Fold My Laundry Please

I think it’s safe to say that we all love chocolate (except for those few freaks out there who don’t, no offense).  And if you’re allergic to chocolate, I’d like to offer my sincere condolences.  I look forward to each holiday knowing that there will be themed chocolate products for me to hork out on.  And its okay to do that, because it’s a holiday and I’m celebrating…something.  Most likely, it’s chocolate I’m celebrating!

But now the FDA wants to expand the definition of chocolate to include products made of vegetable fats and oils instead of actual cocoa butter.  Dave Kellett described them best on his blog entry for today on his Sheldon daily comic website:

"You know what kind of ‘chocolate’ that is. You’ve bitten into it and known immediately. It’s that fake, waxy, powdery ‘chocolate-flavored’ stuff that sits there for weeks after the first bite…because it tastes like foot powder. It’s the weird-brand Easter bunny that no one wants. It’s the fake M&Ms that taste like pebbles. It’s the chocolate chip that tastes like a tooth filling gone wrong."

You can actually read more about it in this article written by Cybele May for the LA Times (you can check out her Candy Blog here).  Did you know that it’s the cocoa butter that actually protects the antioxidant properties in chocolate?  Neither did I until I read the article.  Cybele also says,

"…the FDA does have a way for other citizens to voice their expectations. It’s buried deep in its website. Until April 25, the agency is accepting comments — by fax, mail or online — on a docket with the benign-sounding name of ‘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.’"

There’s so little in this world that we can do something about, and I realize that this isn’t a "real" cause to fight for, but would it really be so hard to spend 5 minutes clicking on this link and letting the FDA know how you feel about chocolate?  Don’t do it for yourself, do it for the children.  Okay, do it for yourself.  What will we do for our guilty little pleasures if there’s no decent chocolate left to dig out of its hiding place and snarf down while you hide in the pantry from the children?