Chocolates at a wedding

This page is about chocolates at a wedding, given as favours or set out on a dessert table. It covers what the words on the label mean, allergies, making favours at home, ordering online, and keeping chocolate away from dogs.

This site does not make or sell chocolates, and it takes no orders.

What the label means

In England, "chocolate" is a protected name in law. A product sold as chocolate must contain at least 35% cocoa solids, including at least 18% cocoa butter.

Milk chocolate usually contains at least 25% cocoa solids and at least 14% milk solids. A second recipe, with at least 20% cocoa solids and at least 20% milk solids, may also be sold as milk chocolate.

White chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter and at least 14% milk solids. A filled chocolate or a single chocolate, such as a praline, must be at least 25% chocolate by weight.

A maker may add certain other vegetable fats, up to 5% of the finished product. The label must then say "contains vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter". The words have to be in bold, in the same place as the list of ingredients and near the product's name.

Allergies

Food law names 14 allergens that businesses must declare. Milk, peanuts, tree nuts and soya are among them.

On packaged food, these allergens must stand out in the list of ingredients, for example in bold. Read the list on each box, because recipes differ.

The Food Standards Agency says no specific law requires a "may contain" warning. It says a business should use one when there is a risk it cannot control, and only then.

Food from a caterer

Food ordered before an event, for other people to eat, does not need a full label. The caterer must still give allergen information to anyone eating it, in writing or by word of mouth.

At a buffet or a dessert table, that information has to be given for each item separately. It should not be given for the table as a whole.

The Food Standards Agency suggests questions for anyone with an allergy who is eating out. You can ask a caterer the same things. Ask whether a dish is suitable, whether it could pick up an allergen in the kitchen, and whether a recipe has changed at the last minute.

The FSA says a food business must give allergen information, but it does not have to offer a different dish.

You can look up a food business's hygiene rating on the Food Standards Agency's website.

Making favours at home

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Food Standards Agency says anyone who supplies food to the public regularly, free or not, needs to register as a food business. If you make food only rarely and on a very small scale, the local council may decide you do not need to register. If you are not sure, ask your council.

Keep a note of the ingredients you use, or keep the packets. Then you can answer a guest who asks about allergens.

Ordering favours online

When you buy something online, you usually have 14 days to cancel. That right does not cover personalised goods, such as boxes printed with your names. Citizens Advice says it does not cover food that goes off quickly either.

Whatever you buy from a business, it must still be of satisfactory quality.

If you told the seller your delivery date was essential when you ordered, or it was obvious, you can end the contract when the order arrives late. The seller must then refund you. Citizens Advice gives the example of a cake ordered for the day of a wedding.

Chocolate and dogs

The PDSA, a veterinary charity, says chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs, cats and rabbits. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is likely to be.

It advises keeping chocolate out of reach. If a dog eats some, keep the packaging and call a vet straight away. Do not wait for symptoms. Symptoms usually appear within two to four hours, but can take up to 12.

Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance

Fairtrade says that when its mark with an arrow is on a chocolate bar, every ingredient that can be bought on Fairtrade terms has been. For example, all the cocoa, sugar and vanilla. A different Fairtrade mark means only one ingredient was bought on its terms.

The Rainforest Alliance says its seal on a chocolate bar can mean that certified and uncertified cocoa were mixed. Even then, for every gram of cocoa in the bar, a gram was bought from a certified farm.

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