Cadbury adds milk allergy warning label to “Dairy Milk” chocolate

Posted by Daniel Palmer on 16th January 2009

Cadbury, the world’s second largest confectioner, will add a warning label to their popular Dairy Milk chocolate products, ensuring consumers are aware they contain milk.

chocolate swirl - Cadbury

The decision has been made by the British-based confectioner to ensure they do not fall foul of allergy warning label requirements. The decision has been met with the complaint that it is a symbol of society going too far in its bid for political correctness. After all, Dairy Milk chocolate has milk in its brand name, shows milk being poured into a chocolate piece on the wrapper and continues to push the ‘glass-and-a-half of full cream milk’ message – an advertising slogan first used back in 1928.

But provided labelling legislation requires manufacturers to advise of all allergens in food, then at what point can we say that a product ‘obviously’ has the allergen? After all, there are still brand names out there that don’t necessarily give an accurate picture of what is in the product. “Common sense” can just leave manufacturers liable to costly court cases.

For the record, Cadbury will be adding print warnings in capital letters noting “CONTAINS: MILK” on their Dairy Milk bars, while advising “CONTAINS: NUTS, MILK,” on bars of their Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut.

“We are meeting legal requirements,” a Cadbury Spokesman told The Telegraph in the UK. “We want people to know that allergens are listed clearly on a warning on the back of all products.”

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket operator, took the unusual step of labelling their private label milk products with the warning that they contained milk back in 2006. They also advised that their assorted nuts contained nuts. Now that was probably a step too far.