Task Force Meeting on the Analysis of Vegetable Fats in Chocolate

This meeting of scientists from 8 Member State of the European Union (EU) and from Switzerland took place in the European Commissions' Joint Research Centre in Ispra, located at the Lago Monate in Italy. The Directive 73/241/EEC relating to cocoa and chocolate products has in particular foreseen, for some Member States, the possibility of adding vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in chocolate products. The permitted quantity of these fats is mostly 5% of the weight of the finished product. A number of European countries authorises the use of vegetable fats other than cocoa butter in the manufacture of chocolate. In practice, fats similar in chemical and physical properties or with specific functional properties to cocoa butter are added. The Commission of the EU now feels there is a need to harmonise the legislation, which means that a decision needs to be made whether the level of vegetable fats can be regulated at the European level of should be left to the Member States' legislation. At present, there is a lack of a suitable analytical method for quantification of the addition of other vegetable fats than cocoa butter to chocolate.

ANKLAM Elke; 

1996-08-01

JRC13446

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC13446,