Milk in Dark Chocolate? What is the world coming to?

A couple of years ago, in reaction to the growing market for dark chocolate, Hersheys, famous for its milk chocolate making method, starting producing artisanal chocolates similar in appearance to those made by European chocolate makers like Gold & Black. The main difference was that, while Hershey called these chocolates "dark," they all have milk in them!

Of course, this was nothing new for Hersheys. Their Special Dark chocolate bars have always had milk in them. But what made this noteworthy to me was the fact that Hersheys was trying to compete with European makers while not letting people know that what they are selling is a different product because it has milk in it!

In Europe, something called "chocolate" is NOT ALLOWED to contain milk products. If it does, it has to be called MILK chocolate.

Now, unfortunately, all the other chocolate makers, including the major European ones who are commonly found in the US, like Lindt and Gold & Black, have begun copying Hersheys. Virtually ALL of their products including those labelled as being dark have milk in them.

This is a big problem for me. I am allergic to dairy. A little bit of milk in a candy bar may not be enough to give me headcold-like symptoms or send me into apoplectic shock. But I would like to think that I can choose to avoid dairy to avoid any possible allergic symptoms, and still have lots of choices to enjoy food like everyone else.

True, with desserts finding non-dairy options is always challenging. Cakes are usually made with butter, milk or both. Pie crust is usually made with dairy. Custards and puddings - milk or cream. Etc. But at least I used to be safe with dark chocolate. Now that safe haven for my sweet tooth is gone.

To now find safe dark chocolate, I will have to go to health food stores and look for chocolate labelled vegan. Which honestly makes me feel slightly abnormal, one of these picky eaters, a sickly person who needs to avoid food allergies. Well, maybe if I order Gold & Black directly from England, Lindt directly from Switzerland, I can find the good stuff that has not been poisoned for the American market, for the American palette. American imperialism has destroyed one more haven of decency in the world...