Chocolate Best Before Dates. Does chocolate expire?
Chocolate best before dates are more of an issue with flavour quality, not food safety. Don’t throw away your chocolate simply because it is past the suggested best before date.
Many people throw away perfectly good chocolate all the time. Sometimes this is due to it being past the best before date, or often because it looks whitish due to bloom (which is confused with mold - discussed below). We live in a very wasteful world, and many of our grandparents and great grandparents would be sadly shocked at how much perfectly nutritious and delicious food gets thrown away. Certainly a sad aspect of our modern day culture which is often neglected and not taken seriously.
Misguided fear of getting sick and lack of knowledge about food quality and best before dates are major factors which lead many people to throw away perfectly wonderful food. This is especially true for both commercial and fine chocolate. So what are best before dates? Does chocolate even expire?
Keep in mind this information is not be used for perishable chocolate products such as bonbons, truffles, and ganaches which contain cream, butter, high water content, and other ingredients which are not shelf-stable for longer than a few weeks. These generally do have expiration dates and should be consumed within weeks normally. Here in this article I am discussing solid chocolate bars, blocks, chips, etc.
Right To The Point
A best before date is not an expiration date. It is merely a suggestion to enjoy the food before a certain date, not because you may get sick from eating it after the best before date, but because the flavour and quality may not be optimal. In many cases depending on the food, you wouldn’t even notice the difference in quality had there been no best before date.
If Chocolate Is Unopened
Solid chocolate bars which are kept in their original packaging and kept in a cool dark place can be enjoyed well past the best before date without issue (in regards to flavour and texture). Chocolate is a low-risk, non-perishable, shelf-stable food. Remember, chocolate does not need preservatives because in a way it is a preservative. The high levels of both fat (cocoa butter) and tannins (especially in dark chocolate) keep mold and other microorganisms from living off of it. This is why we preserve some foods in oil, and why we coat many other foods in a layer of chocolate to keep the contents enclosed within it fresher for longer. It is true that fats themselves can go rancid with time especially if exposed to air, but tannins (polyphenols) which make the chocolate dark also slow down the fat from going rancid. Many polyphenol compounds are what we call anti-oxidants, and work against the oxidation which allows fats to go rancid. White chocolate is a bit different since it is only made from the fat of the cocoa bean (not the brown part which contains the tannins), so there are no tannins to slow down the decomposition of flavour and quality. Most milk chocolate generally has a lower level of tannins, but also more sugar. The milk in solid milk chocolate is in powdered milk form, so also a low-risk and shelf-stable ingredient, and so would allow solid milk chocolate to also be enjoyed past the expiration date.
If you’re chocolate bar is unopened, was stored properly (wasn’t allowed to melt or package wasn’t torn or open) and is a few months past the BB date, it should not be a concern in regards to food safety. The issue sometimes becomes an issue of optimal flavour, especially in regards to fine chocolate.
This article is focused on solid dark, milk, or flavoured chocolate bars. Image by Bean To Bar World.
If Chocolate is Opened
If the chocolate packaging is opened and/or not stored air-tight, then flavour will diminish with time, but it does not mean the chocolate is unsafe to eat as best before dates are never an indication of product safety (even before the best before date) but more a suggested indication of quality. It just means the robust flavour or fine flavour notes in fine chocolate will weaken over time. And this diminishing in flavour does not depend on a specific arbitrary date. Most bars are perfectly wonderful months after their best before date depending on how they are wrapped and stored.
So is it okay to eat solid chocolate bars after the best before date? Certainly! Again, the best before date is never an indicator of food safety either before or after the date. It has more to do with product quality. And the good thing about chocolate (especially darker chocolate) is that is a very shelf-stable food that retains it’s nutrients and flavour for a very long time. This is one reason why soldiers were rationed chocolate as a source of food which could withstand the elements and still be consumed. It also makes a great “prepper” food for those who wish to have some food insurance. Chocolate is a calorie dense food and extremely shelf stable. Dark chocolate also has a great deal of minerals and very high in antioxidants which make it a food worth storing.
Continue reading to learn more.
Best before (BB) versus Expiration (EXP) dates
Currently at Bean To Bar World, I sell an array of solid chocolate bars. These bars are mostly dark chocolate, some milk chocolate, and some flavoured chocolate with spices, nuts, and other non-perishable ingredients. All these have “best before” (BB) dates, not expiration dates. Best before dates suggest that the product may not have optimal flavour or texture past that date. The best before date is not an indicator of food safety either before or after the date. It is really only suggesting that the product may not be in the optimal state, but this is simply a suggestion. It may very well be as wonderful as it when it was made 1, 2, or more years ago. This is true for many low-risk shelf-stable foods that can last in your pantry for years. Some manufactures of various foods place this so that the customer can appreciate the product the way it was intended to be. Some manufacturers place them so that product can move faster on the shelves, or in anticipation that someone will throw it away and buy more product.
Figure 1. Screenshot taken from www.inspection.canada.ca
Although there may be some differences between various regions or countries in regards to best before dates, the Canadian government currently defines best before dates as seen here in Figure 1.
When it comes to fine chocolate, the consumer is obviously not just paying for the chocolate, but for chocolate with deep interesting flavour which is different than commercial chocolate and couvertures. So even though the chocolate is perfectly fine to eat and enjoy past the best before date, if the flavour is not optimal, then that may be quite the disappointment.
Therefore, does consuming chocolate past the best before date impact the flavour of fine chocolate the consumer is paying for? Yes and no. If the bar was never opened and kept well within its original packaging, it will be perfectly fine and in many cases still at optimal flavour and texture past the best before date (to a certain point, and depending on the way it was packaged).
How to store chocolate properly
In this article I mention a few times “storing chocolate properly” so it is worth explaining what I mean by that. You can read more about storing chocolate here.
Keep it cool
Keep your chocolate at room temperature or slightly cooler such as a wine cooler (8-12 C). The issue is more to do with when the ambient temperature is too high (reaching 26-28 C or above). This will not spoil the chocolate, but it may partially or fully melt and make the appearance and texture less enjoyable.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no problem with keeping chocolate in the refrigerator if well wrapped, especially if you live in a hot climate and have no air conditioning. Just be sure to keep it well wrapped until it has acclimated to the room temperature. It’s best not to unwrap your chocolate while still cold or expose it to room temperature until it has acclimated for a couple hours or so. Doing so may result in less than optimal texture and/or appearance, but will not really impact the flavour. Does it have to be refrigerated? Certainly not for solid chocolate bars. Can it be? Yes, and likely should be if your ambient home temperature is reaching close to 30 C or higher. Can you freeze chocolate? There really is no need to freeze solid chocolate bars.
Keep it Dry
Whether in the original wrapper, or simply in a resealable bag/container - ensure you keep chocolate away from humidity. Chocolate is a low/no moisture food. Humidity on the surface of chocolate may result in sugar bloom (a white haze of dissolved and re-crystalized sugar particles - not to be confused with the white haze of fat bloom). If you plan to temper your chocolate, too much moisture will thicken the molten chocolate and make it more challenging to mold. Milk chocolate and high sugar/low fat chocolate contains sugars and carbohydrates that if mixed with water may encourage mold growth if also improperly stored. Always keep your chocolate wrapped or contained.
Keep it odour free
Protect your chocolate from surrounding odours. Keep chocolate in its original packaging, or in an airtight container/bag if you are unable to reseal the original packaging. If storing in a refrigerator, ensure it is contained within a barrier that keeps out odours from the fridge. If kept in a cabinet or canteen, ensure its kept sealed away from strong odours or spices. Over time, chocolate can easily absorb the odours around it. For instance, if you have a plastic bag or even a resealable plastic bag of chocolate in your pantry for months, not only will the flavour of the chocolate dissipate, but it will also absorb odours from your pantry.
Chocolate Flavour diminishment
When Flavour May Diminish
Unopened Bars
Bars which are vacuum packed will maintain the flavour properties well beyond any best before date. Another great packaging which allows the chocolate to maintain it’s flavour a resealable “Zip-lock” type packets usually with a non-permeable film inside the packaging. Many bars which are simply wrapped in silver candy wrapper paper and then placed in a paper or card packet will also be perfectly fine after the best before date if stored properly. However, I do find that bars which are in vacuum packed wrapping maintain the flavour the longest in my opinion. The truth is, if the bar was never opened, and it is months after the best before date, it likely is still not only fine to eat, but may be just as wonderful flavour wise. This is even more true for flavoured bars which have other ingredients added such as spices, coffee, etc. These flavours are not as delicate as the fine flavour notes of single-origin chocolate, and can be intense for a long time past the best before date.
When it comes to dark single-origin bars and their fine notes, many still contain vibrant notes past the best before date. However, you will notice that single-origin bars with fruity/floral notes tend to diminish faster than bars with “heavier and darker” notes such as earthy, baked, and nutty to name a few. Some makers have disagreed with me that the flavour of the chocolate can last for years past the best before date, and to a point that is true, but in my experience they are never as vibrant, especially if they have flavours associated with lighter smaller volatiles such as esters and alcohols associated with fruity and floral notes.
Milk chocolate tends to hold it’s flavour for months past the best before date as well if unopened and stored well. However, like single-origin dark bars, single-origin milk bars with lighter notes tend to diminish a bit quicker.
White chocolate if stored well will maintain it’s flavour, especially if it is a flavoured white chocolate such as containing matcha or fruit powders and other ingredients.
Opened Bars
Now if the bar has been opened, then the rate of flavour diminishes a bit quicker than if it was never opened and exposed to air. Again, this depends on the type of packaging as mentioned above. In this case, it is usually the resealable (not necessary vacuum packed) packaging which may allow the chocolate to remain freshest the longest. However, there is still air around the chocolate and new air enters every time you open it, therefore re-sealing it is not the same as receiving it brand new. If you open a bar that has a paper or plastic wrapper, then wrap the chocolate back up as nice and snug as possible to limit the air exposure. This will slow down aroma dissipation. Keeping opened chocolate air-tight, and only exposing it when you wish to consume it is key to keeping the flavour to last longer.
I remember years ago a chocolate maker wanting me to try a discontinued chocolate with strong fruity/floral notes that they had for about a year or so. The bar was kept along other bars in large “Zip-lock” type plastic bag. They were excited to get my opinion on it, and unfortunately due to the way it was stored and how long it was stored, you could hardly taste what it was they wanted me to taste. It was faintly there, but nothing to get too excited about. It was perfectly edible and better than commercial chocolate, but this is just an example of how much the flavour will shift both over time, after opening, and how it was stored.
When Texture May Diminish
Texture in chocolate is very important. The smooth wonderful texture of cocoa butter is half the reason we love chocolate, not simply the flavour. Texture can diminish anytime chocolate melts or blooms regardless of the best before date.
The fat in chocolate can crystalize into different forms. When a manufacturer makes the chocolate, they need to cool down in a particular way to achieve that beautiful look and texture of the chocolate you love. If at some point during storage, on or off the shelf, the chocolate gets too warm (above 26-27* ) then some of the cocoa butter in the chocolate will melt. When it re-solidifies on its own (not in the controlled method as a manufacturer uses) then this cocoa butter (which is naturally an off-white colour) will solidify and leave a white looking haze on the bar many people misinterpret as fuzzy mold. If the chocolate completely melts and re-solidifies, the entire chocolate will recrystallize in a less ideal form, and look very mottled with various tones of brown. At this point the texture will also be noticably more chalky or gritty.
If your chocolate has been kept in a cool dry place, then texture should not be an issue. There is the case where some “older” chocolate has that white haze as mentioned above. This is not so much due to a temperature issue, but a “settling” issue. Even your solid chocolate bar properly tempered has microscopic liquid fat molecules within it. Overtime the crystal structure of the fat will slowly tight, squeeze out these fat molecules. In the same way then, they will resolidify on the surface of the chocolate leaving that white haze that can be simply wiped off. Again, not an indication of mold, and often doesn’t impact texture either.
Chocolate does not need preservatives
As I touched on above, chocolate itself doesn’t need preservatives because in a way it is the preservative. Many people read the back of a candy bar and see all these unfamiliar strange ingredients, many of which may or may not be not ideal. Many people come to my tastings seeking out fine chocolate because they don’t want that “highly-processed” commercial chocolate with “all those preservatives”. I understand what they are trying to say, but the truth is even commercial chocolate doesn’t contain preservatives. Many people assume the strange ingredients on the labels of commercial chocolate are preservatives to keep the chocolate fresh and from spoiling. This is not the case at all. Many of those ingredients are perhaps stabilizers, or ingredients for the non-chocolate products in the candy bar. Solid is a high-fat food, and the fat is the preservative. Lecithin is a popular one which turns people off, and although it is a contentious issue, it is not a preservative.
Dark chocolate
Many people think it is sugar in chocolate which acts as the preservative. Dark chocolate is essentially ground up cocoa beans (which are about 50% fat) with some sugar added. Even 100% dark chocolate with no sugar is just as shelf stable as a 65% dark chocolate with 65% cocoa bean and 45% sugar. It’s not the sugar per se, but the components of the cocoa bean itself which help preserve chocolate. Not only is the natural cocoa butter fat in the chocolate keeping mold and microorganisms from growing, but the very high levels of tannins (polyphenols) which make the chocolate dark also limit microorganism growth. Sort of like dual insurance in regards to shelf-life. The sugar in dark chocolate doesn’t really help it, but doesn’t hurt it either in regards to being shelf-stable.
Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate is made of cocoa beans, sugar, and also milk powder. All these ingredients are shelf stable. However, if some of the 3 conditions mentioned above regarding chocolate storage are not met, then with milk chocolate there may be a problem. The problem is still very minimal, and this is usually if you’re very careless with how you store it. Due to the high levels of sugars and carbohydrates in milk chocolate (with less fat and less tannins) there is a greater risk of mold if the milk chocolate is exposed to moisture. For instance, storing milk chocolate improperly in a moist environment will lead to mold growing from the sugars which are dissolved and exposed due to the moisture around the chocolate. Had this chocolate been stored nice and dry, the sugar would not have been dissolved and accessible to any mold. However, if you keep your milk chocolate bars in a cool dry place and wrapped well, they will also last very well past the best before date.
White chocolate
White chocolate has the same high sugar/milk powder content as milk chocolate, but also lacks any tannins at all. There is a good amount of cocoa butter fat depending on the quality of the white chocolate, but due to high sugar and lack of tannins, the white chocolate can also get moldy if left in an open humid environment for extended periods. The lack of tannins also encourages the fats to go rancid, and the flavour to diminish especially if exposed to light over a long period of time. The high sugar and fat content does definitely prolong shelf life, but only if kept in a dark and dry environment. It’s very important to store white chocolate not only in a cool dry place, but also away from sunlight. You will notice how the off-white colour of real white chocolate turns nearly snow-white when white chocolate bars in a shop are exposed to much sunlight (even if it’s not enough to melt it, it can still discolour it and reduce the quality of the flavour).
Chocolate in general
Dark chocolate can essentially last for years past the best before date (although I don’t encourage this), especially if kept cool, dry place and not exposed to odours. The only time I saw actual mold on chocolate over my 15 years working with chocolate was on a milk chocolate showpiece I forgot about in a basement for a year or two. The humidity did encourage mold growth, but interestingly enough, it was only growing on the milk chocolate areas, but not on the parts that were made out of dark chocolate. I have made many showpieces kept out in the open (not in a damp basement) for many years, with no sign of mold whatsoever. Taking a bite of it likely wouldn’t make me sick (I don’t recommend it), but it likely would taste pretty awful (even for commercial chocolate standards haha). The point is, chocolate is extremely shelf stable even if being used for showpieces. Many showpieces are made with the same chocolate you consume. There’s no special “preservatives” or ingredients added to make chocolate showpieces. There are some chocolatiers who cheat and add glucose or such to make a plasticine-type chocolate they can mold, but in my opinion, this is not chocolate nor is it a medium professional chocolatiers should be using to make a true chocolate showpiece.
Bloom is not mold
Just to clarify again. Don’t confuse mold with bloom. Bloom is a “defect” of chocolate when stored improperly or over prolonged storage time. There are two types of blooms:
Sugar Bloom
Occurs when solid chocolate is exposed to humid air or moisture, which sits on the chocolate and dissolves surface sugar particles which were homogenously mixed within the tempered chocolate. When the water evaporates and the chocolate dries, it leaves behind the sugar which turns back into its white crystalline form. If the bloom was caused by leaving the chocolate in the fridge too long, or taking it out of a refrigerator and exposing it to a warm and/or humid room, then it is still perfectly fine to eat. It just may not be as pleasant texture wise, and certainly not something you would wish to sell.
Fat Bloom
There are two types of fat bloom essentially:
From warmth. If tempered chocolate gets too warm (close to or around 30 C), some of the fat in the chocolate will melt and result in a soft chocolate, but the entire bar will not melt (which is not bloom, but essentially just your chocolate going out of temper). If this warm bar cools down, the free liquid fat resolidifies. Since cocoa butter is naturally off-white at room temperature, this resolidified fat (which used to be contained in the proper form within the chocolate) sets in the improper form and often finds itself on the surface the bar, leaving behind a white haze. This is one type of fat bloom which occurs when tempered chocolate are not stored properly.
From Beta 5 to 6. Even if stored properly, over time, chocolate may still bloom. Even within properly tempered chocolate there is said to be a very small amount of free molecules of liquid cocoa butter which never crystalized. As the tempered chocolate ages, the crystal formation of the fat tightens slowly over months and years. This tightening forces the free liquid-state fat molecules out to the surface of the chocolate, and once they set, they also leave a haze on the bar similar to the bloom explained in number 1 above.
None of these impact food safety, and do not impact flavour or texture (and if they do, it is minimal).
Can you eat chocolate past the best before date?
Yes, you can. As I mentioned above, if stored properly (cool, dry, away from odours), solid dark chocolate bars (dark, milk, and white) can be enjoyed past the best before date, and in many cases, you can still enjoy the optimal flavour and texture the chocolate maker intended you to enjoy. Always use your common sense, and check any foods with your eyes, nose, and tongue for anything that may suggest the food has spoiled. However, in regards to chocolate, do not confuse bloom with mold, and know that chocolate is a very low-risk, shelf-stable food. The natural fat from the cocoa bean and the very high levels of tannins keep chocolate (especially dark chocolate) from allowing microorganisms to grow on it if stored properly. Again, if we are discussing chocolate confections with perishable ingredients such as cream or butter, then that is a different story, and they usually only last a few weeks past the date they were made if kept on the shelf and not frozen or refrigerated.
Remember that best before dates even before the date is not an indication of product safety, but simply a suggestion of optimal product flavour and texture. It would be a waste of not only food but hard work if a chocolate bar past the best before date, especially if still in its original packaging, were thrown away.