{"id":70,"date":"2015-06-09T08:29:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T08:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topicsa.wordpress.com\/?p=70"},"modified":"2017-03-31T09:10:01","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T09:10:01","slug":"le-chocolatier-no-sugar-dark-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/le-chocolatier-no-sugar-dark-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Chocolatier “no sugar” dark chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Le<\/a>
Packaging Showing ‘No Sugar’ Claim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The latest product to be investigated by consumer-led organisation, TOPIC, which stands for Testing of Products Initiated by Consumers, is the Le Chocolatier Organic Chocolate 70% slab. Consumers wanted to know if its \u201cno sugar\u201d claims were true.<\/p>\n

TOPIC contacted the owner, Daniel Waldis, who stated that he has conducted laboratory tests himself and his \u201cno sugar\u201d chocolate has \u201c7.24g\/100g sugar.\u201d He said that \u201cwe do not add sugar \u2026 but we add dehydrated honey powder\u201d and that \u201cwe then changed immediately our labelling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Honey powder?<\/strong>
\nThe new label now lists five ingredients including honey powder and states \u201cno added sugar\u201d on the pack.<\/span><\/p>\n

TOPIC used funds raised from concerned consumers to have a certified laboratory measure the sugar content of two slabs, one with the old label (\u201cno sugar\u201d) and one with the new label (\u201cno sugar added\u201d). <\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\"Lab<\/a>
Lab results showing sugar content<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Results came back showing 27.2g sucrose per 100g, in both chocolate slabs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Honey powder is not pure sucrose…<\/strong>
\n<\/span>\u201cConsumers should be warned that this product contains more than a quarter sucrose, despite being labelled \u201cno sugar\u201d and \u201cno sugar added\u201d,\u201d says TOPIC spokesperson Peter Becker. \u201cAn inaccurate label like this poses a real danger for diabetics and others who avoid sugar in their diet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In line with TOPIC\u2019s approach of engagement, we contacted Waldis again for comment on the results. \u201cWe admitted that honey powder us <\/span>[<\/span>sic<\/span>]<\/span> added instead of sugar in our normal range,\u201d he says. \u201cThose packagings already changed.\u201d He also mentioned that he has two other products he intends labelling as \u201csugar-free\u201d, that are aimed at diabetics and those following the banting diet. <\/span><\/p>\n

To believe, or not to believe…<\/strong>
\n\u201cTOPIC was formed to help the consumer make informed choices based on accurate labelling information, and today we are again releasing results which clearly show that product labels cannot always be believed,\u201d says Becker. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many suppliers who strive to have honest labels, and in order to build consumer confidence in those products, it is necessary to identify those labels which are not accurate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

TOPIC is supported by online organic shops Faithful to Nature and Organic Emporium, health and wellness retailer Wellness Warehouse, Cape Town fresh produce retailers Organic Zone and Garden Route Goodies, urban agriculture voluntary association Abalimi-Harvest of Hope, amongst others. All supporters have committed to transparency and work with TOPIC to ensure integrity in the industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost people running ethical businesses place high value on integrity, transparency and honesty,\u201d says Organic Emporium owner, Debbie Logan. \u201cIt <\/span>[t<\/span>he rise of social media<\/span>] <\/span>\u00a0means that the consumer is now able to mobilise quickly, more effectively than the legal channels which too often fail us. \u00a0I see this as evidence of the strength of the emerging conscious consumer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cViva TOPIC!\u201d says Rob Small, co-founder of Farm & Garden Trust-Abalimi-Harvest of Hope and TOPIC panel member. \u201cTOPIC gives the consumer the ability to check on any label. Producers and consumers (and all who do business within the value chain between) who want transparency must want the tests badly enough to help pay for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

TOPIC\u2019s strength relies on concerned consumers getting involved. Consumers are encouraged to nominate products for testing via facebook (<\/span>www.facebook.com\/topicsa<\/span><\/a>), twitter (<\/span>www.twitter.com\/topic_sa<\/span><\/a>) \u00a0or anonymously via our website (<\/span>www.topic.org.za<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

TOPIC (Testing of Products Initiated by Consumers) is a consumer-led organisation that tests the authenticity of South African products, particularly within the organic and wellness sector. A product is chosen from those nominated by consumers via facebook (<\/span>www.facebook.com\/topicsa<\/span><\/a>), twitter (<\/span>www.twitter.com\/topic_sa<\/span><\/a>) \u00a0or our website (<\/span>www.topic.org.za<\/span><\/a>) and a label claim is investigated.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest product to be investigated by consumer-led organisation, TOPIC, which stands for Testing of Products Initiated by Consumers, is the Le Chocolatier Organic Chocolate 70% slab. Consumers wanted to know if its \u201cno sugar\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-no-sugar","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/topicsa.org.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}