US chocolate producer Guittard Chocolate has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reject proposals to change standards affecting the content of the product.
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Guittard said the proposals, put forward by bodies including the US Chocolate Manufacturers Association, would change the taste and composition of chocolate in the US.
The plans include a change in federal “Standards of Identity” for chocolate products and would permit the use of cheaper vegetable fats instead of traditional cocoa butter. The proposals also allow for the use of lower-cost milk substitutes instead of genuine milk products. The changes, Guittard said, would allow products containing such alternative ingredients still to be called chocolate.
The FDA has initiated a public consultation period, during which comment has been invited, and which is scheduled to close on 25 April.
Guittard said it had joined with other chocolate manufacturers in asking the FDA to reject the proposed changes. The company, based in California, urged regulators to enter into “a broad public dialogue” with those you have “an interest in preserving the quality, taste and content of traditional American ‘chocolate’”.
Guittard president Gary Guittard said: “While all companies in the industry may have financial and economic concerns about the cost of doing business, the chocolate industry prides itself on delivering to the consumer high-quality products.
Mr. Guittard conceded that the proposals had good points relating to other foods. However, he argued that, if adopted, the proposals would allow the current “gold standard” for chocolate to be changed in a way that would give “no clear consumer benefits”.
