Rarely do documents making their way through federal agenciescause chocolate lovers to totally melt down. Then came Appendix C.
Accompanying a 35-page petition signed by a diverse set ofculinary groups -- juice producers, meat canners and the chocolatelobby -- the appendix charts proposed changes to food standarddefinitions set by the Food and Drug Administration, including thisone: 'use a vegetable fat in place of another vegetable fat named inthe standard (e.g., cacao fat).'
Chocolate lovers read that as a direct assault on their palates.That's because the current FDA standard for chocolate says it mustcontain cacao fat -- a.k.a. cocoa butter -- and this proposalwould make it possible to call something chocolate even if it hadvegetable oil instead of that defining ingredient. Whoppers maltedmilk balls, for instance, do not have cocoa butter.
Chocolate purists, of which there are apparently many, haveundertaken a grassroots letter-writing campaign to the FDA to informthe agency that such a change to the standards is just not okay withthem. More than 225 comments to the petition have been processed sofar by the agency, and chocolate bloggers are pressing for more. Inthe annals of bureaucratic Washington battles, this is a sweet one.
'If this puts a smile on people's faces even though it's aserious matter, that's what chocolate is meant to do,' saidCalifornia chocolate maker and traditionalist Gary Guittard, whoseWeb site, DontMessWithOurChocolate.com, has led the counterassault.
Other proposals in the petition -- e.g., to market cartooncharacter-shaped pasta as macaroni -- have not caused as muchheartburn. That's because chocolate isn't just food. It symbolizespassion, and for its lovers, it borders on religion. They buychocolate based on cacao content -- some desire 70 percent, otherswill go higher. The most demanding examine labels to make sure it isfrom one region, not a blend, focusing on production methods muchthe same way that coffee lovers home in on where beans are grown.Even mass chocolate producers are trying to tap into this spirit.There's now a Limited Edition Dark Snickers bar.
The industry has also been touting chocolate's health benefits -- it contains flavonoids, which may benefit the heart and arteries;cocoa butter doesn't raise cholesterol levels; and chocolate doesn'tcontain trans fats. Mars has even launched a division called MarsNutrition for Health & Well-Being, which markets chocolate productswith explicit health claims.
Guittard, whose family has been making chocolate since 1868, saidsome big chocolate manufacturers favor the proposed change inregulations because they want to keep prices down on key ingredientsby using less expensive vegetable fat, which can contain trans fats,instead of cocoa butter. That scares him. Cybele May, a playwright,whale-watching enthusiast and Web editor in California, has beenencouraging people to write the FDA with posts on her blog atcandyblog.net. 'Suddenly, we are worried that the chocolate barisn't the same anymore and we don't know why,' May said.
If the change is approved, products would still need to containchocolate liquor, the ground-up center of the cocoa bean. But aconfection such as PayDay Chocolatey Avalanche -- which doesn'tcontain cocoa butter -- would be able to call itself PayDayChocolate Avalanche. It seems like a small distinction, but topeople like Guittard and May, it is not.
An FDA spokeswoman said if -- stressing, if -- the agencydecides to consider changing the standards as requested in thepetition, the process would take several years.
For their part, chocolate makers aren't saying much. KirkSaville, a Hershey's spokesman, said it was 'premature to speculateon any changes before the process is complete.' He was moreexpansive in speaking to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, in thecompany's back yard, saying, 'There are high-quality oils availablewhich are equal to or better than cocoa butter in taste, nutrition,texture and function, and are preferred by consumers.'
Officials from the Chocolate Manufacturers Association declinedan interview request. In a statement, the association said now is anappropriate time to update standards of identity for all foods andadded, 'We want to emphasize that by co-signing the food industrypetition, CMA has not endorsed any particular changes to thestandards of identity for chocolate products.'
From the department of cooler heads comes Nick Malgieri, thedirector of the baking program at the Institute of CulinaryEducation in New York.
'I think a lot of people don't realize that this would beoptional,' Malgieri said. 'No one is going to force a high-classchocolate maker to add vegetable fat to chocolate.' Asked if finechocolate would just melt away, he said, 'Absolutely not.'
