MILK
CHOCOLATE
Terms of the current
Directive (1973)
8. The 1973 Directive treats
milk chocolate (that favoured on the Continent which contains
25 per cent cocoa and 14 per cent milk) and "milk chocolate
with a high milk content" (that favoured by the United Kingdom
and Ireland which contains 20 per cent cocoa and 20 per cent milk)
as being two different and distinct products[2].
Only the 25/14 version may be sold as "milk chocolate".
The 20/20 version must be sold as "milk chocolate with a
high milk content". In other languages this phrase is translated
as "household milk chocolate": in French "chocolat
de ménage au lait"; in German "haushaltsmilchschokolade;
and in Italian "cioccolato commune al latte". A derogation
permits the sale in the United Kingdom and Ireland of our traditional
version of milk chocolate as "milk chocolate" so long
as a declaration of the minimum percentage of milk solids present
is made on the packaging. All types of chocolate covered by the
Directive have to state their minimum cocoa solids content. In
the United Kingdom these statements are usually made adjacent
to the ingredients list.
Terms of the Commission's
proposal (1996)
9. The Commission proposes
no change to the current position. The United Kingdom and Ireland
will have their derogations extended.
European Parliament's
amendments
10. The European Parliament voted
to end the United Kingdom and Ireland's derogation, so that the
United Kingdom's traditional style of milk chocolate could no
longer be sold as milk chocolate even within the United Kingdom,
but would need to be sold as "milk chocolate with a high
milk content".
11. As well as the United Kingdom,
Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden permit
the use of non-cocoa fats. Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain do not. Only the United
Kingdom and Ireland make milk chocolate with a high milk content.
1