Dark Chocolate Labels: Cacao Percentage, Added Sugars, Ingredient Order, Organic and Fair Trade

A dark chocolate wrapper usually carries four things worth reading: a cacao percentage on the front, a Nutrition Facts panel with an added sugars line, a short ingredient list, and words such as “organic” or “fair trade”. Each comes from a different source. Some are set by federal rules, some by a certifier, and some are the brand’s own description. This explainer goes through them one at a time, using the Hu Simple Organic Dark Chocolate Bar, 70% Cacao as the worked example. For the Nutrition Facts panel in general, start with our guide to reading a nutrition facts label.

How we wrote this: the product details come from the ingredient list and the Nutrition Facts panel on the Hu Kitchen product page, read in October 2026. The chocolate names come from the FDA standards of identity for cacao products in 21 CFR Part 163. Ingredient order and added sugars come from 21 CFR 101.4 and 21 CFR 101.9, and the organic wording from the USDA organic rule, 7 CFR 205.301. We did not taste or test any product. This page explains what the label says; it makes no claims about chocolate and health.

What the FDA calls chocolate

Chocolate is one of the foods with a federal standard of identity, which means the name on the package has to match a recipe the FDA has written down. Part 163 starts with chocolate liquor: finely ground cacao nibs, with 50 to 60 percent cacao fat by weight (163.111). Despite the name, it contains no alcohol. Sold on its own, it can be called “chocolate”, “unsweetened chocolate”, “bitter chocolate” or “baking chocolate”.

Add a sweetener and you get sweet chocolate, which must contain at least 15 percent chocolate liquor and less than 12 percent total milk solids (163.123(a)(2)). Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate is sweet chocolate with at least 35 percent chocolate liquor (163.123(a)(3)). Milk chocolate needs at least 10 percent chocolate liquor, at least 3.39 percent milkfat and at least 12 percent total milk solids (163.130(a)(2)).

The phrase “dark chocolate” is not one of the names defined in these sections, and neither is a cacao percentage. In practice, a bar sold as dark chocolate sits in the sweet, semisweet or bittersweet range, and the percentage on the front is the brand’s own statement. That is why two bars both called “dark” can be very different, and why the percentage is the more useful number to compare.

Reading the cacao percentage

The percentage tells you how much of the bar by weight comes from the cacao bean, counting the ground cacao and any added cocoa butter together. Whatever is left is mostly sweetener, plus milk, flavorings or emulsifiers if the bar has them. A higher number usually means less room for sugar and a more bitter taste.

Hu lists its bar as “70% dark chocolate” made from three ingredients, two of which come from cacao (organic cacao and organic fair-trade cocoa butter). The only other ingredient is unrefined organic coconut sugar, so the remaining 30 percent is roughly the sweetener. The panel fits that: a 30 g serving lists 9 g of total sugars.

Two cautions. The percentage does not tell you how the cacao was split between cocoa solids and cocoa butter, and it is not checked against a federal definition. Treat it as a guide for comparing bars, then confirm with the sugar lines on the panel.

Total sugars and added sugars

The Nutrition Facts panel has two sugar lines. “Total Sugars” counts all sugars in a serving. “Includes Added Sugars” counts the ones that were added during processing or are sold as sugar, and only that line carries a %DV (21 CFR 101.9(c)(6)(iii)).

Hu’s panel reads, per 1/2 bar (30 g): Total Sugars 9 g, Includes 8 g Added Sugars, 16% DV. For the whole 2.1 oz bar it lists 18 g total and 17 g added sugars, 34% DV. Three label points stand out:

• Coconut sugar is added sugar. “Unrefined” or “coconut” describes the type of sweetener. On the panel it counts the same as cane sugar.
• Check the serving size. Many bars use half a bar or a few squares as the serving. Hu prints a per-serving and a per-bar column, which saves the math. If a bar shows only one column, multiply by the servings per container.
• Compare bars by grams, not by percentage alone. Two 70% bars with different serving sizes print different numbers. Bring both to the same weight before you compare.

If you want sweets with no added sugars at all, plain dark chocolate will not fit that list; see our separate pick list of snacks with 0 g added sugars.

Ingredient order

Ingredients are listed by weight, from most to least (21 CFR 101.4(a)(1)). Hu’s list reads: “Organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter.” Cacao comes first, then the sweetener, then cocoa butter.

When you compare bars, look at three things in the list:

• What comes first. In a high-percentage bar, a cacao ingredient (cacao, chocolate, chocolate liquor or cocoa mass) usually leads. If sugar is first, the bar has more sugar than any single cacao ingredient.
• Whether dairy appears. Milk ingredients are allowed in sweet chocolate, up to the 12 percent limit. Hu’s bar lists none and is labeled dairy-free by the brand.
• Emulsifiers and flavorings. Many bars add soy or sunflower lecithin, or vanilla. Hu’s list has neither, which is why it is only three items long.

Organic wording

“Organic” on a food label is set by the USDA organic rule, and the wording tells you the share of organic ingredients by weight (7 CFR 205.301):

• “100 percent organic”: every ingredient is organic.
• “Organic”: at least 95 percent organic ingredients.
• “Made with organic (named ingredients)”: at least 70 percent organic ingredients.

All three of Hu’s ingredients are listed as organic, and the USDA Organic Integrity Database lists the maker, Hu Products LLC, with its Simple Dark Chocolate Bar among its certified products (certifier: Natural Food Certifiers). You can look up any brand the same way. For how the organic seal compares with the Non-GMO Project butterfly, see Non-GMO Project Verified vs USDA Organic.

Fair trade wording

Fair trade is not defined in Part 163 or in the organic rule. It comes from private certification programs, each with its own standards and seal. Two things are worth checking:

• Which ingredient it covers. On Hu’s list, “fair-trade” appears next to the cocoa butter only. The cacao and the coconut sugar are listed as organic, without a fair trade note.
• Who certifies it. A seal or a named program on the pack lets you look up the standard behind it. Words in the ingredient list with no seal tell you less.

Allergen and “may contain” lines

Hu’s allergy statement reads: contains coconut; may contain traces of almond, cashew and hazelnut; made on equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, peanuts, milk and wheat. The brand also lists the bar as certified gluten-free. A dairy-free bar can still carry a milk cross-contact warning, so if you avoid an allergen, read this line as well as the ingredient list, and contact the brand when it matters.

A quick checklist

1. Read the cacao percentage on the front, and treat it as the brand’s number.
2. Find the serving size and servings per container.
3. Read “Includes Added Sugars” in grams, per serving and per bar.
4. Read the ingredient list: what is first, and whether milk, lecithin or flavorings appear.
5. Check the organic wording tier and look up the certifier if it matters to you.
6. See which ingredient a fair trade claim covers, and whether a seal names the program.
7. Read the allergen and “may contain” lines.

For more on choosing snacks by their labels, see our healthy snacks buying guide. Another dark chocolate option on the site is the KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bar, a nut bar rather than a chocolate bar, so its label is read like a snack bar.

FAQ

Is “dark chocolate” a legal term in the US?

The FDA standards in 21 CFR Part 163 define names such as sweet chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and milk chocolate, but “dark chocolate” is not one of the defined names. Bars sold as dark chocolate generally fall under the sweet, semisweet or bittersweet standards.

What does 70% cacao mean?

About 70 percent of the bar by weight comes from cacao ingredients, such as ground cacao and cocoa butter. The rest is mostly sweetener and any other ingredients. It is a brand statement, not a value defined in Part 163.

Does coconut sugar count as added sugar?

Yes. Sugars added during processing count as added sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel, whatever the type. Hu’s panel lists 8 g added sugars per 30 g serving.

Why are total sugars higher than added sugars?

Total sugars include any sugar the other ingredients bring with them. On Hu’s panel, total sugars are 9 g and added sugars 8 g per serving.

Does “organic” mean every ingredient is organic?

Not always. “Organic” means at least 95 percent organic ingredients; only “100 percent organic” means all of them. “Made with organic” means at least 70 percent.

Is fair trade a government label?

No. It comes from private certification programs. Check which ingredient the claim covers and which program certifies it.