The Dark-Chocolate Deception: How To Escape The Manufacturers’ Disinformation Pipeline
Is cacao a nutraceutical? The FDA says “kind of”, but the evidence tells us how best to consume it: not as dark chocolate!
What is new?
A candy maker’s petition for an FDA health endorsement is either the silliest idea going around or a sign that nutrition science is on to something. The FDA didn’t buy into the latter.
Why it matters.
The annual dark chocolate global market is expected to double in size over the next 10 years, from 40 to 80 billion US dollars. Health-conscious consumers fuel that growth, partly because producers “fuel” the consumers with health claims about their products’ flavonoid content. Questioning these claims’ evidence isn’t exactly popular but necessary.
What now?
There is an alternative to dark chocolate that packs a greater flavonoid punch, is cheaper, and comes without chocolate’s payload of sugar and fat calories.
Dark chocolate is healthy. Compared to what?
In 2018, the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut AG petitioned the FDA to endorse a “qualified…
