Want to serve chocolate biscuits straight away at your Christmas table? Choose a ready-made product whose packaging clearly states that its cocoa or chocolate is Fairtrade. If you bake your own, you can choose the cocoa and chocolate separately and adapt the shape and recipe, but you’ll need time to prepare. According to Keurmerkenwijzer, a Fairtrade logo may apply to just one certified ingredient, so check exactly what the claim covers.
You want to check whether the cocoa or chocolate in your biscuits is Fairtrade-certified. Check the claim for each product or baking ingredient separately: according to Keurmerkenwijzer, a logo may apply to just one certified ingredient.
You’re looking for a chocolate biscuit to enjoy with a coffee or add to a biscuit selection, without having to make dough. Albert Heijn describes Verkade Chocorondjes as filled biscuits with Fairtrade milk chocolate; check the latest ingredients and allergen information before serving.
Before buying, you need to be able to decide whether a biscuit is suitable for the person who’ll be eating it. Check the ingredients, clearly stated allergens and any warnings about possible cross-contamination on the packaging.
Choose this if: you want to serve biscuits without baking and can check that the specific product has a suitable Fairtrade cocoa claim.
The trade-off: the shape and recipe are fixed; check the latest ingredients and allergen information too.
Choose this if: you want to decide on the shape, portions and cocoa and chocolate ingredients yourself.
The trade-off: you’ll need a recipe and time to bake; check the Fairtrade claim on each ingredient for which this is a requirement.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| What the Fairtrade claim covers | Check whether the claim applies to the cocoa, the chocolate or the product as a whole. Keurmerkenwijzer points out that a logo on a white background may identify just one certified ingredient. | If I make Fairtrade cocoa a requirement, I want to know what the claim applies to on the specific biscuit or ingredient. Around 36% of consumers put checking certification first. |
| Ready to serve | Check the pack size and product information for the biscuits you want to serve. | For Christmas coffee, I want something I can serve without making dough first. For around 29% of consumers, convenience matters most. |
| Freedom to choose the recipe | Check which cocoa and chocolate ingredients your recipe calls for, and verify their Fairtrade claims separately. | I want to choose the shape and ingredients of my Christmas biscuits myself, and I have time to bake. That freedom to choose the recipe comes first for around 21% of consumers. |
| Allergens | Read the latest ingredients and allergen information on the packaging, including any relevant warnings about possible cross-contamination. | If someone at the table has a food allergy, I need to check first whether the biscuit is suitable. For around 14% of consumers, this is their top priority. |
A biscuit made with Fairtrade cocoa isn’t necessarily certified for its other ingredients too. Keurmerkenwijzer distinguishes between a claim covering one ingredient and a claim covering the whole product.
Read the wording next to the logo and decide in advance whether Fairtrade cocoa meets your needs or whether you’re looking for a broader claim.
ALDI lists Winter Kransen with chocolate flavour and Fairtrade cocoa, but whether they’re right for your Christmas table also depends on the information on the packaging and what’s available in your local shop.
Before buying, check the Fairtrade statement, ingredients, allergens and best-before date on the pack you’re taking home.
Albert Heijn warns that product information can change. So an ingredients list you viewed earlier may not match the packaging of the product you eventually buy.
Use the product page to compare options, then check the allergen information on the product you’ve bought again before serving.
The examples below relate to specific products, ingredients or company statements; they don’t reflect the full range of biscuits from any brand or shop.
Albert Heijn lists Fairtrade cocoa and Fairtrade milk chocolate for Verkade Chocorondjes.
Albert Heijn offers a ready-made example and a recipe for homemade chocolate biscuits through Allerhande.
ALDI Netherlands lists Winter Kransen with chocolate flavour and Fairtrade cocoa.
Lidl Netherlands says its seasonal chocolate around occasions including Christmas is Fairtrade-certified.
Jumbo has a Fair Trade category where you can explore options such as cocoa for baking.
Lotus Speculoos with Chocolate is a speculoos biscuit with chocolate; Lotus states that it contains 22% chocolate.
This Joybuy product is a good fit if you’re baking your own chocolate biscuits and want to choose the cocoa powder separately. If your recipe also calls for chocolate, you’ll need to choose that ingredient separately.
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For anyone baking their own chocolate biscuits and looking for cocoa powder for a recipe. The pack contains 125 g; this is not a ready-made biscuit. Check the latest packaging to see what the Fairtrade claim applies to.
No, not automatically. According to Keurmerkenwijzer, a Fairtrade logo on a white background may apply to just one certified ingredient. Read the wording next to the logo to see whether the claim, for example, applies to the cocoa.
Check the latest packaging for allergens that are relevant to the person eating the biscuits. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority states that the allergens that must be declared have to be clearly listed in the ingredients information for prepacked foods. For Verkade Chocorondjes, Albert Heijn lists milk and wheat, among other ingredients, and warns that other allergens may also be present.
Baking your own is a good option if you want to choose the shape and ingredients and have time to prepare them; ready-made biscuits are ideal if you want to serve them straight away. The Allerhande chocolate biscuit recipe uses both dark chocolate and cocoa powder. If you want both ingredients to meet your Fairtrade requirement, check the claim for each one separately.
