Guide
How to label chocolate decorations
Chocolate curls, drops and sprays are ingredients. Dark chocolate often brings soya lecithin; milk chocolate brings milk; some decorations add nuts. Emphasise allergens present in the decorations you actually use.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Chocolate curls, drops and sprays are ingredients. Dark chocolate often brings soya lecithin; milk chocolate brings milk; some decorations add nuts. Emphasise allergens present in the decorations you actually use.
Emphasise Annex II allergens inside the ingredients list — bold, capitals, colour or underline — as set out in FSA allergen labelling guidance.
How to apply it
Chocolate curls, drops and sprays are ingredients. Dark chocolate often brings soya lecithin; milk chocolate brings milk; some decorations add nuts. Emphasise allergens present in the decorations you actually use. Emphasise Annex II allergens inside the ingredients list — bold, capitals, colour or underline — as set out in FSA allergen labelling guidance. Walk the product in front of you against the checklist below before you print. The mistake to refuse is: On top still means in the food.
- Break out chocolate decorations
- Emphasise soya and milk as relevant
- Watch nut sprinkles
- Different decorations mean different labels
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label chocolate decorations”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — break out chocolate decorations. Then contrast it with emphasise soya and milk as relevant. Write the name of the food and the full ingredients list from today’s recipe and supplier specs, emphasise every Annex II allergen each time it appears, and only then print. If the pack in your hand does not match that list, it is not ready for sale. (Chocolate curls, drops and sprays are ingredients.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Break out chocolate decorations | For “How to label chocolate decorations”, “Break out chocolate decorations” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Emphasise soya and milk as relevant | For “How to label chocolate decorations”, “Emphasise soya and milk as relevant” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Watch nut sprinkles | For “How to label chocolate decorations”, “Watch nut sprinkles” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Different decorations mean different labels | For “How to label chocolate decorations”, “Different decorations mean different labels” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Leaving decorations off because they are “just on top”
On top still means in the food.
Go deeper
Next: Allergens in dark chocolate. Soya lecithin traps. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Is compound chocolate the same as couverture?
Do edible glitter allergens matter?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
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