Ingredients (in order of greatest quantity first):
Sugar
These are chocolates, so of course they are going to be full of sugar. You'd get 14.4g or just over 3.5 teaspoons of sugar per serving, which is 25g or two chocolates.
Milk solids
This is a standard ingredient for chocolates and is what is left when the water is taken out of milk.
Glucose syrup
A liquid form of sugar.
Cocoa mass
This will be in the chocolate.
Cocoa butter
It is always a good sign if there is cocoa butter in chocolate as it means it is good quality. Many chocolates simply throw oil in.
Vegetable fat
Not sure which vegetable fat this is, so palm oil rejecters may want to avoid this product.
Maltodextrin
This is another form of sugar commonly used in confectionery.
Humectants (420, 422)
These help to keep everything nice and moist. They are sorbitol (420), which can have a laxative effect after excessive consumption, so no binge eating of these chocolates.
And glycerine (422), which is a natural carboyhydrate alcohol.
Coconut
This will be in the fillings as flavouring.
Hazelnuts
These will be in the hazelnut whirl and the hazelnut praline crisp.
Vegetable oil
Not sure what this oil is.
Emulsifiers (soy, lecithin, 476).
This helps with the texture of the chocolates. Soy and lecithin are natural products and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (476) is produced from polyglycerol and castor oil.
Golden syrup
This will be in here as a flavouring.
Thickener (acid modified maize starch)This is a form of corn starch.
Vegetable gum (440)
This is pectin, which is a common thickening agent in jams and is derived from fruit.
Cocoa powder
In here as a flavouring.
Cherries
Nice to see real cherries in here.
Food acids (331, 330, 260)
These are sodium citrates (331), which are the salts of citric acid (330) and acetic acid (260), which is vinegar.
Gelatine
This will be in here as a setting agent for some of the fillings.
Flavours
These will be artificial.
Salt
Not a lot of salt in here. You'll get just 16mg of sodium per serve, which is two chocolates.
Raising agent (575)
This is gluconodelta - lactone (575), which is a natural compound made from gluconic acid, which is produced from glucose.
Colours (129, 110, 124, 102)
For me, this really takes the shine off anything in this box which is red or yellow: tartrazine (102), allura red (129), ponceau 4R (124) and sunset yellow (110) were all included in a voluntary phase-out called for by UK's Food Standards Agency and an EU-wide health warning must now be put on any food or drink that still contains these colours as they are thought to cause hyperactivity in some children.
So that's no cherry heaven, Turkish delight, orange chocolate delight or strawberry cream for me.
I'll be sticking to peppermint cream (my favourite anyway) and the mainly chocolate ones.
Enzyme (invertase)
This is a substance which keeps sugar liquid in confectionery.
My recommendation
Yes, there are some colours in these which have been phased out in the UK and which, for very good reason, must be labelled in the EU. So you can follow my example and just eat the peppermint creams and the chocolate-filled ones to get away from the yellow and red colouring. Or, perhaps you could just have a few and reduce the chances of any artificial colouring having much effect on you. As for the rest of the ingredients, they are pretty standard for a box of chocolates and at least there are some real ingredients in here, such as coconut, cherries, hazelnuts, cocoa and milk.
Highlights
• Uses some natural ingredients.
• Uses four colours voluntarily phased out in the UK and which must carry a warning in the EU.
• 3.5 teaspoons of sugar per two chocolates
On the web Read Wendyl's columns on other food products at: http://tiny cc/01b9u
