The full transcript of BBC TV’s Watchdog broadcast on diabetic chocolate, as presented by Julia Bradbury on 22 December 2008,  is below.

Chocolate is the perfect gift for Christmas but for 2.5 million diabetics in the UK, it’s not that simple. They have to carefully manage how much sweet food they eat, not just at Christmas but all year round. That’s why two high street stores, Thorntons and Boots offer a range of chocolate labelled specially for diabetics.

The diabetic ranges offered by these shops may seem ideal but many diabetics steer well clear of them.

Lucy and her five-year-old son Miles are one example. Miles was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago. If he has too many chocolates or sweets his blood glucose levels go very high and he has to have extra insulin. Christmas time means that mum Lucy needs to be especially careful because there is chocolate everywhere.

Laxative effect
So what about special diabetic chocolate – surely that’s ok? Lucy explained that she doesn’t give her son diabetic chocolate because, as she discovered, it can have a laxative effect. If it is known to have a laxative effect on an adult, a child like Miles only needs a small amount of diabetic chocolate before its laxative properties take effect.

Ian Day was diagnosed with diabetes back in 2000 and last Christmas his friend gave him Thorntons diabetic chocolates as a gift. Ian only had three pieces but that was all he needed to spoil the rest of his day. He too suffered from the laxative effects of diabetic chocolate.

Excessive
When Ian checked the Thorntons box he saw that it said “excessive consumption may produce a laxative effect.” But can three pieces of chocolate really be “excessive”?

Most of the people Julia spoke to on the streets of central London had different of responses to how much chocolate they would eat – but what they all agreed on was that three chocolates are not excessive.

Azmina Govindji, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association explained that the cause of the laxative effect was largely due to an ingredient in diabetic chocolate called polyols. Polyols are a nutritive sweetener, or a sugar replacement, and they are used commonly in sweets and chocolates that are created for diabetics. When Azmina saw that Thorntons line of diabetic chocolates contained 6.2 grams of polyols each she was shocked. Considering that you shouldn’t have more than 20g of polyols per day that means you can eat no more than three chocolates.

No benefit
Both the Food Standards Agency and Diabetes UK agree that diabetic chocolate has no benefit to people with diabetes. The major supermarkets have followed their advice and do not stock diabetic chocolate. Where it is sold, diabetic chocolate is also more expensive than standard chocolate.

Watchdog contacted Boots and Thorntons who responded as follows:

Boots
“Boots takes the opinion of customers very seriously. In 2002, on the advice of Diabetes UK we removed our Diabetic Food Range. However, we received significant, sustained customer complaints about the lack of a specifically labelled Diabetic Food range at Boots and we always listen to their feedback carefully.

Our customers told us that they liked the peace of mind of being able to buy ‘treat’ foods clearly labelled as suitable for those living with diabetes. In light of this customer reaction we took the decision to reinstate the Diabetic Food Range in 2005.

“The range is designed to offer occasional ‘treat’ food that those with diabetes often miss, such as no added sugar chocolate. These occasional foods are not designed to be a main part of a balanced diet. Boots recommend that people with diabetes follow a healthy, balanced diet with a wide variety of foods and we offer advice and information in store and online and our pharmacists are available to help and offer lifestyle advice.

“We listen to our customers and care about their opinion – we are aware of the issues surrounding this type of range and regular reviews take place; for example, we will be adding the traffic light nutritional guidance system to the packs next year.”

“Customers with any questions about diabetes can call the Boots customer care helpline now on a special freephone number 0800 9 156 597 alternatively our pharmacists are available in store or via our live pharmacist service on the Boots website.

Thorntons:
“We are aware of the recent FSA and Diabetes UK guidance and are supportive of their position. Next summer we will rename the range and make the first step to removing the word ‘diabetic’ from our packaging. Currently, our diabetic chocolate assortment have approximately 20 per cent less calories, fat and saturated fat per 100g than our best selling chocolate assortments and, due to the low glycaemic properties of polyols, will have less impact on blood glucose levels.

“Our chocolatiers are working on a new range with better flavours and a more exciting assortment for anyone interested in chocolates reduced in sugars and with lower calorific content. These will be available in 2010. We are very sorry your correspondents have been disappointed by a Thorntons product and continue to look at ways to improve our products and the clarity of our labelling for all of our customers”.

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