Description And Essential Composition Factors

· The Addition Of Vegetable Fats Other Than Cocoa Butter Shall Not Exceed 5% Of The Finished Product, After Deduction Of The Total Weight Of Any Other Added Edible Foodstuffs, Without Reducing The Minimum Contents Of Cocoa Materials. Where Required By The Authorities Having Jurisdiction, The Nature Of The Vegetable Fats Permitted For This Purpose May Be Prescribed In Applicable Legislation.

Chocolate Types :-

Chocolate :-

· Chocolate (In Some Regions Also Named Bittersweet Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Or “Chocolate Fondant”) Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 35% Total Cocoa Solids, Of Which Not Less Than 18% Shall Be Cocoa Butter And Not Less Than 14% Fat-Free Cocoa Solids.

Sweet Chocolate :-

· Sweet Chocolate Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 30% Total Cocoa Solids, Of Which At Least 18% Shall Be Cocoa Butter And At Least 12% Fat-Free Cocoa Solids.

Couverture Chocolate :-

· Couverture Chocolate Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 35% Total Cocoa Solids Of Which Not Less Than 31% Shall Be Cocoa Butter And Not Less Than 2.5% Of Fat-Free Cocoa Solids.

Milk Chocolate :-

· Family Milk Chocolate Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 20% Cocoa Solids (Including A Minimum Of 2.5% Fat-Free Cocoa Solids) And Not Less Than 20% Milk Solids (Including A Minimum Of 5% Milk Fat). “Milk Solids” Refers To The Addition Of Milk Ingredients In Their Natural Proportions, Except That Milk Fat May Be Added, Or Removed. Where Required By The Competent Authority, A Minimum Content Of Cocoa Butter Plus Milk Fat May Also Be Set.

Milk Chocolate Couverture :-

· Milk Chocolate Couverture Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 25% Cocoa Solids (Including A Minimum Of 2.5% Non-Fat Cocoa Solids) And Not Less Than 14% Milk Solids (Including A Minimum Of 3.5% Milk Fat) And A Total Fat Of Not Less Than 31%.

Other Chocolate Products :-

White Chocolate :-

· White Chocolate Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 20% Cocoa Butter And Not Less Than 14% Milk Solids (Including A Minimum Milk Fat In A Range Of 2.5% To 3.5% As Applied By The Authority Having Jurisdiction In Accordance With Applicable Legislation).

· “Milk Solids” Refers To The Addition Of Milk Ingredients In Their Natural Proportions, Except That Milk Fat May Be Added, Or Removed.

Gianduja Chocolate :-

· “Gianduja” (Or One Of The Derivatives Of The Word “Gianduja”) Chocolate Is The Product Obtained, Firstly, From Chocolate Having A Minimum Total Dry Cocoa Solids Content Of 32%, Including A Minimum Dry Non-Fat Cocoa Solids Content Of 8%, And, Secondly, From Finely Ground Hazelnuts Such That The Product Contains Not Less Than 20 % And Not More Than 40% Of Hazelnuts.

Gianduja Milk Chocolate :-

· “Gianduja” (Or One Of The Derivatives Of The Word “Gianduja”) Milk Chocolate Is The Product Obtained,Firstly, From Milk Chocolate Having A Minimum Dry Milk Solids Content Of 10% And, Secondly, From Finely Ground Hazelnuts Such That The Product Contains Not Less Than 15 % And Not More Than 40% Of Hazelnuts. “Milk Solids” Refers To The Addition Of Milk Ingredients In Their Natural Proportions, Except That Milk Fat May Be Added Or Removed. The Following May Be Added: Almonds, Hazelnuts And Other Nut Varieties, Either Whole Or Broken, In Such Quantities That, Together With The Ground Hazelnuts, They Do Not Exceed 60% Of The Total Weight Of The Product. Where Required By The Competent Authority, A Minimum Content Of Cocoa Butter Plus Milk Fat May Also Be Set.

· Chocolate Para Mesa :- Chocolate Para Mesa Is Unrefined Chocolate In Which The Grain Size Of Sugars Is Larger Than 70 Microns.

Chocolate Types (Forms) :-

· Chocolate Vermicelli And Chocolate Flakes :- Chocolate Vermicelli And Chocolate Flakes Are Cocoa Products Obtained By A Mixing, Extrusion And Hardening Technique Which Gives Unique, Crisp Textural Properties To The Products. Vermicelli Are Presented In The Form Of Short, Cylindrical Grains And Flakes In The Form Of Small Flat Pieces.

· Chocolate Vermicelli / Chocolate Flakes :- Chocolate Vermicelli / Chocolate Flakes Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 32% Total Cocoa Solids, Of Which At Least 12% Shall Be Cocoa Butter And 14% Fat-Free Cocoa Solids.

· Milk Chocolate Vermicelli / Milk Chocolate Flakes :- Milk Chocolate Vermicelli / Milk Chocolate Flakes Shall Contain, On A Dry Matter Basis, Not Less Than 20% Cocoa Solids (Including A Minimum Of 2.5% Fat-Free Cocoa Solids) And Not Less Than 12% Milk Solids (Including A Minimum Of 3% Milk Fat). “Milk Solids” Refers To The Addition Of Milk Ingredients In Their Natural Proportions, Except That Milk Fat May Be Added, Or Removed. Where Required By The Competent Authority, A Minimum Content Of Cocoa Butter Plus Milk Fat May Also Be Set.

Food Additives

· Acidity Regulators, Antioxidants, Bulking Agents, Colours (For Surface Decoration Purposes Only), Emulsifiers, Glazing Agents And Sweeteners Used In Accordance With Tables 1 And 2 Of The General Standard For Food Additives (Codex Stan 192-1995) In Food Category 05.1.4 (Chocolate And Chocolate Products) And Its Parent Food Categories Are Acceptable For Use In Foods Conforming To This Standard. Only Certain Table 3 Food Additives (As Indicated In Table 3) Are Acceptable For Use In Foods Conforming To This Standard.

· Hexane (62ºc 82ºc) – 1 Mg/Kg Calculated On A Fat Content Basis

· The Processing Aids Used In Products Conforming To This Standard Should Be Consistent With The Guidelines On Substances Used As Processing Aids (Cac/Gl 75-2010)

Hygiene

· It Is Recommended That The Products Covered By The Provisions Of This Standard Be Prepared And Handled In Accordance With The Appropriate Sections Of The General Principles Of Food Hygiene (Cac/Rcp 1-1969), The Code Of Hygienic Practice For Low Moisture Foods (Cac/Rcp 75-2015) And Other Relevant Codex Texts Such As Codes Of Hygienic Practice And Codes Of Practice.

· The Products Should Comply With Any Microbiological Criteria Established In Accordance With The Principles And Guidelines For The Establishment And Application Of Microbiological Criteria For Foods (Cac/Gl 21-1997).

Labelling

· In Addition To The Requirements Of The General Standard For The Labelling Of Prepackaged Foods (Codex Stan 1-1985), The Following Declarations Shall Be Made:

· When Sugars Are Fully Or Partly Replaced By Sweeteners, An Appropriate Declaration Should Be Included In Proximity Of The Sales Designation Of The Chocolate, Mentioning The Presence Of Sweeteners. Example: “X Chocolate With Sweeteners”.

· The Use Of Vegetable Fats In Addition To Cocoa Butter In Accordance With The Provisions Of Section 2 Shall Be Indicated On The Label In Association With The Name And/Or The Representation Of The Product.

Labelling Of Non-Retail Containers :-

· However, Lot Identification, And The Name And Address Of The Manufacturer, Packer, Distributor And/Or Importer May Be Replaced By An Identification Mark Provided That Such A Mark Is Clearly Identifiable With The Accompanying Documents.

Methods Of Analysis And Sampling

· All Methods Approved For The Chocolate Type Used For The Coating And Those Approved For The Type Of Centre Concerned.

· Determination Of Cocoa Butter :- According To Aoac 963.15 Or Ioccc 14-1972.

· Determination Of Fat-Free Cocoa Solid :- According To Aoac 931.05.

· Determination Of Fat-Free Milk Solids :- According To Ioccc 17-1973 Or Aoac 939.02.

· Determination Of Milk Fat :- According To Ioccc 5-1962 Or Aoac 945.34, 925.41b, 920.80.

· Determination Of Moisture:- According To Ioccc 26-1988 Or Aoac 977.10 (Karl Fischer Method); Or Aoac 931.04 Or Ioccc 1-1952 (Gravimetry).

· Determination Of Total Fat :- According To Aoac 963.15.

Determination Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fat In Chocolate And Chocolate Products :-

· The Following Methods Of Analysis Are The Best Available At The Present Time. Further Systematic Improvement Is Required. Documentation Identifying The Type Of Commercial Blends Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fats Used Must Be Made Available Upon Request By Competent Authorities.

· Detection Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fats In Chocolate :- Detecting Sterol Breakdown Products In Refined Vegetable Fats Added To Chocolate By Method Aocs Ce 10/02 (02).

Quantitative Determination Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fats :-

· Determination Of The Triacylglycerol’s (C50, C52, C54) Present In Cocoa Butters And Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fats By Gc-Fid In J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. (1980), 57, 286-293. In Milk Chocolate, There Is A Need To Correct For The Milk Fat

· Interpretation :- When Type Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fat Is Known, The Amount Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fat Is Calculated According To J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. (1980), 57, 286-293. When Type Of Non-Cocoa Butter Vegetable Fat Is Not Known, The Calculation Is Made According To J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. (1982), 61 (3), 576-581.