘milk chocolate’, ‘common milk chocolate’ and ‘white chocolate’. However, this denomination does not apply to products whose filling consists of bakery, pastry, biscuit or ice cream products. The chocolate outer part of the product so designated is at least 25% of the total weight of the product';

⁃ chocolate a la taza: ‘the product obtained from cocoa products, sugars and wheat flour or starch, rice or corn, and which has a minimum total dry cocoa solids content of 35% including at least 18% cocoa butter and at least 14% defatted dry cocoa, and a maximum starch flour content of 8%';

⁃ chocolate familiar a la taza: ‘the product obtained from cocoa products, sugars and wheat flour or starch, rice or corn, and that presents a minimum content of total dry cocoa matter of 30%, of which at least 18% cocoa butter and at least 12% defatted dry cocoa, and a maximum content of flour or starch of 18%';

⁃ chocolate bonbon or praline: ‘the product the size of a bite consisting of:

a) filled chocolate, or

b) a single chocolate or a juxtaposition or a mixture of 'chocolate', 'milk chocolate', 'common milk chocolate' and 'white chocolate' and 'of other edible substances, provided that the chocolate represents at least 25% of the total weight of the product’.

Vegetable fats other than cocoa butter

Annex II of Legislative Decree 178/03 defines the requirements of Vegetable fats other than cocoa butter which may be used, singly or blended, as additional ingredients, under the conditions established in Article 2 (see following paragraph). Such fats:

⁃ 'are vegetable fats not containing lauric acid, rich in symmetric monounsaturated triglycerides of the POP, POSt, StOSt type (P = palmitic acid; O = oleic acid; St = stearic acid);

⁃ can be mixed in any proportion with cocoa butter and are compatible with its physical properties (melting point and crystallization temperature, melting speed, tempering treatment requirements);

⁃ are obtained exclusively by refining and/or fractionation processes; enzymatic modification of the triglyceride structure is excluded’.

Based on the above criteria, the following may be used vegetable fats, obtained from the following plants:

⁃ illipe butter, Borneo tallow or Tengkawang (Shorea spp.);

⁃ palm oil (Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera);

⁃ fat and stearin of Shorea robusta (sai) (Shorea robusta);

⁃ shea butter (Butyrospermum parkii);

⁃ kokum butter (Garcinia indica);

⁃ mango kernel (Mangifera indica).

The use of coconut oil in the chocolate used for the preparation of ice creams or similar frozen products.

Additional ingredients

Article 2 of Legislative Decree 178/03 provides the possibility to add to the various products governed herein the following ingredients:

⁃ vegetable fats other than cocoa butter referred to in Annex II may be added to chocolate, milk chocolate, common milk chocolate, white chocolate, filled chocolate, chocolate a la taza, chocolate familiar a la taza and chocolate praline, in an amount not exceeding ‘5% of the finished product after subtracting the weight of the other edible substances used, without reducing the minimum content of cocoa butter or total dry cocoa matter';

⁃ 'other edible substances, except for animal fats and preparations containing them, unless obtained exclusively from milk’ may also be added to the products mentioned above, in an amount not exceeding 40% of the total weight of the finished product, ‘except in cases otherwise prescribed';

⁃ 'flavoring substances that do not imitate the taste of natural chocolate and milk fat substances’ may be added to the same products, as well as to cocoa and powdered chocolate, sweetened cocoa, sweetened cocoa powder;

⁃ 'flours, starches or amids’ may be added to ‘chocolate a la taza’, ‘chocolate familiar a la taza’.

Calculation of percentages

I minimum contents established for chocolate, milk chocolate, common milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate a la taza, chocolate familiar a la taza are calculated after subtracting the weight of the following additional ingredients: other edible substances; flours, starches or amids; flavoring substances.

As regards filled chocolate and praline or chocolate praline:

⁃ 'the minimum contents are calculated also by subtracting the weight of the filling';

⁃ 'the chocolate content is calculated in relation to the total weight of the finished product, including the filling’.

labeling

Specific provisions of labeling are established, in article 5 of legislative decree 178/03, for cocoa and chocolate products:

⁃ the content of total dry cocoa matter with the terms: «cocoa: … % min» must be indicated on the label of: powdered chocolate, common powdered chocolate, sweetened cocoa, sweetened powdered cocoa, chocolate, milk chocolate, common milk chocolate, chocolate a la taza, chocolate familiar a la taza;

⁃ the sales denominations chocolate, milk chocolate and couverture chocolate may be complemented by expressions or adjectives related to quality criteria, e.g. extra, ‘provided that the products in question contain:

a) in the case of «chocolate», not less than 43% total dry cocoa matter, of which not less than 26% cocoa butter;

b) in the case of «milk chocolate», not less than 30% total dry cocoa matter and 18% milk solids obtained from partial or total dehydration of whole milk, partially or totally skimmed milk, cream, partially or totally dehydrated cream, butter or milk fats, of which at least 4.5% milk fat;

c) in the case of «coating chocolate», not less than 16% defatted dry cocoa;

⁃ the cocoa butter content must be indicated on the label of defatted cocoa powder, defatted cocoa, heavily defatted cocoa powder, heavily defatted cocoa, common powdered chocolate, sweetened cocoa, sweetened cocoa powder;

⁃ products containing Vegetable fats other than cocoa butter, bear on the label the exact wording «contains other vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter» ‘next to the sales denomination, in the same visual field as the list of ingredients, but clearly distinct from it, with font size not smaller than that of the list of ingredients, in bold, clearly visible and legible; the sales denomination may also appear elsewhere, even if not accompanied’ by the aforementioned wording;

⁃ products subject to the legal denominations under review, when used as ingredients of other foods, must be designated in the list of ingredients of the finished product with the appropriate denominations. ‘It is forbidden to use these names to indicate products that do not conform to the relevant definition’.

Sanctions

Legislative Decree 178/03 also establishes in article 7 specific administrative sanctions pecuniary, ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 euros, for violations of the rules established therein regarding the production and presentation of the above-mentioned products, as well as their use as ingredients in other foods.

Conclusions

The regulation of cocoa products represents a balance point between European production traditions and transparency of consumer information. For operators along the supply chain, compliance with these technical thresholds is a prerequisite to enhance the excellence of Made in Italy and the reputation of its brands.

Our FARE team (Food and Agriculture Requirements) is available to operators aiming to ensure full compliance of production processes, labels, and advertising with legal requirements and best industry practices.

Dario Dongo

Credit cover: Novi 

References

⁃ Legislative Decree 12 June 2003, no. 178. Implementation of Directive 2000/36/EC relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption. Normattiva. https://www.normattiva.it/esporta/attoCompleto?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2003-07-18&atto.codiceRedazionale=003G0203

⁃ Directive 2000/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 June 2000 relating to cocoa and chocolate products intended for human consumption. Consolidated text: 18/11/2013 http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2000/36/2013-11-18