The Citizen’s Petition under consideration at the FDA (2007P-0085 - Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to all Food Standards that would Permit, within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standards of Identity) deals with more than just Chocolate. Chocolate is simply the rallying point. If you haven’t read up on it yet, you can view the brief on what’s covered here in Appendix C (PDF). Unfortunately the FDA has not released that file for public review, but it’s alluded to in the original Petition (PDF).
Advanced Technology
Yogurt - Use of reconstituted milk in yogurt
Mayonnaise - Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk in place of regular egg yolk
Change Product Appearance
Stewed Tomatoes - different chunk sizes
Macaroni - call non-standard pasta shapes macaroni
Canned Pineapple - created definition for Whole Pineapple
Bread - make small loaves of bread (less than ? pound)
Alternative Procedures for Production
Anti-Mycotic treatment instead of pasteurization
Different Aging Periods for Cheese
Some aren’t so bad. I don’t see why they can’t call a small loaf of bread a loaf and it’d be nice to be able to get whole pineapple in a can. But I don’t know what enzyme modified egg yolks are, and I don’t think I want them if I can have regular egg yolks. I don’t think I want anti-mycotic treatments in my milk products either, my only experience is using some sort of anti-mycotic additive to the paint on my bathroom walls, and though it was attractive and works well, I’m not going to drink it. And please, leave my yogurt alone.
Submit your comments directly to the FDA here - the deadline is now June 25th.
For more opinions from other chocolatiers, check out Amano and Best Regards.
You can check out my appearance on KCRW’s Good Food this Saturday, May 19th (and online here).
Eeeeew! Reconstituted milk in yogurt? That just sounds nasty.
I thought only feathers stuck in hats could be called macaroni.
I used to work at Togo’s ( 12 yrs ago yikes! ) and our “mayonnaise” had to be called “salad dressing” due to using the modified egg yolks ... I don’t know what the process was but the point of it was to keep the mayo from spoiling since it is out on the counter the whole day instead of in the fridge
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