The European Union Court of Justice has overturned an Italian law whereby chocolate which contains only cocoa butter could be labelled “pure chocolate”. Under the new EU legislation, if chocolate is made from 100% cocoa butter, that fact must be recorded on the label but it cannot be labelled “pure chocolate”. The Court ruled that the label “pure chocolate” misleads consumers about the product’s quality.
If vegetable fats are included, as often happens in the UK, this fact must also be recorded on the label.
Pierpaolo Ruta of the Bonajuto Traditional Chocolate Factory in Modica, Sicily said the company will not be affected by the new law as no extra cocoa butter is used in their traditional “pure” chocolate which is labelled “100% massa di cacao”. However, they will no longer be able to tell visitors to their premises that the chocolate is “pure”.
85% of Italy’s chocolate manufacturers use both cocoa butter and vegetable fats in their products.
