Course:FNH200/Assignments/2025/Lindt Chocolate - Regular vs Sugar Free
Introduction
Lindt Milk Chocolate: Regular vs Sugar Free
Lindt is a popular chocolate brand originating from Switzerland and its products are widely available across the world. To increase appeal for a larger number of consumers, a sugar free variant was created.
This comparison will be between Lindt's Regular and Sugar free Milk Chocolate bars.
Pictures of the Products
Ingredient lists
1. Ingredients
| Lindt Milk Chocolate | Lindt Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate |
|---|---|
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2. Substitutes & Additives
| Sugar Substitutes | Additives |
|---|---|
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3. Roles of Sugar Substitute and Additives
Maltitol is the sugar substitute used in the sugar-free chocolate chips as its sweetener replacement to sugar. It is a sugar alcohol with ~ 90% the sweetness of sugar, and has a lower calorie count of 2-3 cal/g vs sugar's 4 cal/g.
Lecithin is an additive that is used as an emulsifier. It is a phospholipid that is naturally sourced from either egg yolk or soybean oil (soy in the case of the chocolate). Its structure consist of "hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions that face water and oil respectively", and thus reduces the tension between the oil and water phases as they mix and helps create the emulsion.
Artificial Flavour is an additive that enhances the flavor of the food without providing nutritional value. They are oils extracted from plants or animals and are sanctioned for safe use.
4. Product Ingredient Similarities and Differences
Similarities:
Both products use cocoa mass and cocoa butter for the base of the chocolate flavor. They use artificial flavor and milk ingredients for flavoring and Lecithin as an emulsifier.
Differences:
The main difference in the products is the use of sugar vs the use of alcohol sugar Maltitol. The sugar-free product uses Maltitol as its sweetener in order to provide a product with similar tastes to the original without increasing blood glucose or insulin levels. The regular product includes lactose and barley malt extract, while the sugar-free version does not. Lactose occurs naturally in milk, and barley malt extract acts as a natural flavour enhancer but is not considered a food additive. The lactose likely acts to balance the bitterness of the cacao without too much added sugar.
Labels
Regular Milk Chocolate
- Made in Switzerland
- Ingredients and labels in French and English. This complies with Canadian label requirements.
- Serving size is 9 squares or 30 grams
- Each serving has:
- 160 calories
- 9 grams of fat. 6 grams is from saturated fat, 0.1 from trans fat
- 18 grams of carbohydrates, 17 grams is from sugar
- 2 grams of protein
- This table format complies with Canadian requirements, clearly displaying macronutrients and breaking down saturated and trans fats, which is mandatory.
- Each serving has:
- The label has a "May contain" section saying it could contain peanuts and tree nuts. This means it is not safe for people with peanut and/or tree nut allergies. This is important for food safety and meets Canadian allergen labelling requirements by warning consumers of potential cross-contamination.
Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate
- Made in Italy
- Ingredients and labels in French and English. This complies with Canadian label requirements.
- Serving size is 2 squares or 25 grams
- Each serving has
- 130 calories
- 9 grams of fat. 6 grams is from saturated fat, 0.1 from trans fat
- 13 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams is from sugar and 10 grams is from sugar alcohols
- 2 grams of protein
- This table format complies with Canadian requirements, clearly displaying macronutrients and breaking down saturated and trans fats, which is mandatory.
- Each serving has
- The label has a "May contain" section saying it could contain peanuts and tree nuts. This means it is not safe for people with peanut and/or tree nut allergies. This is important for food safety and meets Canadian allergen labelling requirements by warning consumers of potential cross-contamination.
- The “sugar-free” claim on the this product is valid, as the product contains less than 0.5 g sugar per serving, and the sweetener (maltitol) is clearly listed and accounted for in the nutrition table.