A Limited Survey of Dark Chocolate Bars Obtained in the United States for Undeclared Milk and Peanut Allergens

Abstract

Undeclared allergens in chocolate products have been responsible for numerous allergen-related recalls in the United States. A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of undeclared milk and peanut in 88 and 78 dark chocolate bars, respectively. Concentrations of milk (as nonfat dry milk) or peanut in three samples of each chocolate product were determined with two milk- or peanut-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. In 75% of the chocolate bar products with a milk advisory statement, milk concentrations were above the limit of quantitation (2.5 μg/g [ppm]), with the majority having concentrations >1,000 ppm. An additional 67% of chocolate bars with a "traces of milk" statement contained 3 to 6,700 ppm of milk. Fifteen percent of chocolates labeled dairy free or lactose free and 25% labeled vegan were positive for milk, all with concentrations >1,000 ppm. Even for chocolates with no reference to milk on the label, 33% of these products contained 60 to 3,400 ppm of milk. The survey of chocolate products for peanuts revealed that 8% of products with an advisory statement contained peanut, with the highest concentration of 550 ppm. All nine chocolates bearing the peanut-free or allergen-free statement were negative for peanut, but 17% of chocolates with no label statement for peanut were positive for peanut at concentrations of 9 to 170 ppm. Evaluation of multiple lots of four chocolate products revealed that milk was consistently present or absent for the products investigated, but mixed results were obtained when multiple lots were tested for peanut. This study indicates that a large proportion of dark chocolate bars contain undeclared milk. The type of advisory statement or the absence of a milk advisory statement on products did not predict the amount or absence of milk protein. In contrast, a lower proportion of chocolates containing undeclared peanut was found. Consumers with food allergies should be cautious when purchasing dark chocolate products, particularly those that have an advisory label statement.

Peanut and hazelnut occurrence as allergens in foodstuffs with precautionary allergen labeling in Canada

“…Few of the analyzed samples with PAL did contain the allergen mentioned in the PAL statement (5% positive for peanuts and 9% for hazelnuts). While the occurrence of peanut and hazelnuts found in selected Canadian with PAL products is low, it is in accordance with most previous occurrence publications 6 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 13 – 15 , 20 . Conversely, Pele et al (2007) found higher occurrences but focused exclusively on cookies and chocolates.…”

“…The protein ranges found for peanuts and hazelnuts with PAL were relatively low compared with milk 21 , 22 but were similar to most studies 6 , 9 , 11 , 13 – 15 . The protein range found for both allergens were 0.6 to 28.1 ppm peanut proteins and 0.4 to 2167 ppm for hazelnut proteins.…”

“…In addition, few articles in other countries addressed the lot-to-lot variability 6 , 9 , 13 , 14 and the differences between brands, industry size or origin 10 , 19 , and were mostly focusing on the PAL statement used 6 , 10 , 14 . Articles addressing lot-to-lot variability analyzed up to four different lots, but for few products only 9 , 13 . Some authors concluded that when a product contained the allergen mentioned in the PAL statement, it was more likely that it would always contain allergen traces 9 .…”

“…Articles addressing lot-to-lot variability analyzed up to four different lots, but for few products only 9 , 13 . Some authors concluded that when a product contained the allergen mentioned in the PAL statement, it was more likely that it would always contain allergen traces 9 . The articles investigating differences between PAL statements (“may contain” vs. “may contain traces”) all concluded that there were no differences between the statements used 6 , 10 , 14 .…”

Food allergies and perceptions towards food allergen labelling in Mauritius

“…Similarly, chocolate can trigger headache and migraine due to consumption of increased level of tyramine, which is naturally present in cocoa products (Finocchi, & Sivori, 2012). There is also a possibility of presence of milk and or nuts in chocolate that caused the sensitivity (Bedford, Yu, Wang, Garber, & Jackson, 2017).…”