Taiwan News
Date: 2015-10-12
By: By Lung Pei-ning and Elizabeth Hsu, Central News Agency

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) Taiwan’s food authorities are planning to set a clear-cut definition for chocolate, so that no product can be described as chocolate if it does not match the proposed definition.

There are currently no national standards for chocolate in Taiwan, Hsueh Fu-chin, a deputy division chief at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Monday. “There is no definition from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI), or from the FDA.” However, there is a wide spectrum of chocolate products in the Taiwan market, and chocolate is a favorite among teenagers and children, Hsueh said while trying to explain to the media why it is necessary to set standards for chocolate.

According to the definition set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, chocolate (in some regions also named bittersweet chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate or “chocolat fondant”) shall contain, on a dry matter basis, not less than 35 percent total cocoa solids, of which not less than 18 percent shall be cocoa butter and not less than 14 percent fat-free cocoa solids.     [FULL  STORY]