The FDA Has Found That More Than Half Of American 'Dark' Chocolate Contains Milk

Valentines, friends, and even family may come and go, but if there's one thing we can always count on, it's chocolate...right? Well, maybe not. According to the FDA, most of the dark chocolate you're eating is actually a lie. In a recent study where the FDA tested 100 American dark chocolate products for lactose traces, 59 percent of the tested chocolate was found to contain traces (or more) of milk. This, says the FDA, is not just bad news for chocaholics, but could be dangerous for those with severe lactose allergies. Several chocolates that were explicitly labeled "dairy-free" were even found to contain milk.

"First of all, milk-allergic consumers should be aware that a high proportion of the dark chocolates we tested contained milk, even when the label failed to list milk as an ingredient," researcher Binaifer Bedford said.  Like most allergies, it's better to be safe than sorry. "Because consumers can't be sure that a statement about milk is completely accurate, they may want to contact the manufacturer to find out how it controls for allergens such as milk during production."

Much of the milk traces could be contributed to dark chocolate and milk chocolate sharing the same equipment, but at least six of the chocolates tested contained levels of chocolate "high enough to cause severe reactions in some people."

You can always issue an allergen complaint with the FDA here.