“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,” is a quote made popular by the Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump . But if you kept the life-chocolate box analogy aside and analyse the chocolate itself, what would you get?

A recent study by Consumer Voice magazine looked at the various attributes of dark and milk chocolate brands available in India. In a country where Cadbury’s is synonymous with chocolate, Amul turned out to be the top performer both among milk and dark chocolates, as well as the most value-for-money brand. Nestle ranked second among milk chocolates. The testing centres were accredited to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

Cocoa solids, the leftovers from cocoa butter extraction, are a key determinant of chocolate taste. The more the cocoa solids present, the more intense the taste. This factor was given a weightage of 15 in the analysis. National standards decree a minimum of two per cent cocoa for milk chocolates and 12 per cent for plain/dark chocolate. Among milk chocolates, Amul had the most cocoa solids, with a score of 12.36, followed by Hershey’s with 10.43. Amul Dark scored over Cadbury’s Bourneville too.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) stipulates that sugar should not exceed 55 per cent by mass, but Hershey’s (56.59) and Cadbury Dairy Milk (55.68) overshot that, the study found. Lindt Lindor contains the least (39.13) and yielded more calories than any of the other tested brands. It also contained the highest amount of cholesterol. Nestle Milk yielded the most calories after Lindt, but had the least cholesterol.

When cholesterol is mentioned, can fat be far behind? Fat, whether it’s milk solids or cocoa butter, is what imparts richness. The more the amount of fat, the richer and smoother the chocolate. Under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Rules, total fat in chocolate should not be less than 25 per cent by mass. Lindt topped the charts here as well (45.14 per cent). However, Lindt Lindor contains vegetable fats (coconut, palm kernel and palm oil), which are not permitted by BIS, says Consumer Voice . Nestle Milk had the second-highest amount of fat (33.13 per cent).

And then we come to carbohydrates, which raise blood sugar more than any other nutrient. The study found Cadbury Bourneville contained the highest amount, followed by Hershey’s and Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Bourneville had the highest melting point (43 {+0} C). A high melting point is an advantage as the chocolates are less likely to lose form and crispness even when not refrigerated.

Mostly it’s good news for consumers. No synthetic food colour was detected, and moisture, which could play spoilsport, was less than one per cent. There were checks for yeast and mould, E. coli, S. aureus and salmonella, which could manifest due to poor hygiene in manufacture or storage. All the microbes were well below the maximum permissible limit, but Consumer Voice sounds a note of caution — that FSS rules do not mandate a standard requirement. The tests were mainly based on the Indian Standard specification for chocolates (IS: 1163–1992) and relevant FSS Rules 2011.

In the case of packaging, the study points out that Hershey’s did not feature a green/red dot to indicate vegetarian/non-vegetarian ingredients. Except for Chocon Milcreme, none of the brands mentioned the percentage of cocoa solids they contained.

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