Won't Somebody Please Think of the Chocolate!

You can change a lot of things around here and probably get away with it. But, when you start messing with chocolate, you might just run into some resistance. It seems the Chocolate Manufacturers of America (CMA) has petitioned the FDA to change the definition of chocolate. They want to substitute vegetable oil for coca butter and whey protein for whole milk. Why? Because the new ingredients are cheaper (seeing a pattern here?). You can get all the details at Don't Mess with Our Chocolate. You can also leave a comment for the FDA here. Don't Mess with our Chocolate has instructions and a suggested comment here.

I should point out that most small chocolate makers oppose this change. The CMA represents the large companies you would expect: Hershey, Cargill (they make chocolate?), Nestle, etc. Although they are a member, Guittard opposes the plan.