These are not concerns for all manufacturers of minty chocolates. Illipe butter, for example, is from a nut that is also grown in Indonesia. European Food Labelling regulations require food manufacturers to detail the exact type of vegetable oils used in the formulation of products where previously they could have written “vegetable oils”. Shea tends to be from Africa, though the others are mostly from India or wider Asia. Other vegetable oil ingredients include shea, sal, illipe, kokum gurgi and mango kernel. In the meantime, the search for other healthy ingredients continues. Sustainably produced palm oil is available from countries such as Gabon. Nestlé has said its “ambition is that by the end of 2020 all of the palm oil that we use is responsibly sourced” but more recent press releases seem to push that date out to 2023. Its increased use has seen vast areas of forest taken over for its production, with devastating effects in such places as Indonesia, the biggest producer of palm oil and one of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Palm is seen as a healthier option for humans, though not for the environment, unfortunately, as it does not need to be hydrogenated. Palm oil was seen as the answer to many prayers when the link between hydrogenated vegetable oil and heart disease became clear some years ago. This is a difficult area for food manufacturers. It is used to split the sucrose, ie sugar, into glucose and fructose, helping to give the peppermint fondant a softer consistency. Invertase is an enzyme that can be derived from yeast. Processing aids include citric acid, which helps to extend shelf life, and invertase, which is listed as a stabiliser. The cocoa mass, cocoa butter, butterfat and emulsifier help to make the chocolate. It’s no surprise to see lots of sugar and glucose syrup, along with peppermint oil in these confections. These seem to involve a lot more ingredients. It also takes pride in employing food scientists to develop processes that keep it “on the cusp of new developments in food science and technology”. Nestlé is one of the biggest food and beverage companies in the world so it can make great use of economies of scale to keep prices down. Similar chocolates from competitors are usually cheaper, but tend to weigh just 200g. A box of After Eights weights in at 300g and costs from €3 to €6 depending on whether you pick them up on offer in a supermarket or at a convenience store. The first thing you might notice about After Eights as compared to similar products such as Lidl’s Mints Thins and Marks & Spencer’s After Dinner Mints is that the Nestlé packet is much bigger. After Eights and similar products are available all year round, though they are more of a seasonal favourite. They have been made by Nestlé since it bought Rowntree in the 1980s. After Eights, as created by Rowntree in Yorkshire, have been around since the early 1960s. Well, that was the case in television commercials anyway, where they were promoted as the choice of sophisticated globe-trotters. Long before the ambassador had his staff proffer Ferrero Rocher to guests at his lavish receptions, After Eights were the chocolate of choice for British diplomats.
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