Chocolate Bloom!
Nooo! They are not fungus or mold, they are called blooms. But, there is still chances that mold can grow in your chocolates (usually greenish mold) but it is very, very rare. So, point being… Blooms are safe for consumption.
Chocolate bloom is an off-white coating on the surface of chocolate products because of alterations in the distribution of the ingredients. Bloom affects the storage time, visual and tactile quality of chocolates, which is a serious concern for both chocolate manufacturers and consumers, like us.
Blooms can be two types:
- Sugar blooms which occurs when the sugar crystalize on the surface
- Fat blooms that appear when the fats in the cocoa butter (composition of chocolate) melts and moves to the surface and appear whitish.
is it safe to eat? yes, it is safe to eat!
Chocolate bloom can be caused by flaws in the chocolate composition, manufacturing errors, and improper storage in warm and/or humid conditions. It can be a uniform or a marbled appearance, and the resulting beige appearance is generally considered (by consumers) as an indicator of poor quality.
Although it is visually non-appealing and the gritty texture makes you feel unsafe to eat, it is perfectly safe to eat bloomed chocolates.
Source of Study:
- Heuler, Joshua, et al. “Point-of-care detection, characterization, and removal of chocolate bloom using a handheld Raman spectrometer.” Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 1-10.
- Sato, Sohei, Hironori Hondoh, and Satoru Ueno. “Fat bloom caused by partial DE‐oiling on chocolate surfaces after high‐temperature exposure.” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society 98.3 (2021): 269-280.