Chocolate: new legislation explained
regulations, due to come into force in Europe in the summer of
2003, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) said this week that it is
to host a short seminar to discuss the changes. The event, which is
free to attend, is aimed at people involved in chocolate
manufacture or enforcement.
Following the concretisation of a European Directive for chocolate regulations, due to come into force in Europe in the summer of 2003, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) said this week that it is to host a short seminar to discuss the changes. The event, which is free to attend, is aimed at people involved in chocolate manufacture or enforcement.
Chocolate traditionally produced in the UK for British consumers is different from chocolate produced in most of Europe and is generally made with more milk and less cocoa. For decades UK manufacturers have also used small amounts of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in their chocolate.
The new European Directive on chocolate allows chocolate makers to keep to their usual recipes but they have to re-label their product in certain ways to sell it throughout the European Union.
This means that the Directive allows the UK to label its milk chocolate as such in this country, but it must be labelled as 'family milk chocolate' when marketed elsewhere in the EU.
Mark Woolfe in the FSA's Food Labelling and Standards Division said: "An early suggestion from other EU member states was to call our chocolate "vegelate", which was totally unsatisfactory. We have negotiated hard and managed to come to an agreement with other member states so that our producers can keep to their own traditional recipe."
The chocolate legislation seminar will take place at the FSA London headquarters on 31 October 2002. More information on the seminar can be obtained from the FSA website or chocolate@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.
