Is it true that any tile of chocolate contains particles of shells of cockroaches?

It is popular that in chocolate, no matter how expensive it is, the remains of cockroaches are necessarily contained. Some even associate this with the advent of allergies. We checked the reliability of such messages.

On February 6, 2022, a tweet was published in which the user under the nickname @wraithofre asserted: In fact, chocolate allergies in many people are allergies to chitin. Allegedly, modern technologies do not allow you to completely get rid of the shells of cockroaches when processing cocoa beans. At the time of publication of this material, Twit scored more than 13,000 likes. Previously, users posted similar statements on their pages Facebook, Livejournal And Pikabu. They can also be found on portals "Fakrum" And Realfacts.

Apparently, a similar point of view was at least ten years ago. In the spring of 2012, on the sites of several American media, notes appeared that an allergic reaction to chocolate is actually associated with particles of insects that fall into the finished product. Similar publications came out, for example, from NBC And Glamor With reference to the text published by the journalist ABC Loren Torrisi. Moreover, similar blog entries appeared And before.

In his material, Torrisi claims that, according to the Office for Sanitary Supervision of the quality of food and US medicines (FDA), an average of about eight particles of insects is contained in standard chocolate tiles and the department allows this. Further, with reference to the allergist of Morton M. Taich, the journalist reports that "it is almost impossible to avoid insects in food, for this you will probably have to stop eating."

We note the two features of notes published on the ABC website. Firstly, it has a link to document FDA, which regulates the permissible content of insect residues (Insect Filth) and traces of the rodents (Rodent Filth) in chocolate and describes the measures of the relevant checks. This document does not say anything specifically about cockroaches. Secondly, Teich also speaks of insects in general, only the author of the publication mentions cockroaches.

Although in the approved FDA Rules Indeed, the presence of “up to 60 fragments of insects per 100 g” of chocolate is allowed, the authors of publications in the media, and then users of social networks miss the context. Firstly, this is the standard acting during the audit-for it, inspectors explore six 100-gram samples from the chocolate batch. If at least one of them find more than 90 “fragments”, then the management will take appropriate measures. Secondly, FDA He thinks It is permissible to content the remains of an extremely small number of species of insects corresponding to a long list of criteria, and there are no cockroaches among them. Completely avoid the presence of such particles impossible Not for any raw food product.

Factores from USA Today Turned For a comment in FDA. The representative of the department of Veronika Pfuffle said that FDA regularly explores samples of cocoa beans for insects and does not have conclusions about their special “attractiveness” for cockroaches. At the same time, she emphasized that manufacturers of chocolate and other food products are required to protect their products from cockroaches and other insects, because in case of violations it can be confiscated.

Doctors interviewed by our colleagues emphasizedthat, even if a person has an allergy to cockroaches contained in chocolate of particles is unlikely to be enough to cause an appropriate reaction. The allergy to cocoa beans itself is quite rare-usually additional ingredients, such as milk, peanuts or nuts (along with eggs, fish, wheat, seafood and soy, act as an allergen. Enter In the "large eight" allergens, causing about 90% of all serious allergic reactions to food). Another possible cause may be the presence of flavor in chocolate.

In 2016, a hygienist and food expert Andrei Mosov I paid attentionthat particles of insects can be contained in a variety of products - from mushrooms to pasta, but no one connects the appropriate allergies with them. Moreover, there is no standardized method for detecting chitin as part of food. Specialists surveyed by Mosov from the All-Russian Research Institute of Confectionery Industry 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 COCKROUCH PIECES, Chocolate and FDA Regulations
2. Is it true that food from McDonald’s has not spoiled for years?
3. Is it true that Jamie Oliver managed to prove in court that McDonald’s products are unsuitable for humans?