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Hofer may no longer sell Dubai chocolate

Dubai chocolate

(Bild: MPreis/Thomas Pichler)

The German discounter Aldi Süd is no longer allowed to sell its Dubai chocolate. The Cologne Regional Court ruled that the chocolate must have a geographical reference to Dubai in order to be labeled as such. Otherwise, there was a risk that buyers would be misled.

The same chocolate from the same manufacturer was subject to a product recall in Austria by Hofer, which belongs to the German discounter. It was on sale in the fall. Aldi Süd offered the "Alyan Dubai Handmade Chocolate" in its stores from December. The chocolate was produced in Turkey, as stated on the back of the packaging.

In the court's view, however, this information was not sufficient. Because of the name, it can be assumed "that the product was actually produced in Dubai and imported to Germany", it says.

Here you can see a post about the stopped sale.

Confectionery importer sued
Now Aldi Süd is no longer allowed to sell its Dubai chocolate for the time being. The Cologne Regional Court issued a temporary injunction against the company. The product may be sold as Dubai chocolate if it was produced in Dubai or has another geographical reference.

The decision is not legally binding and the discounter can still appeal. The confectionery importer Andreas Wilmers, who sells Fex brand chocolate produced in Dubai in Germany, had filed a lawsuit. In December, Wilmers had also issued warnings to the discount retailer Lidl and the confectionery manufacturer Lindt. No decision has yet been made in these proceedings.

Lindt: "Variety designation"
Lindt responded by stating that the term was a variety designation for chocolate with the typical pistachio kadayif filling and not for chocolate originating from Dubai. The Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry also said that Dubai chocolate could be produced anywhere in the world.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the chocolate recently, and the sweet owes its rise to social media such as Instagram and Tiktok. The chocolate quickly sold out in many stores in December.