There's something about our chocolate milk. And we would like to share that with you. Because, at the end of 2018, we discovered an error in the production process at one specific batch of our cocoa powder (made from cocoa that we purchase traceably from our partner cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast), which we use for our chocolate milk. As a result, our chocolate milk no longer met our quality requirements and the taste is not as you are used to. The good news: there is no risk to food safety and we have found another cocoa powder so that it is still available. Why we are dissapointed? That no traceable alternative is available. Read below why.

a non-traceable alternative
We have blocked the batch of cocoa powder with a taste difference and have started looking for another cocoa powder for our chocolate milk. That is why we have purchased an alternative cocoa powder from Barry Callebaut for two productions (all chocolate milk cartons with the dates from 19.08.2019 and 04.09.2019) so that everyone can continue to enjoy Tony's chocolate milk. The cocoa powder is Fair Trade certified, made from cocoa beans from Ghana and fortunately there is no influence on the taste or structure of our chocolate milk. But the cocoa powder is not traceable and we regret that. Disappointing really. 

five game rules
Traceable beans is one of the five rules for 100% slave-free chocolate. And because of this production error, we are temporarily unable to achieve that traceability. Because traceability in the chain is not yet the norm and large players hide behind a mountain of cocoa beans, an alternative traceable cocoa powder cannot be found. It shows again that traceability is far from the norm. That is why we open our way of working to other chocolate companies with Tony’s Open Chain. That is the open source platform on which chocolate companies can have all the necessary tools and knowledge to follow and apply the five rules. For example with Tony's Beantracker or the CLMRS (Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System), which we have introduced at all our partner cooperatives. Because: it goes faster together!

And what does this mean for you?
To ensure that you can continue to drink your cup of chocolate milk, we have therefore purchased another batch of cocoa powder for our chocolate milk: Fair Trade, but not traceable from our partner cooperatives. You can find this chocolate milk pack with alternative cocoa powder on the shelf from this week. Our partner Holland Foodz will sell these suits until 1 March at the latest, but you may find them on the shelf for longer. From now on we will produce chocolate milk again with our own cocoa powder. You can find these suits on the shelf from 1 March.

Frequently Asked Questions
Is the taste / structure of the chocolate milk different? This temporary cocoa powder has no impact on the taste or structure of our chocolate milk.

Which cartons of chocolate milk are we talking about? 
This concerns the chocolate milk cartons with THT from:
19.08.2019
04.09.2019

Are there packs of chocolate milk on the market with this production error?
No, during production they are first checked whether a product meets quality requirements before it is delivered.

How many packs are there with the temporary cocoa powder?
It concerns around 53,000 units.

Why didn't you choose not to deliver temporarily until your own powder is available again? There is no risk to food safety and we have found an alternative to cocoa powder so that everyone can continue to enjoy Tony’s chocolate milk.