Labels on bars of solid chocolate and chocolate bar sweets in the Polish market: A nutritional approach and implications for the consumer

Abstract The nutritional characteristics of chocolate products may be associated with very different, and even opposite, health effects. In the present study, we collected information on chocolate products on the Polish market to assess: (i) nutritional characteristics; (ii) ingredient order; (iii) the presence of nutritional claims on the label; (iv) packaging characteristics; and (v) any association between price and cocoa contents. A total of 220 bars of solid chocolate (90 % with at least 5 ingredients) and 147 chocolate bar sweets (90 % with at least 6 ingredients) were evaluated. Mean values for calorie, total lipid, saturated fatty acid, carbohydrate, protein, sugar and salt contents were significantly different between the bars of solid chocolate and chocolate bar sweets, although the values were widely dispersed in both categories. Some aspects of food labelling may result in confusion for the consumer (such as “vegan” claims). A weak (r = 0.459), although significant (p