Dove chocolate deceptively high in trans fat

The photo shows the comparison of chocolates from nine brands in price and contents of ingredients such as trans fatty acids. (Photo source: chinaconsumerreport.com)

(ECNS) – An inspection of nine chocolate brands on the Chinese market has found that Dove chocolate is relatively high in trans fatty acids, according to China Consumer Reports magazine.

The nine brands in question are Dove, Hershey, Meiji, Lindt, Leconte, which are made with cocoa butter, and Truffles, Hsu Fu, Golden Monkey, and Enon, which use cocoa butter alternative.

All nine brands contain traces of trans fat, but those in Dove dark chocolate and Meiji dark chocolate contain the highest concentrations, reaching 0.13 percent. Enon and Hsu Fu tested lowest at 0.03 percent.

However, among the ingredients typed on the packaging of each brand, trans fat content is labeled as zero, or not labeled at all.

A director at Hsu Fu explained that according to China's rules on food nutrition labeling, trans fatty acid content can be labeled as zero if the product contains no more than 0.3 percent.

Trans fatty acids are produced by hydrogenating unsaturated fatty acids, which are usually found in margarines and fried foods.

Li Guangping, a senior food inspector, said an excess of these fats can raise the level of low density lipoprotein in the bloodstream and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Deng Zeyuan, a professor of food science at Nanchang University, confirmed Li's statement. Professor Deng analyzed over 1,000 blood samples and found that intake of the acids positively correlated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease.