Is it true that any chocolate bar contains particles of cockroach shells?

It is a popular belief that chocolate, no matter how expensive it is, must contain the remains of cockroaches. Some even associate this with the appearance of allergies. We have verified the accuracy of such messages.

On February 6, 2022, a tweet was published in which a user under the nickname @wraithofRE claimed: In fact, many people's chocolate allergy is a chitin allergy. Allegedly, modern technologies do not allow us to completely get rid of cockroach shells when processing cocoa beans. At the time of publication of this story, the tweet had received more than 13,000 likes. Previously, users posted similar statements on their pages Facebook, LiveJournal And Pikabu. They can also be found on portals "Faktrum" And RealFacts.

Apparently, this point of view became popular at least ten years ago. In the spring of 2012, notes appeared on the websites of several American media outlets that an allergic reaction to chocolate is actually associated with insect particles that end up in the finished product. Similar publications were published, for example, by NBC And Glamor with reference to the text published by the journalist ABC Lauren Torrisi. At the same time, similar blog posts appeared and before.

In his material, Torrisi states that, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on average, about eight insect particles are contained in a standard chocolate bar and the agency allows this. Further, citing allergist Morton M. Teich, the journalist reports that “it is almost impossible to avoid insects in your food; to do this, you will probably have to stop eating altogether.”

Let us note two features of the note published on the ABC website. Firstly, it contains a link to document FDA, which regulates the acceptable levels of insect filth and rodent filth in chocolate and describes the appropriate testing procedures. This document does not say anything specifically about cockroaches. Secondly, Teich also talks about insects in general, while only the author of the publication mentions cockroaches.

Although in FDA-approved rules Indeed, the presence of “up to 60 insect fragments per 100 g” of chocolate is allowed, the authors of media publications, and then social network users, are missing the context. Firstly, this is the standard that applies during the inspection - for it, inspectors examine six 100-gram samples from a batch of chocolate. If more than 90 “fragments” are found in at least one of them, the Department will take appropriate measures. Secondly, the F.D.A. believes It is permissible to keep the remains of a very small number of insect species that meet a long list of criteria, and cockroaches are not among them. Completely avoid the presence of such particles impossible not for any raw food product.

Fact checkers from USA Today contacted FDA for comment. Agency spokeswoman Veronica Pfaffle said the FDA regularly examines samples of cocoa beans for the presence of insects and has no conclusions about their particular “attractiveness” to cockroaches. At the same time, she emphasized that manufacturers of chocolate and other food products are obliged to protect their products from cockroaches and other insects, because in case of violations they may be confiscated.

Doctors interviewed by our colleagues emphasized, that even if a person is allergic to cockroaches, the particles contained in chocolate are unlikely to be enough to cause a corresponding reaction. An allergy to cocoa beans itself is quite rare - usually additional ingredients such as milk, peanuts or nuts act as an allergen (along with eggs, fish, wheat, seafood and soy). included the Big Eight allergens that cause about 90% of all serious allergic reactions to food). Another possible reason could be the presence of flavorings in chocolate.

In 2016, hygienist and food expert Andrey Mosov paid attentionthat insect particles can be contained in a variety of foods - from mushrooms to pasta, but no one associates corresponding allergies with them. Moreover, there is no standardized method for detecting chitin in food products. Experts from the All-Russian Research Institute of the Confectionery Industry interviewed by Mosov said that reports of noticeable “impurities” of insects in chocolate are nothing more than fiction.

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. USA Today. Fact check: Debunking rumor about cockroach pieces, chocolate and FDA regulations
2. Is it true that McDonald's food doesn't go bad for years?
3. Is it true that Jamie Oliver managed to prove in court that McDonald's products are unsuitable for humans?