Why Penguin bars can no longer be described as ‘chocolate’

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Some of Britain’s best-loved lunchbox biscuit brands have reduced their cocoa content so much that they can no longer legally be classed as chocolate.

McVitie’s Club and Penguin biscuit bars were quietly reformulated, resulting in the coating being downgraded to “chocolate taste”

The Club was forced to retire its original biscuit slogan: “If you like lots of chocolate on a biscuit, join our Club.” Instead: “If you like too many biscuits during your break, join our Club.”

According to the trade journal, cocoa prices continue to rise, leading McVitie’s owner Pladis to increase the palm oil and shea butter content in the chocolate coating on its Club and Penguin bars, and the cocoa solids content has fallen. General store.

“We made some changes to McVitie’s Penguin and Club earlier this year, where instead of chocolate coating we are using chocolate flavored coating that contains cocoa mass,” Pladis told the publication.

“Sensory testing with consumers shows that the new coatings offer the same great taste as the originals.”

Independent Pladis has been approached for comment.

Products like KitKat White and McVitie’s white digestives had to stop being marketed as “white chocolate” earlier this year because they don’t meet the minimum 20 percent cocoa butter requirement.

Cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast warned earlier this year that cocoa yields would disappear by 2030 without financial support and fairer markets.

Although the West African country is the world’s largest producer of cocoa, years of low prices have destroyed farmers’ ability to reinvest in their land. Unpredictable climatic conditions also caused productivity to decrease and prices to rise rapidly.

Rising costs of cocoa also increase Consumer Brand Which? It also led to “downsizing”. It found that some Easter eggs from major brands have increased by 56 percent per 100 grams on an annual basis.

Not only did the price of an 80g chocolate orange mini egg Terry once bought from Lidl rise from 99p to £1.35 in a year, but the pack size also dropped to 70g. The price increased by 56 percent per 100 grams.