Chocolate egg. Additives, palm oil and skyrocketing prices. 24 in comparison

0
208
Chocolate eggs

Chocolate eggs, an ‘indispensable’ Easter gift, are the classic example of Big Food’s mockery of consumers. Disproportionate prices just for the shape of the molds and the ‘surprise’ (actually revealed on the packaging), regardless of the quality of the products. Below is the analysis of 24 chocolate eggs available on supermarket shelves. The sample includes 13 milk chocolate eggs, 5 white ‘chocolate’ eggs and 6 dark chocolate eggs. (1)

The great chocolate egg dance

The first element what catches the consumer’s eye is inflation, or rather the greedflation. The average price of egg-shaped molded chocolate is 52 euros/kg, and is not at all justified either by the quality of the ingredients, which is on average poor, or by the type of chocolate (milk or dark).

The price difference per kilo it would instead be said to be linked only to the notoriety of the manufacturer’s brands and gadgets (cartoon characters, television series, etc.), or to the type of surprise. With an average price increase of 7,4%, compared to 2023, according to the survey conducted by Altroconsumo. (2)

Palm oil and synthetic flavourings

Palm oil seemed to have almost disappeared from food in Italy, thanks to the success of our petition against its use in food as its production is the primary cause of land robbery, deforestation and the extermination of orangutans. Even more so after EFSA revealed the carcinogenicity and genotoxicity of three process contaminants present in the poorest of fats. (3) It is instead found in the ingredient list of a third of the chocolate eggs examined, all Ferrero and Nestlé brands.

Synthetic flavourings chemistry are in turn present in over 37% of the sample.

Cocoa it takes on prominence only in dark chocolate eggs, while in the other two versions it is overwhelmed by sugar.

Milk chocolate eggs, dear Kinder

Among the 13 milk chocolate eggs, 6 are accompanied by gadgets for children. The average price is 52 euros/kg, with a range that varies between €33/kg for Pernigotti and €80/kg for Kinder Gran Sorpresa. The latter is the most expensive even in the children’s segment alone, where the average cost is €56/kg.

Price and quality are independent variables. The Kinder Gran Surprise egg is emblematic and qualifies for

  • the smallest amount of cocoa. 14,5%, compared to an average of 30,7%
  • the greatest amount of saturated fats. 24,1%, compared to an average of 19,6%
  • the presence of palm oil, together with Ferrero Rocher and Nestlé’s Kit Kat
  • the addition of synthetic flavourings, as well as in 5 other milk chocolate eggs: Dolfin, Ferrero Rocher, Lindt, Motta and Bauli in the children’s version only (in the egg for adults it uses natural vanilla).

Sugars abound. Compared to an average of 52,5% – more than half of the entire egg – the range goes from 39% for Sperlari to 56,6% for Dolci Preziosi. Soy lecithins are always present.

milk chocolate eggs
White chocolate eggs, the lost cocoa

Cocoa it is a marginal element in white chocolate. Among the five products selected, only in that of Bauli ‘Grandi signatures’ is the percentage specified (26%).

Saturated fats and sugars, however, abound:

– the average for saturated fats is 20,22 g per 100 g of product, with a minimum of 18,5 g in Galak Nestlé and a maximum of 22 g in Lindt,

– sugars are more abundant than in milk chocolate eggs. The average is 54,4%, with a minimum of 43,5% in Ferrero Rocher and a maximum of 59% in Nestlé’s Perugina Baci Bianco.

Palm oil is used in Galak and in the pralines included in Ferrero Rocher. The latter is the only one, together with Lindt, that uses synthetic flavours. Soy lecithins are everywhere.

The average price is €53/kg, with a minimum of €43 for Bauli and a maximum of over €58 for Perugina Baci.

white chocolate eggs
Dark chocolate eggs

In dark chocolate eggs cocoa returns as the protagonist with percentages around 50%. An exception is the ultra-melting Perugina Baci 70%.

Ferrero Rocher dark chocolate with hazelnuts is the only one of the six products compared to use palm oil in the pralines and synthetic flavourings.

The emulsifier soy lecithin is always present. As for macronutrients,

– saturated fats are on average 20% of the product, with a maximum peak of 23,2 in the 70% dark Perugina Baci and minimum (18,2%) in the Ferrero Rocher Pasqua d’oro,

– sugars are less invasive, compared to milk eggs and white ‘chocolate’. The average is 44g per 100 grams of egg, with a maximum of 51g in the Bauli Grandi firme and a minimum of 27g in the ‘bitter’ version of Perugina 70%.

The average price it costs 51 euros, just under the ‘milk’ versions, often aimed at children and therefore burdened by the cost of gadgets.

dark chocolate eggs

Gluten and other allergens

Almost the whole of the 24 chocolate eggs examined communicate the absence of gluten. They are exceptions

– Kit Kat
– Sperlari Zanzibar
– Ferrero Rocher hazelnuts
– Big name trunks.

In two cases the ‘gluten-free’ claim appears on the front of the label: Dolci Preziosi with milk (Pokemon) and Galak Nestlé. In the others it appears at the end of the ingredients list.

In the same area The possible presence of other allergens is communicated on the label. And here the violation of the rules is rampant. Almost all operators declare ‘may contain nuts’ or ‘may contain other nuts’. An incorrect warning because it does not indicate the type of allergen, as we have seen. (4)

It’s an exception Ferrero:
– in the white Rocher and the hazelnut one it correctly warns ‘May contain almonds, pistachios’
– in the Kinder Sorpresa it does not include any warnings on the risk of contamination.

Despite the presence of soy lecithins, no label warns of the possible presence of this allergen. Yet, as we have seen, the consumption of lecithins (additive E 322) is not recommended for people allergic to soy, because the possibility of contamination by the protein fractions of this allergen cannot be excluded. (5)

The unsustainability of chocolate eggs

Sustainability is not fashionable at Easter. At least three ingredients in chocolate eggs are at high risk of exploitation, but there is almost never a trace of them on the labels.

For the cocoa, the only brand that displays a logo related to the sustainability of this ingredient is Nestlé with Rainforest alliance. Yet, this precious ingredient is often obtained through violent practices, such as the exploitation of child labor with exposure of minors to dangerous pesticides and herbicides without personal protective equipment, abuses recently contested by International Rights Advocates against the giants Mars, Cargill and Mondelez. (6)

For the hazelnuts, only Sperlari Zanzibar reports its Italian origin. Even for this ingredient, however, imports from abroad pose important risks, as documented by the BBC investigation into child labor and exploitation of workers in Turkey on the hazelnut plantations that supply Ferrero. (7)

On palm oil finally, over the years we have extensively documented the cases of land grabbing and deforestation still underway in Brazil to produce ‘sustainable’ palm oil destined for Ferrero and other giants of the globalized food industry. Nestlé, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Mars, Danone and Langnese among others. (8) The labels are silent on the subject. And maybe it’s better.

Marta Strinati

Footnotes

(1) Sampling carried out on 23 March 2024 in large-scale retail trade.

(2) R. Usai, G. Voto. Compared to last year, Easter egg prices have increased by 7,4%. The cost of doves is stable. Altroconsumo. 19.3.24 https://www.altroconsumo.it/alimentazione/fare-la-spesa/speciali/prezzi-dolci-pasquali

(3) Palm oil contains carcinogenic and genotoxic substances. Efsa alert for children and adolescents. Record consumption in Italy. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.5.16

(4) Dario Dongo. May it contain traces of… allergens? Crime clue. DO (Food and Agriculture Requirements). 11.8.17

(5) Marta Strinati. Frùttolo and other milk snacks, 10 products compared. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 25.9.21

(6) Dario Dongo. Child abuse of cocoa, class action in USA. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.1.24

(7) Dario Dongo, Guido Cortese. Ferrero, hazelnuts and child labor. BBC investigation into Turkey. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.11.19

(8) Dario Dongo. Brazil, land grabbing and deforestation for ‘sustainable’ palm oil from Ferrero and Big Food. Open letter. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.5.23

Marta Strinati
+ posts

Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".